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Posts Tagged ‘appetizers’

Homemade Cheese Crackers

Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 3, 2011| 1 Comment »

Whether it’s the combination of two cheeses – sharp white cheddar and parmigiano-reggiano – or the rich buttery taste that has a bite of cayenne pepper, these little cheese crackers are addicting. Start nibbling on one and you’ll soon find the whole bowl is empty! They are simple to make, unless you decide to cut them into tiny hearts and flowers like I did for a recent bridal shower. Whatever shape or size you choose, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with these crunchy, homemade, cheese crackers!

Cheese Crackers
A recipe from Saveur

Ingredients:
12 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
6 oz. sharp white cheddar; grated on small holes of a box grater (to yield 1-1/2 cups)
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
1-1/2 cups flour, preferably White Lily flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cayenne

Directions:
1. Put butter into a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.

2. Add cheeses and beat well.

3. Sift flour, salt, and cayenne together into another bowl.

4. Using your hands, quickly work flour mixture into butter mixture without overworking the dough. If dough remains crumbly, stir in 2 tbsp. ice water.

5. Gather dough into a ball.

6. Quarter dough, shape each piece into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

7. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

8. Roll out one piece of dough on a floured surface to 1/16″ thickness.

9. Using a 1-1/2″ round cookie cutter, cut out about 30 rounds and transfer to a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet about 1/2″ apart. Repeat process with remaining dough.

10. Bake crackers until puffed and golden, 6-8 minutes. Transfer crackers to a nontoxic paper bag or paper towels to let cool completely. Crackers will keep in an upright container for up to one month.

Makes about 10 dozen.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. I made different batches – one with sharp white cheddar and one with regular sharp cheddar. Tasters preferred the regular sharp cheddar. Obviously, the better the cheese, the better the flavor!

2. As mentioned before, these crackers can be cut into any shape or size. Just adjust the baking time. My small crackers were baked just under six minutes.

3. Although, these crackers can be stored for a while, I made them two days before the shower and stuck them in the oven the morning of the shower to re-crisp them.

4. Irish white cheddar cheese can normally be purchased at Costco or Sam’s Club.

5. If wrapped in a nice container, these crackers would make a wonderful hostess gift.

Enjoy!!

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Crab and Chive Puffs

Posted in About me, Holidays, Husbands, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on February 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

He: What are you doing?
Me: Making appetizers.
He: Are we having a Super Bowl party?
Me: Nope, they’re for my Super Goal party.
He: What?
Me: My Super G-O-A-L party.
I figure I’ll get a lot of things done today while you’re glued to the T.V.
He: Okay, but why the fancy food?
Me: Why should Super Bowl fans be the only ones over-indulging?
He: Are you gonna share?
Me: Only if you help!

I’m not a big football fan and I make no apologies for it. Since I did not plan to watch the big game with my hubby, I figured I could get some things done around the house and then sneak in some R & R (reading and recipe research). Super Bowl Sunday is synonymous with big time snacking, so my “Super Goal” party deserved to have some snacks, too. But for me no ordinary chip and dip snack would do . . . I needed something special . . . and then I remembered a recipe for Crab and Chive Puffs! So for our Super Day, my husband and I made these easy and tasty treats!

Crab and Chive Puffs
From Real Simple

Ingredients:
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (17.3 ounce box), thawed
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, more for garnish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound lump crabmeat

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut the pastry into rounds. Place on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, chives, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Fold in the crab.

4. Dividing evenly, spoon the crab mixture onto the pastry rounds (about 2 teaspoons each).

6. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the pastries are golden and crisp, 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with more chives, if desired. Serve hot.

Makes approximately 20.

Linnell’s Notes:
This recipe lends itself easily to variations. After step 3, I divided the crabmeat mixture into two parts. To one part, I mixed in a little curry powder. The other part was left as is. I proceeded to spoon the mixtures onto the pastry rounds as directed and baked according to directions. My favorite food taster liked the ones with a hint of curry better.

Even though the recipe is called Crab and Chive Puffs, I used green onions for the crabmeat mixture and used chives only for the garnish. The green onions I used were slender ones and not the wide, fat, almost-leek-like ones that are sold at some grocery stores!

