Palmiers are one of my favorite easy snacks.  Although they are quite often sweet treats, I love to make them as savory appetizers.  This recipe makes a great snack during the holidays, whether served with cocktails or as an appetizer to dinner.  I was very please to be included in the Pepperidge Farm product test.

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (dry packed, not packed in oil)

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

4 cups basil leaves, packed

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup bacon, cooked well done and finely crumbled

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

¼ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 package thawed puff pastry

4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions

In a food processor with the chopping blade, finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic.  Add the basil, salt, and pepper. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth.  Remove into mixing bowl.  Gently stir in the bacon and the Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Working with one pastry sheet at a time, unfold and place on a lightly floured board. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry sheet until it is about 12 x 12 inches. Spread the ½ of the filling over pastry sheet.  Starting on one side, roll the dough and filling to form a log.  Slice the dough into ½ inch slices and place the slices, on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat Mat.  Sprinkle the tops with the cheddar cheese.  Bake for 9-11 minutes at 400 degrees.  Allow to cool before sprinkling with the chopped chives.

Chinese cuisine is one of our absolute favorites, well any Asian cuisine actually. When we first met we both had an affinity for Chinese culture, but since our trip to China in 2006, to bring home our new Chinese daughter, we have become even more enchanted with all things Asian, but especially food. We love Thai, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese — you name it! Since it is one of our favorites, we are constantly on the lookout for great recipes, or trying to devise a recipe that is similar to a dish we have had in a restaurant that we particularly enjoyed. This recipe for Asian Spring Rolls is one of our favorites!

Ingredients

SPRING ROLLS

2 tablespoons peanut oil

3 scallions chopped

2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3/4 teaspoon lemon grass finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

1 small Serrano chile

1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

3 tablespoons soy sauce

12 spring roll wrappers

1 egg white

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

DIPPING SAUCE

1/2 cup sweet and sour sauce

4 tablespoons chile and garlic sauce

1 tablespoon scallion tops chopped

1 lime

Preparation

SPRING ROLLS

In a wok or medium non-stick skillet heat the peanut oil. Sauté the three scallions, garlic, lemon grass, ginger and chile pepper until lightly brown. Add the bell pepper. Stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and the cilantro. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a small bowl beat the egg white, and set aside. On a flat surface, work with one wrapper at a time, keeping the others covered with a damp towel. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold the bottom edge over the filling, and then fold in the right and left edges. Brush the edges with the egg white and roll up tightly, gently pressing to seal the spring roll. Repeat on the other wrappers.

In a deep fryer or a large skillet, heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Fry rolls until light golden brown, remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with dipping sauce.

DIPPING SAUCE

In a small bowl, combine the sweet and sour sauce and the chili sauce. Stir in the remaining scallions and the juice from one lime. Serve at room temperature with the spring rolls.

Crostini is one of the easiest and most elegant appetizers.  This recipe is one that we make all the time for friends, family and clients.  As popular as it is, it is almost a shame that it is practically a “throw-together” dish.  Almost.  We love for just that reason.  We can run in from work, and have an hors d’oeuvre ready to serve in less than 10 minutes.  I recommend this to anyone having a dinner or cocktail party, especially if you are pressed for time.

 Ingredients

1 loaf of French baguette

8.5 ounce jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

3 cloves of garlic minced

24 slices of prosciutto

8 ounces Fontina cheese, sliced

24 Genovese basil leaves

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Drain the sun-dried tomatoes reserving the flavored oil.  Slice the baguette into ½ inch thick slices.  Arrange 24 slices of the bread on a baking sheet.  Lightly brush the top side of each slice with the oil from the tomatoes.  Spread a very small amount of the minced garlic on each slice.  Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until bread is lightly toasted.  Do not let the bread get too crisp, you are only looking for a light toast.

Remove from the oven.  While the bread is still warm, top with a slice of prosciutto, a slice of Fontina, and a sundried tomato. Drizzle a small amount of the tomato oil over the meat and cheese, and top with a basil leaf.  Crostini can be served immediately while still slightly warm, but they are still scrumptious at room temperature.

Makes 24.

In both of our families, at major holidays (especially Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter), one of our aunts will open a can of black olives to put on the dinner table.  We both grew up with this practice, but when we started hosting some of the holiday dinners at our home we started wondering what we could do to liven up this decades old tradition.  We fiddled, tested and fiddled some more until we arrived at this flavorful mixture of sautéed herbs and olives.

