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Posts Tagged ‘Appetizers’
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
I want to share with you, I was thrilled when Frigidaire’s Accessories Store recently asked to feature one of my recipes on their website. This store sells home appliances as well as an array of other products that include cooking tools like bakeware, pots and pans, cutlery, and food prep tools. I submitted my recipe for Cherry Jam (my new favorite meal accessory ;) ) and it should be posted soon on the recipe section of their website!
Girard’s Salad Dressings recently contacted me to ask if I would be interested in receiving a few of their salad dressings to try. I happily agreed and they generously sent me three new flavors: Apple Poppyseed, Creamy Balsamic, and Peach Mimosa, as well as their signature Champagne Dressing. So far, I’ve tried the Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette, which I thought was delicious. It’s a nice blend of sweet and savory flavors and the white wine vinegar is a delicately tart addition. I used this dressing in a stone fruit salad I made for canapés, but I also think the stone fruit salad would wonderful served with grilled chicken or fish, stirred into plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey, or scooped up with tortilla chips.
Photo Provided by Girard’s
I used nectarine in my salad because I thought the pretty red skin would be a nice contrasting color to the orange flesh of the fruit. You can use any stone fruit you want, such as plums, cherries, apricots, or peaches (although you might want to peel the fuzzy skin off peaches if you decide to use them).
 Stone Fruit Salad Canapés
(Yield: 4 appetizer-sized servings)
6 thin slices multigrain bread
2 TB canola oil
2 oz Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese if you prefer)
1 TB plus 2 tsp Girard’s Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette
1 tsp honey
1 small nectarine, diced (about 1/2 to 2/3 c diced)
1 TB minced fresh mint
Use a small round biscuit cutter (about 2 inches in diameter) to stamp out 2 circles from each slice of bread; you’ll end up with 12 bread circles. (Don’t throw out the leftover bread – you can turn it into croutons or bread crumbs.) In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, add the oil; when the oil is hot, add the bread circles and cook until golden on each side, flipping once (about 3 minutes per side). Remove the bread and let any excess oil drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
In a small bowl, combine the Neufchatel with 1 TB Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette and 1 tsp honey until smooth. In a separate small bowl, stir together the diced nectarine, minced mint, and remaining 2 tsp Peach Mimosa Vinaigrette.
Spread a little of the Neufchatel mixture on top of each piece of bread, then top with the nectarine mixture. Serve immediately.
 Now for the giveaway! Girard’s was kind enough to offer five of my readers the chance to win a Girard’s prize pack. Each prize pack includes the three new flavors: Apple Poppyseed, Creamy Balsamic, and Peach Mimosa, as well as their signature Champagne Dressing (all dressings included in the prize pack are pictured above). (Apologies to my over-seas readers; this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents.)
You do not need a blog to participate! You can participate in the following ways (you can do as many as you like; please leave a separate comment for each):
- Leave a comment telling me which dressing you’re most excited to try.
- Add me to your blogroll and leave a comment letting me know.
- Subscribe to my posts feed and leave a comment letting me know.
- Subscribe to my email feed and leave a comment letting me know.
- “Like me” on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.
- Link back to this giveaway on your blog and leave a comment letting me know.
This giveaway ends July 24th at 9PM EST. After that I’ll use a random number generator to determine the five winners. Good luck!
Last but not least, on to my announcement! Mike and I are going to New York City for a summer vacation…I haven’t been to NYC in about five years, so I’m pretty excited. I’ll be back in about 10 days!
 Picture of the MET I Took Last Time I Was in NYC
Tags: Appetizers, Canapés, Giveaways, New York City, Recipes, Salad Dressing, Stone Fruit
Posted in Announcements, Giveaways, Product Reviews, Recipes | 71 Comments »
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
These pretty little morsels are perfect for a picnic or party. They’re portable and they taste amazing served straight out of the oven or at room temperature. This recipe makes 24 two-bite sized canapés, but you can adjust this number based on how large or small you make them. These were delicious as is, but next time I make them I think I’ll experiment and add a sprinkle of something on the top…maybe powdered sugar or basil chiffonade? Any other garnish suggestions?…I would love to hear them!
I’m sending this recipe off to Kamran at The Sophisticated Gourmet for this week’s BSI…brown sugar!
Balsamic & Brown Sugar Fig Canapés
(Yield: 24 two-bite sized canapés)
2 fresh figs, diced
1 TB lightly packed brown sugar
1 TB balsamic vinegar
Dash salt and pepper
2 oz Havarti cheese, thinly sliced
1 sheet puff pastry
1 TB slivered almonds, toasted
Butter, to grease the pans
Preheat the oven to 400F. In a small saucepan, add the figs, brown sugar, vinegar, and a dash of salt and pepper; cook on medium-low heat for 6-8 minutes or the fig sauce until thickened. Cut the pastry into 24 equal pieces (there’s no need to roll it out). Lightly grease two baking pans with butter and arrange the pastry on the pans about 1” apart. Top each pastry with a small amount of cheese, ½ tsp of fig sauce, and a sprinkle of slivered almonds. Bake for 14 minutes (or until the pastry is light golden brown), rotating the pans after 7 minutes.
