I was flipping through my recipe files looking for something easy to prepare for this past Super Bowl Sunday. I made Beef Stew for dinner, but wanted to have some snacks to munch on between church and the game.
Lovey is pretty hard to cook for because he's such a picky eater. This one seemed to be a good choice because it has several elements that he likes; flour tortillas, roasted turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, well....they had the right stuff.
There's not a lot of prep work. Turkey is from the Deli (I had it sliced very thin), veggies are diced, and the Parmesan grated.
The base of the rollups is Ranch dressing. I prefer Hidden Valley made from scratch rather than purchased pre-made in the bottle; and I'm partial to the mix that calls for buttermilk. Use whichever floats your boat.
Use 6" to 7" flour tortillas. I laid all mine out on the counter and prepared them assembly-line style. Spread each tortilla with the dressing.
Sprinkle each with the cheese, green onions, and tomato
Lastly, add the turkey then the lettuce. Roll them up cigar-style and secure with toothpicks. I suppose you could slice these into individual bites, each secured with its own toothpick. I knew Lovey would just pick up a whole one and eat it so I didn't bother.
I also set out a small bowl of extra ranch dressing for dipping. I thought they benefited from a little extra dressing
They were easy and Lovey approved; that in itself was satisfaction.
Parmesan-Turkey-Ranch Rollups
Yield: 8 rollups
Ingredients:
3/4 cup ranch dressing + extra for dipping
8 (6" - 7") flour tortillas
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 green onions
1 medium tomato
2 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
12 ounces thinly sliced deli turkey
Mise en Place:
- if making from scratch whist together the ranch dressing
- grate cheese
- dice the green onions (white and green parts)
- seed and dice the tomato
- chop the lettuce
Method:
Lay out all of the tortillas on the counter (I placed mine on wax paper). Spread the dressing evenly on 1 side of each tortilla. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan, green onions, and the tomato.
Divide the turkey among the tortillas and top with the lettuce. Roll up the tortillas and secure with toothpicks.
This beautiful pastel colored mousse is so light and fluffy and it wows every time it's served.
It can be served elegantly molded or casually in a simple bowl. Either way the taste will impress.
The recipe is from a book called Party Food, Small and Savory by Barbara Kafka. Barbara Kafka is a food journalist and has columns in the New York Times and Gourmet magazine. I bought her book in the early '90's and over the years has come in handy whenever I need a recipe for hors d'oeuvres.
The essential ingredients are heavy cream (divided), smoked salmon, hot sauce, chives, fresh lemon juice, grated onion, salt and pepper.
A note on the salmon...since the salmon is going to be pureed I purchased salmon trim. This was a little less expensive but did not compromise flavor in any way. The trims are probably not as nice looking so as to decoratively display them on a serving tray; but they taste just as good.
Assemble all your ingredients. Measure out and prep everything you can.
Process the salmon and the 1/2 cup of cream.
Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree.
Place the water and gelatin in a small saucepan and allow the gelatin to absorb the water.
Once absorbed slowly heat the gelatin until it is totally dissolved. Set aside and allow to cool.
The remainder of the cream is whipped with the cooled gelatin and the flavorings added to it. Then you'll lighten up the salmon mixture with some of the whipped cream.
The rest of the cream is gently folded into the salmon mixture.
Pour out the ice water in your mold but don't dry the mold. Spoon the mousse into the mold, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1-1/2 hours or longer.
When ready to serve, unmold and serve with crackers or bread. I like to serve mine with these canape breads.
Smoked Salmon Mousse
Recipe adapted from Party Food, Small and Savory by Barbara Kafka
Makes 40 hors d'oeuvres servings
Ingredients:
6-1/2 ounces smoked salmon
3 cups heavy cream, divided
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2-1/2 tsp. grated onion
3 Tbsp. water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1/4 ounce)
1 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
10 drops hot red pepper sauce
1/4 cup thin-sliced chives (see note)
If you are going to use a mold, prepare a 5 cup or larger mold by filling with ice water. Set aside.
