Appeteasers
The secret to great entertaining is lots of variety in the meal. Sure, a very simple but well-prepared meal is also received very well, but variety makes it interesting. We always start with some sort of Appetizer. More courses means more variety, and more time to linger around the cooking process which is the life of the dinner party more so than sitting around a table.
Guacamole & Salsa w/ Tortilla Chips
Gotta have a little Tex-mex here somewhere, and chips with guac go down mighty fine as an appeteazer. We don't really have a recipe per se, Texans can make this stuff blind folded. Just mash some avacados, and add a little homemade salsa of chopped tomato and onion. To make it spicier, touch it up with some canned green enchilada sauce. It can take quite a bit of heat because the rich avacado carries it away before it can do much harm. Add something spicey to the sauce until you can just taste the heat and you are done.
Turkey Sausages w/ Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Sausages are a weakness I don't think I'll ever overcome, no matter how bad they are for me. To moderate a little bit I've taken to having them in smaller quantities as an appetizer. Just BBQ them over a hot flame, puncturing them to let the grease out. There are some excellent turkey sausages available that are a touch healthier than the beef and pork. To keep them in proper theme for the rest of the BBQ I usually set out some of the Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce to have with them. See Grilled Entres for the BBQ sauce recipe.
Corralitos Meat Market: Source of Gourmet Sausages and Meats in our area...
Skewered Shrimp with Coconut Chili Marinade
This recipe and the honey chipotle BBQ sauce are two that have been widely adopted by friends that cook. The flavors here are intense and exotic, yet it's an incredibly easy dish to prepare. Despite the jalepeno ingredients, there is minimal heat, just great flavor.
12 shrimp, cleaned and deveined
Marinade
1 tablespoon shallots
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 tsp jalapeno, minced
2 cups coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
cilantro to garnish
Place the marinade ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
Skewer the shrimp and pour 1/4 of the marinade on the shrimp. Grill one or two minutes each side. Place shrimp on serving platter, garnish generously with cilantro, and drizzle the remaining marinade over them.
Honey, Rum, and Lime Glazed Shrimp
This recipe is our kids favorite, and I have to admit, it never fails to please!
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
½ cup dark rum
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 2 tablespoons lime juice
¾ cup honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest of 2 limes
¼ cup of finely chopped cilantro
20 large shrimp (at least 16/20 size), peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons oil
First, prepare the glaze. Combine the lime juice, rum, and ginger in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and then the honey. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until thickened, usually 1 or 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let it cool completely, then stir in the lime zest and cilantro. Keep cool in a covered container.
Now, to grill the shrimp, you'll need a medium-hot fire. Toss your shrimp in the oil with 6 tablespoons of the glaze. salt and pepper to taste. Lay the shrimp on the hot grill. Cook each side 1 or 2 minutes, brushing often with the glaze until the shrimp have turned bright pink outside and white inside.
Arrange your shrimp on a platter and serve with the remaining glaze as a dipping sauce.
Prosciutto Wrapped Grilled Asparagus
Dead simple to make and soooo tasty! Wrap individual spears of asparagus in prosciutto. Baste with olive oil. Grill until the asparagus shows nice grill marks. Drizzle with olive oil and some balsamic fig vinegar to finish. Guests will be licking their fingers from this one. If you want to kick it up a notch, wrap some dates in prosciutto to serve alongside. Hold them together with a toothpick if need be. You'll be amazed at these little flavor bombs!
Blue Cheese and Walnut Creme de Fromage on French Bread
This is a very nice fresh tasting appetizer to start out the meal.
12 walnut halves (yes Ron, we'll leave these out for you!)
1 lb soft white cheese such as cream cheese or ricotta
5 oz blue cheese or gorgonzola
1 tablespoon Cognac or Armagnac
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bunch of finely chopped fresh chives
Not much to it:
Chop the walnuts in a food processor
Combine the cheeses with a fork, adding the Cognac and a little salt and pepper. When the cheese is smooth, stir in the nuts and chives. Spread on sliced french bread. Voila! If you prefer, you can also toast the bread and serve as a bruschetta. It's nice to toast the bread on the BBQ if you are BBQing.
"Creme de Fromage" is just a fancy term for cheese spread, but we're a long ways from Cheeze Whiz with this one! This is a fantastic appetizer that I've used with a lot fo different meals.
Antipasti Dinner
Antipasti, tapas, we love the little dishes! So, in keeping with that, we decided to have a many-small0-dish dinner party, based largely on Italian-style antipasti. Many are only used to antipasti in the form of cold cuts and perhaps some olives and artichoke hearts as found at the local Italian eatery. I wanted something more interesting. I remember well the amazing antipasto bar at Trattoria Dell'Arte in Manhattan, for example. Good antipasto is truly amazing.
What follows is the menu we used for this wonderful evening with friends.
Assorted Olives w/ Pepperoncini
Grilled Asparagus and Dates wrapped in Prosciutto
Sweet and Sour Onions
Sausage and Peppers
Crispy Frico with Ripe Pear
Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese Truffles
Funghi al Forno di Ricotta
Artisanal Bread w/ Herbal Dipping Oil
The olives and pepperoncini were just procured at the local grocery store deli.
