HotApp – Page 6 – Rosemary and the Goat

Hawaiian Pork Sliders

Let these little gems slide off your plate and into your mouth.

I have never seen the beautiful waters of Hawaii or taken a bike ride down the side of a volcano, or seen the pineapple fields or been there to bring back cans of macadamia nuts to friends or even sat on the beach enjoying the hula dancers as we chowed down on an elaborate luau.

It’s been a year since my daughter and her husband got married (how time flies). They had such a beautiful wedding and then honeymooned in Hawaii so I thought I would make these little Hawaiian Pork Sliders on their anniversary.

These little sliders are great for any kind of party whether it’s at home, a tail gating party or even your bunco group which is where I’m taking mine. You can serve these open face or closed on the toasted Hawaiian roll.

I don’t normally use Hawaiian rolls because they are sweet, but I think for this little slider with grilled pork, a crunchy slaw with a little pineapple and a kick of Texas heat they make the perfect bun. If you don’t want to serve this on the buns, just do the pork tenderloin with the sauce and serve with whatever sides you want. I think lining a dish with the slaw and putting the pork tenderloin in the middle and a then drizzle with a little of the sauce would be a beautiful presentation.

October 19, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Crispy Asparagus Straws

Asparagus Straws for your next party.

I know Spring has been here and gone and we are looking at a hot dry summer ahead of us. But you can always get fresh asparagus, just not always at the low springtime prices.

(On our way to Chicago to see grandson #4; #3 arrived 2 months ago.)

When we were at the Food and Wine Festival in Austin (Texas) a couple of years ago, one of the caterers had several items made with phyllo. So that got me to thinking about this recipe I have had for a while and not made for several years.

I have always liked working with phyllo and never really understood some people’s “fear” of the stuff. If it tears you just piece it together and continue on with the recipe. I have made roses with phyllo for a platter garnish, I’ve used it for desserts, I’ve made a Chicken in Phyllo with Lemon Veloute Sauce, there are all kinds of appetizer recipes out on the web just begging for someone to try them. Here is a wonderful dessert I posted a couple of years ago. It looks so elegant and is delicious to boot and really easy — Mandarin Orange Napoleons.

If you have never used phyllo, you should give it a try. Just make sure it is thawed either at room temperature or in the refrigerator and keep it covered with a tea towel while making your recipe and you will have no problems.

Appetizers are one of my favorite things to make and definitely my favorite type party to cater. Sometimes I tend to fill friends up too quickly on the appetizers before getting to the meal and I really need to start reeling myself in when it comes to the amount of food I prepare. Usually I have enough food to feed a small army. An appetizer is suppose to whet your appetite for the food to come, not kill your appetite and I admit, I’m guilty of that.

A lemon dipping sauce would also be great with this recipe.

June 17, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Cheese Stuffed Baby Bells

Colorful appetizer for your summer parties.

Some how I forgot to take a picture of these little peppers after they were plated.

With Memorial Day just around the corner, here’s a new recipe for your grill and appetizer files.

I just love these little baby bell peppers. I have always loved stuffed bell peppers like my mother use to make with ground beef, onion, rice, some tomato sauce and seasoning. One of these days I’m going to try and make these mini peppers with a meat and cheese filling, maybe just add some ground cooked meat to the below recipe for a start.

There’s just something about cute little vegetables that are so appealing to me. I think for one thing, they have a sweeter taste. And, other mini vegetables like long baby carrots, baby zucchini, patty pan squash and the little fingerling potatoes and of course the cipolini onions just make a plate of food move up a couple of notches on the appealing factor.

May 18, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Entree/ Game/ HotApp

Duck Confit

So you say, “what is duck confit” and what are you going to do with it.

I tried to anticipate what we might be eating and tried a few French recipes. I’m sure I will be taking a lot of food pictures and I will post some of our favorite places and meals when we return.

In just a few more hours and we will be boarding our plane for France. A week in Paris and a week in Provence I’m sure the trip is going to be wonderful with breathtaking scenery, new experiences and lots of wonderful food. I am sure that we will be seeing duck confit on all the menus; so I decided to make it before our trip then I can compare my version to theirs.