Enjoy!

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Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Posted in About me, Holidays, Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 7, 2010| 10 Comments »

November 1982. That’s what it reads on the upper left-hand corner of a slightly tattered, grease-spotted, magazine page. There’s no additional clue to reveal the identity of the magazine from which I carefully tore out the page. That I saved this page all these years is impressive, but what is incredible to me is that in those early-parenting days I had enough time to read a magazine, let alone had the ambition to make the recipe on the page. Having an eighteen-month-old baby who never slept took its toll out on me back then. So why on earth would a sleep-deprived, working, young mom clip out a recipe for a fancy holiday hors d’oeuvre, when she barely had time to make herself a sandwich? I’m sure it was wishful thinking on my part that my baby would eventually be like others and take a four hour nap instead of a twenty-minute one or that I’d eventually be able to leave the house to make friends and have the energy to entertain! Ever the optimist!

Well, that baby grew up and sleeps quite a bit these days. Somehow I survived his sleepless ways and am thankful that I hung on to that page and recipe all these years. The Hot Mushroom Turnover recipe has become a family favorite. These delicate little turnovers are made with a forgiving cream-cheese pastry and filled with the goodness of fresh mushrooms, bits of onions, rich sour cream, and fragrant thyme. They’re great for holiday entertaining because you can freeze them unbaked –  popping them into the oven when you have company or just when you have a craving for them!

Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Ingredients:
1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups + 2 T all purpose flour, divided use
1/2 + 3 T cup butter, softened, divided use
1/2 pound mushrooms, minced
1 large onion, minced
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1-1/2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup butter until smooth. Shape into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, melt 3 T butter. Add mushrooms and onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream, salt, thyme, and 2 T flour; set aside.

3. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll half of dough 1/8-inch thick. With a floured 2-3/4-inch round cookie cutter or inverted glass, cut out as many circles as possible. Repeat.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

5. Onto one half of each dough circle, put 1 teaspoon of the mushroom mixture. Brush edges of circles with egg wash, using a small brush. Fold dough over filling. With fork, firmly press edges together to seal. Prick tops with fork.

6. Place turnovers on ungreased cookie sheet and brush tops with remaining egg wash.

7. Bake 12-14 minutes until golden.

Makes about 3-1/2 dozen.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Do not attempt to put more than 1 teaspoon of filling into the turnovers. The turnovers may not seal correctly or may burst while baking if they are over-filled.

2. The onions should be minced smaller than the mushrooms. The mushrooms shrink while they are cooking. Ultimately you want both components to be of the same size.

3. I seem to always have leftover filling. Either use the extra filling for something else (topping for Brie?) or double the amount of pastry dough.

4. In a pinch I think puff pastry sheets could be used instead of making scratch pastry.

5. If you freeze them, make sure you bake them a little longer.

Enjoy!

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Party Wings

Posted in In The Kitchen, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on February 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

I’m not a Super Bowl fan, but I do love a reason to eat party food! Here’s a recipe that I tested last week that was super simple and tasty!

My adaptation of Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings:
(Original recipe from PizzAmore, Mount Dora, Florida)

Serves 4
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried or fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (1/2 tsp table salt)
2 1/2 pounds chicken wings, cut at joints, wing tips discarded
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or melted butter)
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt (like Lawry’s)
1 cup blue cheese dressing
1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (or to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 425F. In a large bowl, mix together the oregano, rosemary, cumin and salt. Toss the chicken wings in this mixture and lay them on a baking sheet.

2. Bake the chicken wings for 20-25 minutes. While the chicken is baking, mix together the oil (or butter), fresh basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and seasoning salt.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the blue cheese dressing with the mustard (this is your dipping sauce)

3. When the chicken is cooked through, toss the wings with the garlic/cheese/butter sauce. Serve with the blue cheese/mustard dressing.

Note:The original recipe specified dried rosemary, but I used fresh rosemary because I do not like eating little bits of “sticks” that dried rosemary becomes. I’m a low sodium type person, so I felt the wings were a bit too salty for me, but other people thought they were fine.