Grilled Asparagus and Dates Wrapped in Prosciutto
These little flavor bombs need little explanation, are easy to prepare, and always go over well. Wrap asparagus spears and dates in prosciutto. You may need a toothpick to hold the dates together. Apply a little olive oil and grill until you start to see grill marks. Serve with a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar. We like Meyer Lemon infused vinegar for this dish.
Sausage and Peppers
This is a fantastic rendition of the Italian classic, and very easy to make. Everyone raved about it, and we had the leftovers as sandwiches the next day--wow! Luckily, we had leftovers for one more serving after that as well, this time over penne pasta. It's one of those dishes where the flavor keeps coming out over time. Make more than you need for one sitting!
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage, 1/2 pound spicey Italian sausage
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.
Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.
Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, about 1-inch cubes. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
Crispy Frico with Ripe Pear
Crispy Frico with Ripe Pear, Sweet and Sour Onions, and a variety of other flavors and spices...
They don't look like much, but the sharp flavor of the Parmigiano-Reggiano fritter combines perfectly with the pear to make a wonderful combination. They're surprisingly easy to make.
2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (6
ounces)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large, firm ripe pear
Excellent balsamic vinegar, for drizzling (optional)
In a medium bowl, toss the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat and lightly dust with flour. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cheese into a 4-inch round in the skillet. Repeat to make 2 more rounds. Cook until the rounds are set and lightly browned around the edges, about 30 seconds. Turn the frico and cook for about 10 seconds longer, then carefully transfer to a plate to cool. Repeat to cook the remaining frico in a single layer, lightly dusting the pan with more flour as necessary.
Cut the pear into thin slices. Fan the slices on the frico and top with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Arrange on a platter and serve at once.
Sweet and Sour Onions
I love onions, and this unusual dish showcases their flavor well. It mellows them and demonstrates how easy it is to infuse flavors into the oil to create a delightful sauce.
1 pound small white or red onions (about 20)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Using a paring knife, trim the root and stem ends of the onions. In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the onions over moderate heat until they are just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Drain immediately and peel.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a nonreactive medium saucepan. Add the bay leaves and cook over moderately low heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper. Increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Transfer the onions to a bowl and stir gently to coat them with the syrup.
Serve at room temperature. The sweet and sour onions would be wonderful canned and could be kept for a while in the refrigerator. I think they'd be a flavorful alternative to water chestnuts for certain kinds of salads too.
Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese Truffles
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
2 yellow bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds arugula, large stems discarded
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 pound mild soft goat cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons fennel pollen or crushed fennel seeds (see Note)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
This dish was tasty and everyone loved the presentation of the little goat cheese truffles, but the next time I make it, I will likely substitute fresh spinach for the Arugula. I'm just not that fond of arugula! The peppers were heavenly. It was interesting to compare and contrast the flavors of the different roasted peppers. The sherry vinegar really sets these apart!
In a skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Add the peppers and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook over low heat until the peppers are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl.
Prepare a bowl of ice water. In a pot of boiling water, blanch the arugula until wilted, about 10 seconds. Transfer to the ice water to chill. Drain the arugula and gently squeeze it dry; chop coarsely.
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice with the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Put the goat cheese in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Using a tablespoon, scoop up the cheese and roll it into 24 balls. Put the fennel seeds, poppy seeds and paprika in bowls. Roll 8 cheese balls in the fennel seeds, 8 in the poppy seeds and 8 in the paprika.
To serve, mound the arugula on 8 plates and top with the bell peppers. Place one of each kind of goat cheese truffle on top of the arugula and drizzle with olive oil.
Funghi al Forno di Ricotta
It just wouldn't be right to have antipasti without some mushrooms. Frankly, it wasn't right to leave out eggplant either, but we managed to get by through extra courses of peppers! This appetizer is both tasty and super easy to prepare.
7 oz of good crumbly ricotta cheese
Zest of 2 lemons
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
4 Tablespoons finely chopped oregano
Handful of freshly grated Parmesan
8 Handfuls of mushrooms brushed clean
Extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 425F
Put the ricotta in a bowl with the lemon zest, chili, and salt and pepper.
Beat together with a wooden spoon then fold in the chopped oregano and
the Parmesan
Discard the staks from the mushrooms.
Toss the caps in a little oil, salt, and pepper.
Lay them upside down on a baking sheet.
Spoon in the filling, and add a little Parmesan over the top.
Bake for 15 minutes until golden
Artisanal Bread w/ Herbal Dipping Oil
Steve is slicing his artisanal bread. dipping sauce has been whipped up at the bottom...
Artisanal Bread
Roasted Garlic Cloves
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Chili Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
After roasting the garlic, combine all the ingredients to make the dipping oil. I did this based on the wonderful dipping oil our local Caruso's Italian restaurant provides. It benefits from having some time to sit and infuse the flavors into the oil. Careful with the salt. It's easy to have it turn out too salty after it sits for a while.
As for the artisanal bread, my friend Steve brought it over after baking it. I have no idea what was in it, but it sure was good for this meal!