Divide cream into 1/2 cup and 2-1/2 cup portions. Juice lemons. Grate onion. Thinly slice the chives. (NOTE: if chives are unavailable use scallion greens, slicing lengthwise and then across). Give the salmon a rough chop.
Place the 1/2 cup of cream and the salmon in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Transfer mixture to a blender and purée. Set aside.
Place water in a small pan. Add the gelatin and let it sit until absorbed. Over low heat slowly heat the softened gelatin mixture until it is dissolved. Remove the pan from heat and allow it to completely cool.
Whip the 2-1/2 cups of cream until slightly soft peaks form. Beat in the cooled gelatin mixture. Stir in the lemon juice, onion, salt, pepper, red pepper sauce and chives.
Remove about 1/2 cup of the seasoned whipped cream and stir into the puréed salmon mixture to lighten it up. Fold the rest of the whipped cream into the salmon mixture.
Empty the ice water from the mold but do not dry. Spoon the salmon mousse into the mold. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours or until set.
When ready to serve, unmold by removing the plastic wrap and run a thin, flexible spatula around the edge of the mold (may not be necessary if the mousse has slightly separated from the edge of the mold). Fill a mixing bowl, that is one size larger than the mold, with very hot water. Carefully holding the mold by the rim, dip into the bowl of hot water and hold for 5 seconds to loosen.
Place the serving dish on top of the mold and invert the mold. Tuck curly leaf parsley around the outer edges of the mousse on the platter. Sprinkle mousse with chopped chives.
Instead of buying crispy canape breads at the market for your next party, try making your own.
I've had these tube pans for years and have enjoyed using them time and time again to make fun shaped canape breads. They come three tubes to a set; a scallop, a star, and a heart. Today I'm using the scallop and the star tubes.
The recipe that came with the tubes is a very easy one and has been fool proof all these years. I've never bothered using another recipe with them although I'm sure it would be easy to do. The recipe makes a dense, crusty bread that is ideal for Hors D'oeuvres. I've often wondered why the recipe makes enough dough for two loaves when there are three tube pans. Life if full of funny little mysteries.
I like to proof my yeast just to make sure it's still alive and kicking.
The dough is easily mixed up in a stand mixer and kneaded with the dough hook. You can knead by hand if you want. I usually do; because it's great therapy for me.
Let the dough double in size then punch it down. Divide it in two, roll into logs about 2" shorter than the tubes and place in the tubes.
Bake them for an hour.
Heh, looky here. I've never had one bust out of the pan like this before.
A shooting star
Slice thinly. These are good as is...
or you can place on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven.
These are so great for dips, spreads, mini sandwiches and whatever else your creative minds can dream up!
Valtrompia - Canape Bread
Makes 2 loaves
Recipe adapted from Rowoco's recipe provided with the bread molds
Ingredients:
1/3 cup water
1 tsp sugar
2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1-1/4 tsp salt
3 to 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Method:
In a heat proof measuring cup (like a Pyrex) heat the water in the microwave to a temp between 102° and 120° (130° to 140° may kill your yeast). Add the sugar and yeast. Stir and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. If the mixture does not become foamy within that time your yeast is dead so repeat this with some fresh yeast.
Scald the milk either in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Pour in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Melt the butter and add to milk along with the salt. Using the flat paddle, stir until combined.
Add the yeast mixture and stir until combined. Add 2-1/2 cups of the flour and incorporate on low speed. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as necessary to form a soft dough (that is usually one more cup for me).
Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough (on low speed), adding enough of the remaining flour as necessary to form a smooth ball (for about 7-1/2 minutes). If you prefer to knead by hand, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until your dough is smooth and does not stick to your hands.
Place dough in a greased bowl (I use solid Crisco). Roll the dough around in the bowl so that all surfaces of the dough is greased all over. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm draft free place to rise until double in bulk.