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Reach For the Beans

Posted in In The Kitchen, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on December 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

‘Tis the season to be quick and speedy. With time at a premium, but a high desire to entertain, why not make life easier? That’s what I did when I needed a tasty appetizer in a hurry. I simply reached into my pantry and pulled out a can of cannellini beans. Cannellini beans are also called white kidney beans and like other beans, they are high high in protein and fiber and low in fat. Cannellini beans are popular in Tuscan dishes and other Italian cuisine.

Here’s a bean spread recipe that requires few ingredients and is a hearty appetizer when served with toasted baguette slices or pita chips. During the summer when tomatoes are abundant and flavorful, I gently fold in some fresh diced tomatoes after the mixture has been pulsed in the food processor. This is in addition to the sauteed ones. If the spread needs to be thinned, I add additional olive oil like the recipe states, but I use Meyer lemon infused olive oil for a brighter taste.

Cannellini Bean Spread Recipe

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Chef Kurtis Jantz of Trump International Beach Resort in Miami.

4 ounces olive oil, good quality
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 roma tomatoes, small, diced
15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed in cold water and drained
1/2 ounce Italian parsley leaves, rough chopped
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper, fresh-ground, to taste

In a medium, tall-sided sauce pot, add olive oil and heat on high until just below the smoking point. Remove from the heat and carefully add minced garlic. As soon as you smell the aromatics of the garlic (you do not want the garlic to get overly brown), add the tomatoes and stir well. Return pot to the stove over medium heat and add cannellini beans. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from stove, and let cool slightly. Fold in parsley. Using blender or food processor, pulse blend just until the beans are broken up but not pureed, leaving some texture. You can add more olive oil to the mixture if you like it thinner. Cool to room temperature and serve.

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Chinese-Style Puff Pastries with Pork in Hoisin Sauce

Posted in In The Kitchen, Recipes, tagged , , , , on November 10, 2009| 1 Comment »

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Not that I’m a party animal, but in about a week’s time I have made food to take to three different events. Here’s an easy recipe to make and take over to friends or to a potluck that originated from Steamy Kitchen’s Jaden Hair. It’s a spin-off of Chinese steamed pork buns, but uses puff pastry instead. The delicate puff pastry surrounds a savory meat mixture that has a little kick! I always double or triple the recipe, because these pastries don’t last long in my home! The delicious meat mixture would be fabulous, not to mention more healthy, if used in lettuce cups or lettuce wraps, too!

Linnell’s Adaptation of Chinese Pork Pastries
1/2 pound ground or minced pork* (I coarse chop pork butt in a Cuisinart)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (Dry sherry works as a substitute)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup minced green onion
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced canned bamboo shoots
1/4 cup diced Chinese black mushrooms** (first soaked in warm water until softened, and then stems removed)
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
1 teaspoon garlic-chili hot sauce
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
One small handful of cilantro, chopped
additional cornstarch + cold water

* Ground chicken or minced chicken could be substituted.
** If you don’t have dried Chinese black mushrooms, feel free to use dried or fresh Shitake mushrooms.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Marinate the ground pork in the soy, wine, sesame oil, cornstarch and sugar for at least 15 minutes at room temperature.

In a wok or large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add regular onion. Fry until onions are softened, about 1 minute. Add the green onions, garlic and ginger. Fry another minute until fragrant. Turn heat to high.

Add the marinated ground meat, mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Fry until the meat is almost cooked. Add oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, and hot sauce. Stir thoroughly. Adjust seasonings if needed: Add soy or oyster sauce if it needs more salt; if it needs to be more sweet/salty add more hoisin sauce; if you like it with a kick add more chili sauce.

If the sauce needs to be thickened, mix 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with about 1/4 cup of cold water and stir into the meat mixture. You want the sauce to be slightly thick so that it does not run out of the puff pastry. Let meat mixture cool.

Take your thawed puff pastry and place on a lightly floured cutting board. Cut each sheet into 4 squares for full-size puffs. Spoon filling onto one side, brush egg wash on the edges and bring over to fold into a triangle. Pinch to seal tightly, place on baking sheet. Brush egg wash on the tops of the pastry. Repeat with remaining.

Bake 350F degrees for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Note: By reducing the size of the pastry squares and the amount of filling, these pastries could be scaled down to appetizer size.

Enjoy!

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