Appetizers – Page 11 – Rosemary and the Goat

Mini Grilled Pork Skewers

Star skewers!

Don’t you just love cute little foods on a stick. Forget those corn dogs, although I make a pretty darn good corn dog that would rival any concession stand at your county fair; forget those caramel apples on a stick and how about the deep fried Twinkie on a stick. So long beloved Twinkie. Even though I haven’t eaten a Twinkie in years, I do have fond memories of the pillowy puffs of cake with that yummy vanilla filling.

If you are tired of preparing the same old appetizers for your get-togethers, why not try this pork skewer for your Christmas company. Spicy and nice and not that hard to make.

I love pickonuscom. They have some of the cutest picks. I bought these star picks to use during the holidays and also some heart shaped ones. I couldn’t pass up some little blue porpoises ones I plan to use at the beach this summer for our family vacation. (I’m already planning the food and I want to have an “app of the day”, “cocktail of the day” and maybe even an “ice cream of the day.” I may do my pickled shrimp in a jar and use the cute porpoise pics. I also found horseshoe and horse pics which will be great for my daughter’s annual derby party; can’t wait to hear what she comes up with to spear for her guest.

I saw Giada make these cute little pork skewers and they are delicious to boot. As usual, I’m testing these out on my bunco group along with the cranberry avocado salsa recipe of my daughter by way of Martha Stewart.

December 16, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ ColdApp

Cranberry Avocado Salsa

Beautiful for the holidays.

Santa may want this under the tree instead of a plate of cookies.

You aren’t a Texan if you don’t like avocados. That’s an observation I made along time ago after moving here; with Mexican restaurants on just about every corner, guacamole is everywhere and there are good recipes and not so good recipes. You can’t go wrong with avocado, lots of cilantro, garlic, lime juice, jalapeño and a little salt and pepper. Sometimes I even throw in some chopped up tomato. Serve with a big bowl of warmed chips and I could make a meal on it.

I have made avocado finger sandwiches before (delicious), I love fried avocado and have even prepared it with an egg in the center, avocado egg rolls are delicious from The Cheesecake Factory. I have a recipe for deviled eggs (and who doesn’t like deviled eggs) that has guacamole mixed in with the mashed egg mixture and then a tad of salsa to garnish the top of the stuffed egg. (totally off topic)–Over Thanksgiving my daughter-in-law and I were talking about deviled eggs and how people shouldn’t mess with a traditional deviled egg. One of her friends and husband was over for Thanksgiving dinner and she brought deviled eggs. Delicious, (she messed with the traditional recipe) and she added minced jalapeño and cumin. They were so good. So I am taking back “messing” with the standard deviled egg. I will be adding cumin and jalapeño next week when I make some. But you can mess with salsa in so many ways.

Back to the avocado and cranberry salsa. My daughter made this one year for Christmas and the bowl was devoured in no time. I always love my daughter’s recipes, they definitely tend to be healthier than some of mine. This just happens to be one of Martha Stewart’s recipes. My dad was a big Martha Stewart fan and defended her even after she went away for awhile and when she returned, he was back to watching her cook.

So with holidays fast approaching this is a recipe that would be quick and beautiful to boot to take to a party or even to serve on Christmas Eve with some red and green tortilla chips. I think it would be delicious served next to a grilled pork loin, chop or tenderloin.

December 8, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp/ Sauces

The Best Egg Rolls

Great beginnings — Our Egg Rolls.

Crisp and delicious.

I’m sorry if I always think (I don’t actually say it) my recipes are the best. That isn’t always true, BUT (my husband says I say BUT way too much) this recipe is better than any (of course) that you would buy frozen and better than any I have ever had in a Chinese restaurant.

My sister started making these years ago and of course shared the recipe with me. She and a friend once made 1000 of these for an Arts & Craft event. My kids actually use to help me make them and we would do a double batch, some small ones in won ton wrappers and mostly the larger ones in egg roll or spring roll wrappers. A quick fry, drain, cool and then to the freezer (after sampling quite a few) so they can be enjoyed at anytime you have an egg roll craving.

I use to cook Asian food quite often; and I don’t know why I quit but I use to love doing moo gai pan, sukiyaki, fried rice, and egg foo yung and of course these egg rolls. Maybe the reason is because we can find Thai, Chinese and just about any other kind of Asian food restaurant in our area. This winter, I’m committing to doing more of those quick stir fry dishes that makes getting dinner on the table faster and I just love being able to do everything in one pan.

