Posts tagged ‘Appetizer’
Recipe of the Week – Roasted Seckel Pears
From the Appetizer Collection at emealsforyou.com
Roasted Seckel Pears
Our old neighbors from Chicago came for the weekend to catch up on all that has happened in the past couple of years. We were joined by the other Chicago neighbors who live down here in Cincinnati now. As travel timing issues had to be taken into account; we opted for “small plates” for dinner. Pan-seared tuna in a ginger dipping sauce, steelhead trout on cucumber slices with hollandaise sauce, mushroom caps stuffed with blue cheese and a few more were rounded out with the roasted seckel pears.
These pears are smaller than the normal size pears. Usually only available in late October and November, they are the perfect size to add a fruit to our small plate offerings. Sweet pears join with a smooth, tasty goat cheese fondant to give a punch to any dinner. They may be served as an appetizer or even a dessert. Especially good with my goat cheese ice cream.
Roasted Seckel Pears with Goat Cheese
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 16 | medium | seckel pears |
| 3 | oz | cheese, goat |
| 2 | Tb | honey |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut pears in half, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Place cut side down on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Place in oven for 6 -8 minutes, until the pears are tender. Remove to a serving platter, cut side up, spoon a dollop of goat cheese in the center, dust with fresh cracked black pepper and drizzle with honey.
More small plate ideas at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Uncommon Results from Common Ingredients – Grapefruit Sorbet
(From the Appetizer Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Grapefruit Sorbet
I’m big on “pantry cooking.” I believe you should be able to make wonderful meals from what you have around the kitchen, whether in the pantry, frig or freezer. With just a little imagination you should be able to cobble together an easy appetizer, meal or dessert from items you have on hand. At emealsforyou.com we give you a list of what we consider essentials for stocking away.
This weekend we were running a little short on appetizers so I went to the pantry and started looking for a quick, easy appetizer to make. A can of black beans from the shelf, some fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden, some pickled pepper rings from the frig and some frozen pita bread all went together to make a very good relish and chips. Add a few spices and herbs to your taste and you will wish you had written the recipe down for future use.
Along these lines I give you the easiest recipe I can think of. Serve this grapefruit sorbet between courses at a formal dinner or have it following a salad for lunch to make it special. So the next time you are in the store pick up a can of frozen grapefruit juice to save for a “rainy” day.
Grapefruit Sorbet
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | J & B’s Silent Auction Dinner (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 12 | oz | grapefruit juice, frozen concentrate |
| 24 | oz | water |
Combine frozen concentrate and water and process in ice cream maker until frozen. May be made in advance. Use as a palette cleanser between courses.
Recipe of the Week – Clams, Shrimp and Mussels
(From the Appetizer category at www.emealsforyou.com)
Clams. Mussels and Shrimp
Come over and bring an appetizer. To some that sends terror, some it means a stop at the local market for one of those “shrimp rings” but to me it opens the door to bring a great dish. I like this dish because it sends wonderful garlicy smells throughout the kitchen. It is perfect because most people will find something they like in the dish. Whether you like shrimp, or mussels or clams they are all in there soaking up all the garlic and white wine.
I serve this in a large bowl surrounded by crunchy bread to sop up the juices. This is a great appetizer or serve it over pasta and call it a meal.
Pour the wine, please.
Greek Mussels, Shrimp and Clams
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | Small Plates Please (Picnic Meal Plans) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | cup | carrots, diced |
| 0.5 | cup | onions, diced |
| 0.5 | cup | celery ribs |
| 1 | Tb | thyme, fresh |
| 6 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | 15 oz can | tomatoes, diced |
| 12 | oz | wine, dry white |
| 2 | lb | mussels |
| 1 | lb | shrimp, deveined, shelled |
| 12 | medium | clams |
| 2 | Tb | cilantro, chopped |
| 1 | Tb | lemon zest, finely chopped |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Clean and rinse mussels and clams. Add oil to hot pan, sauté carrots, onions and celery (diced) until soft, add thyme, garlic, sauté for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, clams, shrimp and mussels, cover pan, cook until mussels and clams open, discard unopened mussels and clams. Place on serving platter, sprinkle with zest, lemon juice and cilantro.
Recipe of the Week – Baked Garlic
(From The Appetizer Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Baked Garlic
Regular readers will remember that I posted last week on a Neighborhood Dinner Party I am having this Saturday. On the menu was Baked Garlic and TJ’s Special Sipping Sauce as appetizers. When creating the menu for I always look for courses that will compliment the main dish and is fairly easy to prepare and easy on the budget. I first had the baked garlic at a restaurant in Chicago, Bistro 110, in Watertower Place. They served it with hot and crunchy french bread and salty butter. The smell of the sweet garlic added to the whole Bistro experience.
The purpose, at least for me, of serving appetizers is to give me a little more time in the kitchen once the guests arrive and prior to the meal. sometimes I serve it in the kitchen with drinks and sometimes I serve it in another room, depending on how much confusion in going on in the kitchen at the time.
For this meal I am serving this garlic along with TJ’s Special Dipping Sauce. This dipping sauce came about when my brother-in-law, not the rocket scientist for those frequent readers out there, took us to dinner and raved about the dipping sauce. We put together the recipe from what we remember we tasted in the dipping sauce.
Bottom line is keep your appetizers reasonable from a preparation standpoint and also remember that if your guests fill up on appetizers they won’t have room for the wonder main course you worked so hard on.
Baked Garlic
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 2 | large | garlic, whole head |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Cut just the very top off the garlic; pour oil over garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Remove from foil, and plate. Serve with toast points, warm, crunchy french bread or crackers.
Recipe of the Week – Homemade Mozzarella
Homemade Mozzarella
(from www.emealsforyou.com/Appetizers/Homemade Mozzarella)
I’ve always wanted to make my own mozzarella so when my wife found a company, Golden Age Cheese , that sells the curd needed; I thought, “what the heck”. I ordered 4 lbs and with shipping it was around $30. The cheese curd comes in a “cold pack” and arrived a few days after I ordered it. It may be frozen in the “curd state” or frozen after you have made the mozzarella.
Making mozzarella is both easy and fun. It would be fun to have a party and make this with the guests. A word of warning, this is probably not something you want your children to do as the temperature required for the curd to change to cheese is very hot. To make the cheese you simply heat a large quantity of water, add the curd, stir and then form into balls. Yeah, that simple and it is soooooo gooooood.
Golden Age Cheese recommends you add salt to the water. We tried it with and without salt. For those who are on a reduced sodium diet and probably are used to no salt; you will find it okay without the salt. I would suggest you use some lemon juice and olive oil poured over the top. For the rest of us, Michael Chiarello of NapaStyle, suggests you “put enough salt in the water to almost gag you when you taste the water. We made it pretty salty although nobody gagged.
The photo shows how we served it with the Oven-dried Tomatoes oven-dried tomatoes. It was a huge hit; gauged by the fact that it all disappeared instantly.
Homemade Mozzarella
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 2 | lb | mozzarella cheese curds |
| 2 | gal | water |
| 0.5 | cup | salt, kosher |
Add salt to water and boil; pour into a very large bowl or pot. Add curd and stir until cheese begins to form long strands. Grab some of the strands and kneed into a smooth ball. Pinch the end and place the ball in cold water.
May be frozen at this point.
(more recipes and meal plans available at www.emealsforyou.com)
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