Punch down. Divide the dough in half. Roll into logs 2 inches shorter than the tube and insert in mold. Cap both ends and bake in a 400° oven for 60 to 70 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to remove ends and push bread out of the tube. Let bread cool completely on a cooling rack.
When completely cooled slice thinly using a serrated knife. Use as is or toast both sides of the slices in the oven.
Our neighborhood hosts a Christmas Party each year. Two residents open up their homes to everyone in the neighborhood. It provides a nice opportunity to visit with neighbors you know and meet new neighbors you haven't met. There is also a lot of great food and wine.
One of the reasons the food is good is that residents who attend bring a savory dish or a dessert. And we have a lot of ladies who are talented in the kitchen! The HOA provides the adult beverages.
The festivities begin at the home where the savory hors d'oeuvres are served. After about two hours the party moves to the second home in the neighborhood where all of the sweeties are waiting for everyone. Dessert wines and sparkling wines are added to the beverage selection.
This year I signed up for a savory hors d'oeuvre. I found this recipe for bite sized potato salad starters in a holiday magazine/booklet that a co-worker gave me around 5 years ago.
Try to select potatoes that are of similar size. Also, when selecting the potatoes, keep in mind the size; you want these to be bite-size. I would suggest selecting a few extra because, well, it's inevitable that some will fall apart as you prepare them.
When you boil the potatoes, keep a close eye on them and cook only until they are done. If you cook them too long or vigorously the skins will start to split pretty bad. Some will split any way but don't wig out about it. Be gentle when you halve the potato and scoop the meat out of the potato. Once you have scooped the pulp out of the halves, lightly sprinkle each half with kosher salt.
Toss the potato pulp, onion, pickles, & parsley in a mixing bowl. The original recipe called for pimiento-stuffed olives but I opted to use Claussen Kosher Dill Sandwich Slices. I think these pickles have the best flavor and are easy to mince.
Speaking of mincing, the onion and parsley should be minced as well since the appetizers themselves are small.
I suggest combining the mayonnaise, mustard, and pepper in a small mixing bowl before adding to the potato mixture. Once the potato salad is combined, taste for seasoning. Between the saltiness of the dill pickle and the Dijon I doubt you will need to add any salt; remember the potato halves are lightly salted already too.
I will say this about the recipe. It's labor intensive and time consuming. You probably don't want to include this on your menu if you are making multiple dishes for a get-together. But, if this is the only thing you are preparing for an event it's well worth the effort.
Part of me feels bad about trying new recipes out on un-suspecting neighbors but it's a great way to know whether or not I would serve something again.
This recipe is good cocktail party fare. It proved to be one that people really liked; they disappeared quite nicely.
Potato Salad Bites
Yields about 32 appetizers
Adapted from a recipe by Stephanie Sheridan from Plainfield, Vermont
Ingredients:
20 small red potatoes
salt for sprinkling
1/2 cup minced kosher dill pickles
4 tsp. minced fresh parsley
2 tsp. minced red onion
1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
2-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp ground pepper
Paprika
extra minced parsley for garnish
Mise en place:
- rinse potatoes off
- mince pickles, parsley & onion and place in medium mixing bowl
- measure mayonnaise, mustard and pepper into a small mixing bowl
- mince extra parsley and set aside
- prepare an ice bath of ice cubes and cold water
Method:
Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender. Drain and immediately place potatoes in ice water; drain and pat dry.
Peel 4 of the potatoes (pick out 4 that the skins split a lot; finely dice and place in the medium mixing bowl with the pickles, parsley & onion. Cut the remaining potatoes in half. With a melon baller, gently scoop out the pulp, leaving a 3/8" shell and toss in with the other potatoes; set shells aside. Toss the potatoe pulp lightly with the onion mixture; this will break up the rest of the potatoes. Gently stir the mayonnaise mixture into the potato mixture combining well.
Sprinkle the potato shells with salt; stuff with potato salad. Sprinkle with paprika. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with the extra parsley if desired.
