Posted on 08/23/2017 3:47:45 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
I like meals made up of lots of different, little things – I’m a fan of ‘tasting menus’, buffet parties, and can make a restaurant meal of appetizers.
An appetizer recipe that’s been a party hit for us, is this one for Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts in Chili Sauce:
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bacon-water-chestnuts-50888.aspx
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I think we originally found the recipe for these little Garlic and Mushroom Tartlets about 15 years ago – perhaps from the Sorrento site, or off the bag.
Sorrento seems to have turned into Galbani (?) and I haven’t seen this garlic-flavored Mozzarella cheese lately. Sargento used to have a similar Mozz/Asiago garlic-flavored blend in their 'Bistro' line, and I'm not finding that on their website, either. But you can probably create the ingredient by adding some roasted or even sauteed garlic to shredded Mozzarella. We usually used the little frozen Phyllo cups to make these:
Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Tartlets
3 T Butter
2 (6oz) Jars of Mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 C Scallions, (sliced)
1 T Sherry (optional)
1/4 C Heavy Cream
1 C Sorrento Roasted Garlic Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/4 C Parsley (chopped)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
24 (2inch) Tartlet Shells or Phyllo Cups
1. In a medium skillet, melt butter, cook mushrooms and scallions until tender.
2. Add Sherry and heavy cream, bring to low simmer; stir in cheese, parsley and seasonings, stir until cheese is melted.
3. Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes and spoon into tartlet shells.
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For a spread to serve with Bruschetta, try this:
Olive Caper Spread
½ C. pitted black Kalamata Olives
3 T. Olive Oil
1 T. drained Capers
1 T. chopped fresh Basil
2 Garlic cloves, minced
Puree the olives with the oil, basil, capers and garlic in a processor. Can be prepared 4 days ahead. Serve at room temp with bread or crackers.
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And, last but best, my very favorite ‘little bite’, which I know I’ve posted more than once: Olive Cheese Balls:
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/olive-cheese-balls/1a335df0-4d11-47ac-ad81-a810a626e6d9
-JT
This week: Appetizers!
(If you would like to be on or off on this weekly cooking thread ping-list, please send a private message.)
-JT
In the levant it is called a selection of “meze,” a selection of small dishes or appetizers.
Making up a veggie deli plate for the Hawks game Friday.
Yes; and in Spain, Tapas.
In Mexico, they call the street-food snacks ‘antojitos’, or ‘little cravings’:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_street_food
Cut fig in half. add a bit of gorgonzola. Wrap with prosciutto. Broil till just crispy
Yummy
It is a custom in many parts of the world with different names. Singapore has a lively street food culture.
That sounds wonderful!
Somebody sent me this recipe two days ago - looks good & would make nice appetizers:
Mini Quiche 4 Ways
https://www.culinaryhill.com/mini-quiche-4-ways/
A little bigger than a phyllo shell, but still probably 2-3 bites, I’m guessing. The variations are bacon, ham & cheese, spinach & mushroom.
My pizza sauce recipe with a pizza dough bonus:
Do not be intimidated by the long ingredients list. This is so good that a pizza restaurant could make big money because of its taste:
You will need:
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz can tomato paste
28 oz can crushed tomato sauce
1/4 cup Merlot wine
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1-1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 very small pinch of cinnamon
1 TBS Concord grape jelly
1 carrot, peeled
White sugar to taste
Olive oil for cooking garlic and onions
Method:
1. Chop the carrot and put in with half of the tomato sauce, in a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth.
2. Mince onion and cook in olive oil until golden brown in a sauce pan. Do this on a low enough heat to keep this browning process under control to keep from burning. Add minced garlic and cook briefly before adding the other half of the tomato sauce. The tomato sauce can be used to stop the browning process of the onion at the perfect stage of browning. Note: never cook garlic until it turns brown. This causes the garlic to get bitter.
3. Add the tomato paste, the rest of the tomato sauce from the food processor, and all of the ingredients. Simmer on low, stirring `every ten minutes. Be careful not to cause the sauce to splatter due to excessive heat. When sauce is thick, add sugar to taste. Let cool, then put in a storage container for the refrigerator. This sauce can be stored in the freezer for six months.
Pizza Dough from a Bread Maker:
You will need:
3 cups flour
1-1/4 cups water
2 tsp salt
2 TBS butter
2 tsp bread machine yeast
Absolutely Amazing. The problem is fresh figs are only available Jul-Sep. Enjoy them now!
Replace the fig with a small Medjool or Deglet Noor date filled the same way or with a slightly harder cheese and voila!
Sounds wonderful. I do love fresh figs! Dates are bit sweeter
I stuff the dates with cheese or nuts, wrap bacon around them and bake them until the bacon is done.
I like to look at the YouTube videos of the street-food vendors in different countries - some of them turn it into performance art.
There are countries I’d like to visit, just for the street food ;-)
And I covet one of these Thai Popsicle Makers, even if it’s only for ONE party, with kids - perfect for a July 4 shindig:
https://importfood.com/videos/item/thai-popsicles
(Import Food is a great little family-run company.)
This is a recipe I found on Delish.com...
Jalapeño Cornbread Poppers
Ingredients:
• 12 jalapeños
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 box JIFFY corn muffin mix
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 c. creamed corn, drained (optional)
• 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped chives, plus more for garnish
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut jalapeños in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place on prepared baking sheet.
2. Cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Reserving grease, remove from heat and drain bacon on paper towels. When cool, chop into small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, combine corn muffin mix, egg, sour cream, and reserved bacon fat and mix until combined. Season with pepper then fold in corn (if using), chopped bacon, cheddar and chives.
4. Divide cornbread batter between jalapeño halves and bake until the cornbread is golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
Garnish with chives and serve.
I think what I like best about food and cooking, are the surprises - trying recipes that combine things you wouldn’t think to combine, but which turn out different and wonderful. (I’m a great fan of sweet-with-savory; and I’ve found that texture in food means a lot to me.)
I think one of the reasons many of us overeat is because we’re not eating ‘diversely’ enough - our taste buds (and perhaps our bodies’ desires for nutrition) are wanting something that they aren’t finding in our routine diets...
I’m saving that for my Italian hubby - his family makes gallons of tomato sauce from their tomatoes every year; but we’ve never done a small stove-top recipe from scratch, and have never made our own pizza.
Thanks!
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