I tried to anticipate what we might be eating while there and tried a few French recipes before going. I’m sure I will be taking a lot of food pictures while there an

Duck confit is a French dish made with the leg/thigh of the duck and it is prepared in a century-old process that consists of salt curing the duck legs and then poaching slowly submerged in its own fat for hours.

The duck legs are rubbed with garlic, herbs (thyme) and salt (I love using thyme because my herb garden is full of it), then refrigerated 36-48 hours. After rinsing off the salt and herbs the meat is slowly poached for 6-8 hours and the meat and fat are removed from the bone. After the meat has cooled it can be put into a container and submerged in the fat. A sealed jar of duck confit can be refrigerated for up to six months or longer. You need to top the meat in the jar with at least 1″ of fat.

One weekend when we were in Austin visiting our kids, my son was chopping up some duck legs that he had confitted (if that is a word). Anyway, my grandson, Milo, who was only two at the time stood on his chair, watching his dad cook and ate a whole pile of chopped duck legs.

My duck legs were not easily found; I looked all over Houston for duck legs and finally found them at Central market (by phone) but at $6.99 lb. So, what I love most about the internet is that after searching just a little while, no driving, traffic, or gas involved, I found the duck legs at Maple Leaf Farms at $2.99 for 12 oz. leg/thigh. So I ordered six. Why not order more than I needed since I had to pay shipping anyway and on top of that I found a promo code for $5.00 off. So I ordered 6 legs for $25 and that included shipping. I search for promo codes on EVERYTHING I order off the internet. Usually one can be found for a percentage off, free shipping or at least $5.00 off. In this case I got $5.00 off so, what a deal; now I don’t have to drive into Houston. So if you need a promo code, just Google promo code for…. (whatever) and you may have to look through a couple of sites before you find one that works.

I did find whole duck at this Asian market in Houston ,BUT, the frozen and fresh ducks had their heads and feet still on and I just couldn’t bring myself to buying them; they kind of gave me the heebe geebies to look at them. I know I have eaten tripe, lamb fries, tongue and different organ meats that most people wouldn’t think of eating but there was just something about seeing the head and legs/feet still on the duck all curled up in the package made me shiver just to think of it.

March 16, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Mushroom Asparagus Tarts

Finally this recipe makes an appearance.

I can’t believe I had this recipe ready to post in March 2010 but never got around to trying it. What a mistake, it is a delicious appetizer or even a brunch or main dish item.

Yesterday, I had a guy from our local camera shop come to my house and give me tips for taking better food pictures. (These may not be BETTER yet, I’m a work in progress when it comes to learning new things.) Like this recipe, it took be a year and a half to get around to using a gift card my husband had given me from the camera shop. But, I finally set things up and it was definitely beneficial and I hope my pictures eventually improve.

So, in anticipation for my visit I made these Mushroom Asparagus Tarts, a Sugar Plum Cake (will post that), some Rosemary Blue Cheese Wafers (coming soon), and a red cabbage and fennel salad (also to make an appearance). So I had all this food ready to take pictures of for my lesson and I just wanted to dig in and try some of it.

I could tell from the aroma of cooking the asparagus and mushrooms that this was going to be delicious, and how good they would taste with a glass of wine. I took this to our bunco group last night and everyone loved them. I can’t wait to make them again and may vary some of the ingredients and try tomato and caramelized onion for another time. I had four squares left and brought them home and it didn’t take long for my husband to gobble up a couple of them.

March 8, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Entree/ Fish/Seafood/ HotApp

Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp w/ Orange Marmalade Sauce

Delicious coconut shrimp from Hawaiian feast night.

I’ve blogged a coconut shrimp recipe before but this is a little different and one of the recipes from our Hawaiian feast on Thanksgiving weekend.

My first recipe was coated in an almond meal which can be pretty expensive to buy. This recipe has some Cajun seasoning (I used Tony’s) and hot sauce which spices it up a bit.