December 4, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp/ Sandwiches

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/ ColdApp/ Salads

Tomato Crab Amuse Bouche

Amuse your guest with this crab salad

When I made crab cakes recently I decided to save some crab and the next day I made this delicious crab salad. What I did with the salad was make a cute little amuse bouche. Last year on several occasions I bought crab and was so disappointed with my finished recipe I did not think I would ever buy it again. I’m glad I did and I just love this little stuffed tomato.

A while back I was looking at a catering magazine and saw a little stuffed tomato that someone made and it was stuffed with some type of risotto. There was no recipe so I had to come up with my own version of what to fill the tomato with. What I really like about the look of this appetizer is that the tomato is blanched and peeled. I used campari tomatoes, blanched for about 3-4 seconds and then plunged into ice water and then slipped the peeling off. The crab salad was a perfect light filling. This little blanched, peeled tomato would make the perfect vessel for any type of salad you may want to put in it, just put up something at the market for a filling and you have a gorgeous appetizer.

This may have to be a knife and fork appetizer but would make a good first course to any meal if made bigger. I added a grilled shrimp to the top of each. In fact, I cut the shrimp in half because it was too big for the tomato.

September 29, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ ColdApp

Pickled Shrimp in a Jar

Another recipe for a jar.

Have you ever been in a pickle for something to put out at a party or what to take to someones’s house when they say bring one of your favorite appetizers. Are you always looking for something other than a piece of cheese to put on a cracker like I am.

Have you had pickle thoughts, or looked at someone with a sour face and thought he must have been weaned on a pickle, or ever thought pickles are cucumbers that sold out because they were tired of laying around with nothing else to do. Or, if you are like me, I want to find some other things to pickle than that long green cucumber that makes the most yummy cucumber spread for sandwiches. Why ruin it pickling it.

Over the years I have pickled okra, yellow squash, beets, cucumbers, pickled vegetables and even slaw but I have never pickled a shrimp before so I’m really hoping this is going to become a favorite — a little recipe you can throw together in the morning, put it in some cute jars, buy some fancy crackers and pack it up and take it to a party and sit back and watch everyone enjoy themselves.

As usual I started looking at one recipe and ended up with three recipes with what I thought were pretty interesting spices for the shrimp so they all merged into this Pickled Shrimp in a Jar.

We we out on the lake recently with some friends who have a pontoon boat. We always go out around 5:00 in the evening, find a little cove, throw out some noodles and get in the water and float for an hour or so all the time sipping on some wine or beer. We all always bring food to eat and my husband had made a smoked brisket and we had a wonderful corn dish and some yummy ramen slaw. I had made this jar of shrimp early in the day and we pulled it out for a nice little appetizer to snack on while Hub sliced up the brisket. It was great.

September 16, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ ColdApp

Macadamia Nut Encrusted Goat Cheese

You don’t have to be in Hawaii to enjoy these nuts.

I first had this appetizer at Tommy Bahama’s restaurant here in The Woodlands. I knew at first bite, it would be a favorite of mine. Some recipes are so easy to duplicate at home that I sometimes don’t think I even need recipes at all except then I would not have anything to play around with.

Six years ago I had the courage to ask The Moonshine Grill in Austin if I could bring this appetizer for my son and daughter-in-law’s rehearsal dinner we had at their restaurant. They probably thought that girl has “gall” but they agreed and in fact they put it on a tray for me with the bread slices and made it very pretty. Of course, everyone loved it.

If it weren’t enough that I brought one of our own appetizers for that night, I actually had the nerve to copy one of their recipes right off their menu — Corn Dog Shrimp with Honey Mustard and Blueberry Swirl. It’s actually still on their menu so it must be very popular. I’ve always heard that Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

On our recent trip to Chicago I actually emailed Leopold restaurant when we returned and told them how much we enjoyed our evening and asked for their recipe of chocolate pave. I didn’t actually say “give it to me” or anything like that. I smoozed and told them the food was wonderful and the dessert was the best and did they share recipes. A very nice person emailed me back and told me how they made it. So, it never hurts to ask.

July 21, 2012 By Sherry

Appetizers/ ColdApp

Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush. What a funny sounding name.

I can’t say that I have always known what Baba ganoush was. In fact, I am sure, at one time or other, I probably thought it was something some sheik in the Sahara dessert was yelling from his tent — “hey, bring me my baba ghnoush”. As far as I knew that could have meant his slippers, his camel, or his wife. I never really gave much thought to what it was or what you did with it.

Then one time I remember seeing this dip and thinking it was hummus and was told it was Baba Ganoush and it was made from eggplant.

