White Bean and Ramp Crostini by Heather

It's finally starting to feel like spring around NYC, and for Easter, I wanted to make an appetizer that took advantage of some seasonal ingredients.  Brandon and I have had some really good spring-y crostini around the city the past couple of weeks.  Locanda Verde's creamy ricotta crostini is to die for, and Cookshop's ramp salsa verde crostini is also excellent.  This crostini combines the best of both of these.  You'll have a ton of the white bean mixture left over, so it's also great to serve as a dip with some veggies or pita chips.

Ingredients:

For the white bean mixture:

2 cans cannellini beans

1/4 cup greek yogurt

2-3 tbs. basil oil or normal olive oil

1 tsp. chives

1/4 cup parsley

juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 tbs. goat ricotta or regular, whole milk ricotta

salt and pepper to taste

For the ramps:

1 tbs. butter

3-4 tbs. white wine

1 bunch of ramps, cleaned with ends removed

1 loaf bread, sliced

olive oil for drizzling

Shrimp Cakes by Rachel

I was inspired to make Thai food the other night and one thing that I love at Thai restaurants are the fish cakes, or "tod mun pla."  I didn't have fish, but I did have shrimp so I ad libbed and they dish came out great.  My shrimp cakes were gone in a matter of minutes.  They were really easy to make, too!

Ingredients (makes about 10-12 small cakes)
10 medium to large size shrimp, raw
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
2 pinches of salt (you can add an extra pinch if you're skipping the Sriracha sauce)
1/2 tsp white pepper
Oil, for frying

Special Ingredient: Potato and Crab Croquettes with Sweet and Spicy Aioli by Rachel

After thinking long and hard about an ingredient to feature in December, Heather and I decided that we would feature potatoes.  They are a starch used in so many foods and I wanted to pair them with something that people might not usually think to pair potatoes with.  I chose crab meat.

Boring, old potatoes?  I think not!

Crab meat is such a delicate thing and potatoes are so heavy, but when brought together in a nice and crispy croquette, they are unforgettable. I had friends in town from LA (my dear friend, the Skinny Critic and her fiancé) as well as my fiancé's brother.  I wanted them to have a really special dinner with us so I made these croquettes as an appetizer.

Ingredients

makes about 24 croquettes

3 large russet potatoes
1 pinch of salt
2 tbsp heavy cream
16 oz of canned crab meat (lump)
1 tbsp paprika
1 bag of panko bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Canola oil

Summer Rolls by Rachel

Summer's come and gone and so have my summer rolls!  Bad pun, I know, but that doesn't make my summer rolls any less tasty and the recipe is extremely easy.  You can really put whatever you want into a summer roll, but here's the recipe that I go back to time and time again.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of beef or pork (totally up to you)
1/2 cup cilantro, torn or chopped coarsely
1/4 scallions, diced
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of soaked cellophane noodles
1/4 cup of toasted rice powder
1 package of Vietnamese rice paper