For my course on feast night I did three coconut shrimp per plate and then a little puddle of the orange marmalade dipping sauce. I have made orange marmalade before so I knew that part of my course was going to be easy. In fact, I did the orange marmalade a week before. The recipe for the orange marmalade just called for one orange but I used four because I wanted some extra jars of marmalade in my pantry for this winter.

One thing about making the orange marmalade though is it will only be as good as your oranges. I used Texas oranges when I made mine and they had a lot of seeds to pick out and they were not as orange color on the inside as I would have liked them to be. Look for naval oranges and I don’t think you can go wrong. I have been wanting to try blood oranges for this recipe; the color would be beautiful for a sauce or on your toast, scones or morning bagel. OR, even easier, just buy a good orange marmalade.

I think this would be a nice little appetizer to do during the Christmas holidays.

December 16, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Oyster BLT Amuse

How about another Amuse Bouche (a two bite Amuse)

Back when my daughter and I were shopping for her wedding dress, we had dinner one night at the Parkside Restaurant on 6th street in Austin. If you have never been to sixth street in Austin it is a street full of restaurants, bars, bars and more bars. And tucked into all these college kid hangouts is this trendy restaurant, Parkside. I love their bar foods and also their mixed drinks. Their raw bar is the freshest around, their fried okra with ranch dip awesome.

We had several appetizers that night before moving on to another place for dinner. I was amused by this BLT Oyster on their menu and decided I wanted to recreate it.

I have never been an oyster fan, in fact, I have eaten raw oysters only once and cooked oysters several ways a few other times. But like I have said before; what isn’t good fried. Put the oyster on top of a slice of really good French baguette along with a couple of sauces, some arugula leaves, bacon and tomato and you have yourself one enticing little bite. So, I’m calling this an Amuse Bouche. I would probably make just one per person, serve it in the middle of a small plate with some sauce smeared on the plate and garnish with a few arugula leaves.

November 25, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Bacon Wrapped Dates with Balsamic

Sweet and salty — Who doesn’t like that combination?

I’m always looking for new tapas recipes or quick bites of food that will be easy to make yet very tasty to the palate. This would be a great little Thanksgiving appetizer to tease everyone’s taste buds before sitting down to your fantastic Thanksgiving dinner.

I love eating tapas. What is a tapas you say? Well, it isn’t a particular kind of food. Anything can be a tapas as long as it is a small serving of just about anything served with a drink. While in Spain last year we had Pork in Whiskey Sauce which could have been a meal but it was served as a very small course with our drinks — so tapas. Or, like some cheese and breads served with a little paté — tapas. A tapas is just a small dish of a snack, appetizer or food.

I think I first had bacon wrapped dates at Mercat, a tapas restaurant, in Chicago. We ordered several tapas that night and what I remember about their dates is that they bought them out on a long skinny white tray. They also bought out a tiny little white porcelain pitcher that had my interest; now what was in that pitcher and what were they going to do with it’s contents. As it turned out, it was full of the smoothest, cheesiest Stilton sauce I have tasted and they proceeded to pour the sauce over the plate of dates.

This tapas was so wonderful, the sweetest of dates pared with the almond and blue cheese that it was stuffed with, then wrapped in a salty bacon to boot, was great. And then if that wasn’t enough to put a person over the edge, it was drizzled with a sauce that just made you want more than the one bite you knew you were going to get because you were sharing this tapas course with three other people and one of those people was your husband and the other your son and daughter-in-law. So, this was no time to be hoggish and ask for more.

November 12, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Mushroom Turnovers in Cream Cheese Pastry

All I can say is YUM!

A little drizzle of truffle oil (optional) and you have a delicious appetizer.

I don’t know about your grocery, but my grocery store carries so many different kinds of mushrooms it is hard to choose just one variety. There are the white button mushrooms (this recipe), black mushroom, chanterelle, cremini, shiitake, porcini, portobello, clamshell, enok, morel, and oyster.