Tags: Appetizers, Balsamic Vinegar, Blogger Secret Ingredient, Brown Sugar, Canapés, Fig
Posted in Recipes | 24 Comments »
Sunday, August 9th, 2009
Pizza logs are delicious, easy to make, and they’re a fun way to switch up pizza night. Plus, if you’ve got kids who are picky eaters, pizza logs are a great way to sneak veggies into their food. Like a pizza, you can customize them and use any filling you want…turkey pepperoni and mushrooms are another favorite of mine.
Baked Pizza Logs with Sausage, Pepper, and Onion
(Yield: 8 pizza logs)
1 link Tofurky Italian Sausage, diced
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 TB olive oil
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ c thick marinara sauce
8 eggroll wraps (I used Melissa’s)
1 egg white beaten with 1 TB water (for egg wash)
Cooking spray
Preheat the oven to 425F. Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat and add the sausage; sauté for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the onion and red pepper and sauté for another 5 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
To make the eggrolls, place 1 eggroll wrap in front of you with one corner pointing down (in a diamond shape). Slightly toward the lower half of the eggroll skin, place 1 TB of marinara sauce, ~2 TB of the sausage filling, and ½ oz of cheese. Wrap the bottom point up over the filling, then wrap the sides in. Securely (but gently) roll the eggroll up; just before you finish rolling, lightly brush the top point of the eggroll skin with the egg wash. (For step-by-step photo instructions on how to roll eggrolls, see here.)
Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, line the eggrolls ~1” apart on the baking sheet, and lightly spray each eggroll with cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes (or until golden on the bottom), then flip and bake 6-9 minutes (or until golden on the second side).
Tags: Appetizers, Eggrolls, Pizza, Recipes, Vegetarian
Posted in Recipes | 16 Comments »
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
Everyone loves takeout, right? Chinese food is high on my list of favorites, but I wanted to come up with a healthier version of a classic…the eggroll! I used teriyaki sauce in this recipe because I love the flavor, just think of these as fusion rolls – Chinese-style eggrolls meet Japanese teriyaki sauce – a marriage made in heaven! Instead of making your own teriyaki sauce you could use store bought, or you could substitute with sweet and sour sauce, duck sauce, or plum sauce. These eggrolls are so good I’d say they rival takeout from any restaurant. ;)
Baked Eggrolls with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
(Yield: 8 eggrolls)
Eggrolls:
7 oz firm tofu
2 c shredded Savoy cabbage
2 small carrots, thinly sliced
~1/3 of a medium-sized red pepper, thinly sliced
~2 TB minced fresh chives
Teriyaki sauce
8 eggroll skins (I like Melissa’s brand)
1 egg white beaten with 1 TB water (for egg wash)
Cooking spray
Teriyaki Sauce:
3 TB low-sodium soy sauce
2 TB rice vinegar
2 TB water
1 TB olive oil
2 TB honey
~½ TB minced garlic (depending on your taste)
~½ TB minced ginger (depending on your taste)
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 TB cold water
Preheat the oven to 425F. For the teriyaki sauce, heat a small pan on low and add the olive oil, garlic, and ginger; sauté for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, water, honey, and pepper, and then turn the heat up to medium-high; bring this to a boil and then add the dissolved cornstarch. Once the cornstarch slurry is added, boil for ~1 minute (the mixture will be thickened) and shut off heat.
Slice the tofu, layer it between paper towels, and gently press down to extract the moisture. Crumble the tofu into a medium-sized pan, add 2 TB of teriyaki sauce, and sauté on medium heat for ~5 minutes. Add the cabbage, carrots, red pepper, and chives along with 1 more tablespoon of teriyaki sauce and sauté for ~2 more minutes (or until the veggies are slightly wilted). Allow the tofu/veggie mixture to cool slightly.
To make the eggroll, place 1 eggroll skin in front of you with one corner pointing down (in a diamond shape). Slightly toward the lower half of the eggroll skin, place ~3 TB of the tofu/veggie filling. Wrap the bottom point up over the filling, then wrap the sides in. Securely (but gently) roll the eggroll up; just before you finish rolling, lightly brush the top point of the eggroll skin with the egg wash.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, line the eggrolls ~1” apart on the baking sheet, and lightly spray each eggroll with cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes (or until golden on the bottom), then flip and bake 6-9 minutes (or until golden on the second side).
Serve with the remaining teriyaki sauce for dipping.
Substitution for the Tofu: You can use any kind ground meat instead of the tofu; just brown the meat, then add the 2 TB of sauce, and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Tags: Appetizers, Eggrolls, Recipes, Teriyaki Sauce, Tofu, Vegetarian
Posted in Recipes | 13 Comments »
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