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Category: Appetizers
Tonight’s dinner is my take on that ever popular Chinese restaurant appetizer and staple in different dishes – char siu pork. I decided to make it with a pork shoulder using sous vide. After marinating the pork shoulder overnight, using sous vide will create a moist and tender result after 8 hours in the water bath. To finish, I hot smoked the meat over apple wood to create the delicious, smoky crust that makes this dish special. This recipe yields more than 1 meal so be sure to check out the serving options – traditional appetizer of sliced char siu with mustard, ketchup, and sesame seeds; pulled as a different take on pulled pork sandwiches; or diced/julienned for use in fried rice or noodle dishes…
Today I had an impromptu large lunch and really could not fathom making dinner tonight. So I decided to make an appetizer. Typically this dip is a one I do for parties, but I just wanted a small portion with some baguette slices. This recipe features ingredients from my pantry – which is a double bonus since I did not feel like going shopping either! If you can have breakfast for dinner, why not an appetizer? Save Print Crab and Artichoke Dip Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 2 Ingredients 4 oz cream cheese ½ cup sour cream 6 oz can crab meat, drained 6½ oz marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped 4 oz diced pimientos…
Let’s get ready for the holiday season by making some simple appetizers based on some earlier recipes. I am going to make a toasted cheese appetizer with two types of cheeses and 3 types of toppings. The mild goat and Madrigal cheeses I am using are left over from the Macaroni and Cheese experiment, and the toppings are the pepper jelly, fig jam, and honey. Appetizer plates are easily extended and augmented with nuts and fruit – pecans, walnuts, almonds, pears, apples, grapes and olives. I kept my plate simple for this blog post, but let your creativity take wing and serve up simply fabulous appetizers for friends and family. Are you ready for a tasty start to your Friday evening? Save Print Toasted Cheese Appetizers…
This gem of a sous vide jam recipe comes from the Anova community. Of course I twisted it slightly… but everyone should come to expect that by now! This jam is wonderful with a cheese tray, crackers, or sliced baguette. I bet this jam would make awesome homemade Fig Newtons too! (hint, hint) Save Print Balsamic Fig Jam Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 2 hours 15 mins Total time: 2 hours 25 mins Ingredients 12 oz black mission figs, stems removed 1 cup white sugar 1 cup water ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp candied ginger, finely chopped 1 tbsp orange zest Instructions Preheat the sous vide pot to 190 degrees. Place all ingredients into a large zip top bag or a…
We’ve all seen or had the brie in puff pastry served with a tart/tangy jam (I prefer a good currant jam!). Today I played with a new appetizer – crostini with brie, soppressata and pepper jelly. This combination works as either just brie and pepper jelly (similar to the original that inspired this effort) or with the added soppressata. The addition of the soppressata gave the appetizer some heartiness and the salty, peppery soppressata complimented the creamy, tangy brie and spicy, sweet pepper jelly for a more complete taste experience. Just think, here is a new twist on a standard – just in time for holiday parties! Save Print Crostini with Brie, Soppressata and Pepper Jelly Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 4…
Here is a quick, tasty lunch or snack, depending on when you want it and how hungry you are! The key to this slider, in my opinion, is the pretzel bun. There is something about roast beef, horseradish, and a pretzel bun that makes my mouth water. Add some cheese and sliced pepperoncini to kick it up a little – like all sandwiches, the sky is the limit. Let’s get to it! Save Print Roast Beef Sliders Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 4 mins Total time: 9 mins Serves: 1 Ingredients 2 pretzel slider buns 6 oz deli sliced roast beef 2 tsp horseradish 4 – 5 pepperoncini, sliced thinly 4 tbsp shredded Italian cheese (Mozzarella, Romano, Parmesan, Asiago) Instructions Preheat…
With a full day of excellent college football games on today, I opted to snack for dinner instead of cook a full meal. To that end, I made a refried bean dip with chorizo, jalapenos, lime and cheese. This recipe is a great one for a party or a potluck. Also, this recipe can be tweaked in numerous ways – using different types of refried beans and jalapenos, adding nacho jalapeno rings (heck, making nachos with this mix would be awesome!) or even adding a spicy taco or hot sauce to pop the flavor! Give it a try… it is simple, but extremely tasty! Chorizo and Refried Bean Dip Ingredients: 6 oz chorizo 16 oz can refried beans 4 oz can fire roasted jalapenos zest from 1…
A prawn cocktail is super easy; you can buy it ready to eat from the store, you can buy cooked shrimp and make your own, you can steam your own prawns and make you own cocktail sauce OR any combination possible! Here I steam the prawns and make a Thai inspired cocktail sauce. Be forewarned, the cocktail sauce has a little heat, but is not overpowering or overwhelming. Prawns with Thai inspired Cocktail Sauce Ingredients: 12 prawns (16-20 or 26-30 per pound) 1/3 cup spicy banana sauce 1 1/2 tsp ginger, grated 1 1/2 tsp lemongrass, puree 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp Thai basil, chopped Preparation: Place the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and mix well. Allow to…
Here’s a perfect snack/salad/appetizer for one or many… Mini Caprese Salads on a toothpick! Caprese Salads Poppers Ingredients: Mozzarella Ciliegine (cherry sized mozzarella) Cherry Tomatoes Basil Olive Oil Balsamic Vinegar (or Balsamic Glaze) Fresh cracked black pepper Preparation: Wash the tomatoes in cold running water. Skewer the mozzarella and tomatoes with toothpicks. Chiffonade the basil and spread over the tomato/mozzarella, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic, and fresh cracked black pepper.  …