Over the years I have made some wonderful dishes with mushrooms. I make fabulous Pepperoni Stuffed Mushrooms that I actually won a contest with that recipe. My Balsamic Mushroom Panini appetizer is a fancy grilled cheese that is opened up and topped with sauteed mushrooms. A duxelle filling can be put into phyllo cups or can be put under the skin of chicken breast for a beautiful entree. Of course, mushrooms can always be sliced and used on veggie trays and what dish isn’t made better by adding some mushrooms.

May 15, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Duck Crepe with Port Wine Cherry Sauce

A Delicious appetizer we had at Galatoires in New Orleans.

I knew when I tasted this dish I would soon be trying my own version at home. (Picture is of the crepe we had that night.)

Back in September on our Mother/daughter trip to New Orleans we had some of the most wonderful food I have ever tasted. Dinner our first night there was at Galatoires and since we were celebrating our birthday weekend (we celebrated every night), we chose this landmark restaurant as our first meal in The Big Easy. We shared this crepe and also tried their sweetbreads which were melt in your mouth delicious.

I’ve had duck before and probably quite often growing up. My dad would go duck hunting and my mother would bake the duck in the oven and all I remember is this dry bumpy skin that didn’t taste that good and occasionally finding a buckshot in your mouth that didn’t belong there. Then my parents started making creole duck which was kind of stewed and would fall off the bone in this spicy sauce and we would serve it with wild rice.

A whole new world of eating duck opened up to me when my son Paul introduced me to duck rillettes, duck pate, and duck confit. I have made duck confit before for a cassoulet recipe we did one Thanksgiving and also made the duck confit for this recipe. We used this Duck Crepe with Port Wine Cherry Sauce as part of our New Orleans FEAST meal that we did the day after Thanksgiving. (Every year we pick a different theme or country and everyone cooks — this recipe was my contribution.)

January 22, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Parmesan Shrimp Toast

A fabulous appetizer from my catering files.

I have been making this recipe for about 10 years for parties I have catered and my own parties. Last year I finally let go of my Garden Vegetable Terrine (mold) recipe that everyone had always wanted. So, this year, I decided to share this recipe.

I came across this recipe in an old Southern Living cookbook from the 70’s. The original recipe was called Seafood Tart-lets and it called to cut out bread circles and press them into mini muffin pans, fill with the seafood mixture and bake in the oven. That just didn’t cut it for me when I was trying to make them for 50-100 people. So, I decided to try putting the mixture on a baguette slice and I’ve never looked back at the original recipe.

The old recipe called for canned shrimp (gasp) and the powdered type of Parmesan cheese. I always use fresh or frozen shrimp and chop them in about 4-5 pieces each. I use freshly grated Parmesan and Swiss cheese and top with a sprinkle of paprika. Fresh thyme makes a really pretty garnish also.

At one party I catered someone came up to me and said this appetizer was like “sex on toast” — whatever that is suppose to mean. I guess they liked it and these are always a crowd pleaser. I have yet to try substituting lump crab meat and have no doubt it would be just as delicious as with the shrimp.

November 22, 2010 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Fried Eggplant Chips with Honey Drizzle

Another tapas recipe from Spain.

I’ve talked on and on about all the wonderful tapas we had on our trip to Spain and here is yet another recipe that I have tried.

I love tapas and you can turn just about any appetizer into a tapas. Make small portions and serve on small plates and you have a tapas. This tapas just happens to be made from eggplant and is drizzled with honey and will definitely be a favorite of your guests.

I’m not sure when I actually first had eggplant but I know it wasn’t anytime before I was about 40 years old. It’s hard to believe I had never eaten eggplant and it wasn’t a vegetable my dad ever grew in his garden (and he grew just about everything). Probably the first recipe I tasted using this dark purple, night shade vegetable was Eggplant Parmesan at some Italian restaurant and I now make Eggplant Caponata, PF Chang’s recipe for spicy eggplant and several other recipes.

One night at a tapas bar in Seville (our favorite bar) we kept ordering tapas that we saw other people ordering. Since we couldn’t read or speak any Spanish we just went by how something looked and said “we’ll have that”. I really thought this dish was zucchini chips but when I looked up the word later that night, I found out that it was eggplant and that the drizzle was honey.

October 15, 2010 By Sherry

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