So today I found myself with an eggplant (I was going to grill) that had been sitting out on my counter for a couple of days, and my husband doesn’t liked grilled eggplant anyway; so instead of making something he probably wasn’t going to eat, I decided to try this Baba Ganoush recipe. I had the tahani, lemon, garlic, olive oil and even some very nice pita I had bought down in Houston. So, why not make a little appetizer we can enjoy out by the pool at the end of the day while hub’s grilling our pork chops. Oh, how I like summer and nice weather here in Texas (when it isn’t scorching hot) and the main reason is that my husband does most of the cooking outside and he still LOVES his Kamoto Joe ceramic smoker.

Sometimes this dip is called Caviar d’aubergine and is a very tasty and easy to make spread that can be made several days in advance as it only improves with age. Hope you will try this.

Do you have your favorite dip/spread that guests drool over? If so, leave a comment on what they are.

July 11, 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/ ColdApp

Fig and Cheese Bruschetta

Figs and Blue cheese – Yum!

What a easy and delicious little appetizer to serve at your summer parties.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone and happy birthday to my daughter, Alexis.

I’m always looking for recipes that are easy to throw together on a moments notice and this recipe is perfect for a last minute appetizer. I don’t find many things hard to make so sometimes If I say easy to throw together, I hope I’m not too far off and, you can make changes to this one and still have a tasty bite. (see note below)

Appetizers are by far my favorite things to make. I always loved catering cocktail parties because of all the fun little tidbits I could make for the guests to try. There’s just something I like better about trying a lot of little cocktail foods vs a big plate of food. With cocktail foods you can keep going back for more and no one really notices how much you have eaten. 🙂

This is another recipe I decided to try out on our bunco group. I hope they like it. (RESULTS– They were a hit.)

I had really hoped to find fresh figs in the market. I tried a couple of different places but had no luck. One store told me they had tried to get them but at the time they were $30/lb. So for now I’m using these dried figs and decided to drizzle them with a little fig balsamic vinegar. The balsamic and the honey paired great together.

My dad always had figs growing at their place and now my sister has the opportunity to go pick those figs anytime she wants when they are in season. I always wanted to try a fresh Fig Newton cookie with them but that’s still on my “to try” list of things.

The original recipe was just blue cheese spread on baguette slice with two fresh fig halves on top. I decided I would like to use Cambozola cheese (blue and Camembert mixed). I thought that would be too expensive so I bought a box of Camembert and a package of Magtag blue cheese. Not a good decision. I spent probably twice as much on the two cheeses as I would have if I had gone on and bought the Cambozola — live and learn I guess.

I chose to serve this bruschetta at room temperature. It would be good either hot or room temp.

May 28, 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/ Bread/ ColdApp

Rosemary Blue Cheese Wafers

Blue cheese and rosemary, what a combination.

Délicieux!

We had some wonderful blue cheeses while in France so I decided this would be a nice little cracker to make upon coming home.

A friend made these from Ina Garten’s Paris cookbook and I loved them at first bite. Ina used Stilton in her recipe and I had thought about using a Roquefort cheese since that is from France. BUT, at our store they only carried one brand of Roquefort at $32.00 a pound. Yikes, I was not about to spend that much on a recipe I was trying out for the camera guy coming to my house that day.

So I bought another French blue cheese, D’Auvergne, which was around $16/lb and I only needed 8 ounces. This cheese is made in France and from cow’s milk which has a creamier taste than Roquefort which is made with ewe’s milk. I found this interesting — Blue d’Auvergne was created in 1854 by a producer of Roquefort. After noticing fungus on his bread, he tried to mix the same fungus with the cheese. A littler later, the farmer pierced the cheese so that the air could enter into it and help to develop the blue mould. These days the cheese is inoculated with Penicillin Roquefort. This cheese is best served at room temperature and is a perfect blue for salad dressings.

For anyone who does not know the different types of blue cheese, here’s a quick run down and I may have forgotten a few.

Roquefort is blue cheese from France

Stilton is blue cheese from England

Gorgonzola is from Italy

Cabrales comes from Spain and is a very pungent blue cheese.

Cambozola is one of my favorites. this cheese is German and they combine camembert with blue gorgonzola.

Bavarian is a mild and creamy German blue cheese.

Then you have the Irish bleu, the Danish blue, the Maytag blue which is American, and the list goes on and on.

So, when it comes to blue cheese, just choose what your pocketbook will allow.

I decided to add some rosemary to the recipe because I love the flavor with the blue cheese.

April 16, 2012 By Sherry