Now we serve these at most of our holiday gatherings, but they are an excellent addition to buffet tables and are a must when serving antipasti.  They are a fast and easy dish that takes only minutes to prepare and can be made several days ahead.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 scallion chopped

1 ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 cup black olives, drained and pitted

1 cup Greek olives, drained and pitted

1 cup Kalamata olives, drained and pitted

Note:  Any combination of good olives will work well

Preparation

In a medium skillet, sauté the parsley, scallion, garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil stirring constantly until the garlic just begins to brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the olives, stirring well to coat the olives in the oil.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the skin of the olives just starts to wrinkle.

Remove from heat and spoon the olives into a serving bowl.  Serve at room temperature.  If making ahead, store olives in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.  Remove from the refrigerator and allow the olives to reach room temperature before serving.

These delicious and elegant appetizers are one of our most easy party appetizers.  A great time to serve these simple easy cold appetizers, is when a hungry crowd of your guests who are waiting for Christmas dinner, begin to gather in your kitchen – and in your way!  We prepare these salmon bites in advance and just pull them from the refrigerator when our group starts to get hungry.   They are guaranteed to clear your kitchen of snack-searchers once you place them on your living room cocktail table.

Ingredients

8-12 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon in 1” wide strips

½ cup cream cheese at room temperature

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh shallot

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ounces salmon roe caviar

Leaf lettuce leaves

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, whipping cream, pepper, dill, chives, shallot, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

On a large serving platter place neatly torn pieces (approximately 2” x 2”) of lettuce leaves.

Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over one side of the salmon strips.  Roll the strips in to tight pinwheels.  Place each pinwheel on end on top of the torn lettuce pieces.  Top each salmon roll with additional cream cheese mixture and approximately ½ teaspoon salmon roe.  Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Makes 18 – 24 canapes.

Lime and Chile Shrimp

On of our favorite forms of relaxation is sharing an appetizer and a good bottle of wine with a couple of friends while we watch a great rented movie.  This is a fantastic, and inexpensive, way to unwind after a long day or a hard workweek. We do this regularly, especially this time of year, so we are always on the lookout for interesting, yet simple, appetizers.  This is one our favorite shrimp recipes.

We hope you will try this chipotle garlic shrimp recipe with friends of yours.

Chipotle Dip

Lime and Chile Shrimp with Chipotle Dip

Ingredients

3 fresh limes (juice and peel)

1 ½ lbs fresh large shrimp, deveined and peeled leaving tail.

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ cup good mayonnaise

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 large chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped (from a 7 oz can)

2 teaspoons adobo sauce (from same can)

1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro

Preparation

From two of the limes, grate 1 teaspoon of peel and squeeze all of the juice. Save one lime for garnish.  In a large bowl, combine the lime peel, lime juice, oil, garlic, and red pepper.  Mix together.  Add shrimp and stir to coat.  Marinate shrimp in the juice mixture for one hour.

In a small mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, honey, mustard, chile, and adobo sauce.  Refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove shrimp from the refrigerator and from the marinade.  Place in a glass baking dish and bake for 5 to 7 minutes turning once.

Allow shrimp to cool to room temperature.  Place shrimp on a serving plate, sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve with the chipotle dip and lime wedges.

Serve with a crisp white wine or sangria!

Bruschetta (pronounced brusˈket:a) dates back to 15th century Italy. It is a delicious food made of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toppings vary widely, but most contemporary versions include tomato.  What we like about bruschetta is that it makes an elegant appetizer, which can be assembled easily with the most ordinary of ingredients.  This version is topped with fresh tomatoes and herbs. Eliminating the roasting of the tomatoes, which is typical, keeps this a light and refreshing appetizer.  We have served it many times in our catering business and it has always been a hit. 

Ingredients


8 ounces plum or cherry tomatoes

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 


2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary


2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme leaves

1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil


2 cloves of garlic, minced 


2 to 3 slices of Ciabatta bread cut into appetizer sized portions or use 12 -18 baguette slices

Salt and Pepper

Preparation

Preheat an oven, broiler, stovetop grill or barbeque grill.

Chop the tomatoes into bite size chunks. Place in a medium bowl.  Add remaining olive oil, chopped herbs and remaining garlic gently stir to combine. Set aside while you toast the bread.

Brush bread lightly with olive oil.  Grill the bread on both sides until golden brown while still warm; spread a small amount of garlic on one side of each slice.

Place the bread slices on a serving plate and top each with a spoonful of tomato mixture.  Sprinkle each bruchetta sparingly with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Serve immediately.