Thank you Fae from Fae’s Twist and Tango for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award. This is my first award and what an honor to receive it from such a wonderful blogger. Fae is fascinated by cuisines far and wide and brings her culinary talents to her blog from the many recipes she has collected and revised from all her travels. You must visit Fae’s blog today, and you will be delighted as much as I am!
New Year’s Eve is almost here, oh yeah I already said that in the other Black and White Canape post. So here is the second B&W canapé that is quick, but elegant. Any time you use caviar the canape/appetizer becomes elegant, right? You start with a basic crostini, add some caviar, a little creme fraiche and you are on your way to an elegant canapé in a relatively short period of time. I know, you are thinking, she said the same thing in the other B&W post. I know, I know, but time is running out on 2012 so I don’t have a lot of time to be clever. Here we go….
New Year’s Eve is almost here, but if you need a couple of quick but elegant canapés, I have two I think you will like. First up is Olive Tapenade. You start with a basic crostini, add some black olive tapenade, a little creme fraiche and you are on your way to an elegant canapé in a relatively short period of time. Here we go….
This was one of my contributions for appetizers this Christmas Eve. They went quickly – so assuming they were well received. I love shrimp and if you add some onion and garlic to it, and then fry it, I love it even more! Will be looking to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet in 2013, but for the next few days till the end of 2012 I am concentrating on foods that I really, really like! So before I change my ways for 2013 I will make these again for New Years Eve – only more, lots more.
Watercress with cream cheese and pimento has become a standard for us at Christmas time and New Year’s Eve. We originally had this canape years ago from a catering company called If you are from the Bay Area, you might remember their Pink Bakery Boxes tied with pink curling ribbon that held the canapes – absolutely the best canapes from any caterer in the Bay Area, bar none. Unfortunately they closed their business in the mid-80’s. So sad…but I digress… I love this canape in large part to the contrast of flavors between the pungent red pimento against the peppery tones of the watercress. When you take that first, one perfect bite…. heaven. For New Year’s Eve I also make them with black caviar on top.
Photo compliments of Google I have pondered for days on what my next post should be, as the tragedy from last week in Newtown seems to be so overwhelming. As I am one to definitely find comfort in food, I thought making a few holiday hors d’oeuvre that I could share with friends and then post would cheer me up. I was wrong – like the rest of the world my heart is heavy with the sadness of last Friday. Someone forwarded me an article about Ann Curry’s suggested 20 Acts of Kindness Tribute to Sandy Hook Victims, which I thought was such an amazing and uplifting idea. Here is the article below for you to read:
It’s that time of year when family starts to descend on you for the holidays. Aunt Sue and Uncle Bernie and their 3 kids will be staying with you, and this year they are bringing the family dog Apollo, as he gets lonely in the kennel. Your mother-in-law and her new boyfriend are off for some sun and fun in Dubai, so they will be arriving before Christmas to visit and exchange gifts. Then of course there is the stress of shopping for gifts (who wears what, what size are they this year, what is that color they absolutely refuse to wear) and decorating the house (yes that does mean the roof too), all of which can drive a person into overload, then stress and anxiety build to a crescendo and you want to explode.
Beets and mandarin oranges are plentiful in my local grocery store, as both are in season. I recently had a delicious beet salad with mandarin oranges at the Trellis Restaurant in Kirkland. Then last week I had a great beet salad with mascarpone (no mandarins) at Tulio in Seattle. I liked both salads very much and decided to combine the flavors from both salads and came up with what you see here. This is about as easy a salad as you can get other than stopping at your local salad bar (which I am never in favor of). You do have to roast the beets, but it is quite easy,
Had enough turkey? I know I have, so I turned to the other “white meat” and made pork chops. In the summertime I take large pork chops and make a pocket, insert stuffing and then grill them. In winter I do them a little different as they are being cooked indoors and I don’t want them to end up tough. So instead I purchase “thin”, and I mean thin, pork chops and then lay one in the pan, add stuffing, and add a second on top. Works really well, cooks quickly, which means, not a tough chop in the bunch.
Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms. I add them to sauces, soups, chinese food, atop pizzas, sliced raw in salads, chicken casseroles, beef bourguignon, and on and on and on. They are minced, sliced, cubed, chopped, braised, stewed, fried, sautéed, used in place of beef (the Portobello is perfect for this) and they are even mashed if you are making Mushroom Pate. They are one of the most versatile vegetables, though technically they are really a fungus. And today I stuffed them with cream cheese, vermouth, bread crumbs and herbs in the traditional manner.
canapesandchocolate.com 