Tag Archives: appetizers

Baked Fontina Cheese Fondue

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1 1/2 pounds Italian Fontina cheese, rind removed and 1-inch dice*
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon coarse salt (sea salt or kosher salt)
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 baguette bread (French or sourdough bread), sliced into 1/4-inch slices

* Purchase Italian Fontina cheese – not Danish as it is not as creamy and won’t melt as well.

Preheat your oven broiler and position the oven rack 5 inches from the heat source.

Distribute the cubes of Fontina cheese evenly in a 12-inch cast-iron pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of the cheese.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic slices, minced thyme, and minced rosemary; sprinkle the mixture over the top of the cheese and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place the pan under the broiler for 6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling, and just starts to brown. Remove from oven.

Tip: Don’t heat the cheese beyond its melting point as cheese tends to ball up at higher temperatures. Also don’t let the cheese cool down too much before serving, as it tends to get stringier and tougher as it cools.

Serve the Fontina Fondue family-style (right out of the oven in the cast-iron pan) with baguette bread slices for everyone to dip. You may have to reheat the fondue on low occasionally to keep it melted and smooth.

For individual servings, divide the fondue among four 6-inch cast-iron pans.

Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Prep time: 15 min
Fondue cook time: 6 min

 

Mushroom Ragout

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2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. fresh sage, minced
6 ounces white mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
8 ounces porcini mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
8 ounces shitake mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water (try flour instead of corn starch)
2tbsp. parsley

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the minced garlic. Stir over medium heat until slightly golden. Add the onion, shallots and sage, and stir until the onion is softened and translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add all the mushrooms and the soy sauce. Continue cooking until the liquid from the mushrooms cooks off, about 5-10 minutes.

Add the wine and vinegar and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Add the starch mixture and boil for 1 or 2 minutes more, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste and parsley. Serve over toast points as an appetizer, over rice or pasta as a main course.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Salmon Rillettes – Laura Calder

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1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces/170 g salmon, cut into large cubes
1/3 cup/70 g butter, softened
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, juiced

Heat the oil in a saute pan and gently cook the salmon, leaving the pieces slightly pink in the center, about 5 minutes. Cool. In a food processor or using two forks,shred the salmon and mix with the butter. Add the creme fraiche, shallot and tarragon Season the mixture with salt, pepper and lemon juice Pack into ramekins or similar small pots. Keep in the refrigerator, but before serving, take it out to soften because you want it nice and smearable.

Blue Cheese and Dried Fruit Terrine – Laura Calder

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1 pound/450 g blue cheese, such as Roquefort or gorgonzola, at room temperature
8 ounces/225 gm mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon honey, optional
Freshly ground pepper
Handful chopped dried apricots
Handful currants
Handful chopped dried figs
Handful chopped green pistachios
Handful chopped toasted walnuts
Rustic country breads or crackers, for serving

Mash the blue cheese and mascarpone together with the honey, if using, and pepper. (You can do this in the food processor, too, but it will cream the blue cheese so much that you get a greenish terrine. (Not the end of the world, but just warning you.) Stir in the apricots,currants figs, pistachios and walnuts. Season with pepper. Wrap in plastic and shape into a terrine. Refrigerate for several hours until firm. Serve with an assortment of rustic country breads or crackers and decorate with some whole dried fruits and nuts, if you like.

Maple Pecan Baked Brie — cooking channel

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    • 1 (16-ounce) wheel of Brie
    • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
    • 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
    • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
    • 1 cup toasted and chopped pecans
    • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
    • Crackers, to serve

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Shave off the top rind of the Brie (it is easiest to do this after it has been in the freezer for about 20 minutes). If the Brie came in a wooden box, return it to the original container. If not, create a makeshift “box” out of a few layers of aluminum foil, leaving the top of the Brie exposed.

Place the cheese on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until warm and gooey, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving. Carefully transfer to a serving platter; you do not want the rind to puncture, if possible.

While the Brie is cooling, make the praline sauce. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar maple syrup, and pecans. Cook, stirring constantly, until all of the ingredients are well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in coarsely ground black pepper and remove from heat. Allow the mixture to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, until it has thickened up just a bit. Dollop the warm sauce over the baked cheese. (There may be extra praline sauce.) Serve with assorted crackers.

Cook’s Note: The praline sauce can be made the day before. To reheat, microwave in increments of 20 seconds, or heat in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until warm.

Smoked salmon and cream cheese spread

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2-8oz packages softened cream cheese, use twice as much as salmon
8 oz smoked salmon, finely chopped
3 green onion, finely chopped
1/4. cup sour cream
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 c finely chopped walnuts
1/4 c parsley

Combine first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl, stir well.

Shape salmon-cream cheese mixture into 3 balls.  Combine chopped walnuts and chopped parsley, roll balls in mixture.  Cover and chill at least 4 hrs.  Serve with assorted crackers.

DMV note-I used leftover salmon and guess at the amounts as I only had a little bit of salmon.  I mixed in the parsly, didn’t mess with the ball method.  Used as a spread, very tasty.

 

Plain Brown Popper

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA 1/4 cup good quality popcorn
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or popcorn salt
Paper lunch bag

Toss the popcorn with the olive oil, salt, and mix in the paper bag. Fold the top of the bag over twice to close. Place the bag in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, or until there are about 5 seconds between pops.

NOTE: Popcorn salt is a super-fine salt that is designed especially for sticking to food such as popcorn. It has the taste of regular table salt, but its granules are much finer.

Artichoke Dip (AKA Artery Choke Dip) Hali Taylor

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2 – 15 oz. cans artichoke hearts in water (break up with fingers)
1 – 8 oz. tub of whipped cream cheese
1 – cup of full fat mayonnaise
1 – cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together and put in a round, 10” baking dish so that the mixture is about 1” deep.

Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes or until top is browned.

Serve with crackers of choice.

Bean Dip

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1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
pepper
for spicier version add:
3-5 slices bottled jalapenos
1 tablespoon brine, from bottled jalapeno slices

For regular bean dip mix all ingredients
If you make the spicier version whirl all ingredients in blender
Cover and refrigerate for bit before serving.