Category: appetizers

Tiny Tomato Tidbit, with a seafood twist. The farmers’ markets are filled with beautiful grape tomatoes of all colors. This bite calls for their use. In addition, you will need Panko, a pinch of garlic powder to taste, a pinch of dried oregano or thyme to taste, olive oil, smoked oysters or clams or mussels (you make the call), and salt and pepper to taste. To begin, add some olive oil to a pan. Combine the panko, garlic powder, oregano or thyme and add to oil to toast. Be mindful, it cooks fast, you want it browned not burned. Set crumble aside to cool until ready to serve. This can be done in advance. Slice your tomatoes tomatoes in half, toss with a bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper to taste. This can also be done in advance. When ready to serve, you can prepare in two ways. My favorite is to make a tomato sandwich. Toss the tomato in the crumble, add the smoked shellfish of your choice as a filling and skewer. Option B is to top the prepared tomatoes with the shellfish and crumble and skewer as well. Same taste, different look. You don’t like or can’t eat shellfish? Ok, do the same thing with a piece of smoked salmon and if you do that maybe a pinch of onion powder in the panko crumble in place of the garlic. The main thing is to keep it stress free and use what you love. And a nice big glass of icy Rose doesn’t hurt.

Ricotta Salata. It’s good for more than shaving over watermelon salad. The idea for this little 3 ingredient treat comes from the imagination of my dear friend, Ann Fegan. She thinly slices Ricotta Salata, which in many cases comes in the desired triangular shape, tops with pesto, and adds chopped walnuts. Creamy, salty, with a bit of crunch. Ticks all the boxes. You can make your own pesto which is a very simple thing to do especially with basil very much in season, or purchase a small jar of ready made. You can use whatever nuts you have on hand, or chop a mixture. Here I am using pignoli, but use whatever you like. If you don’t like pesto or you don’t have it, no problem. You can top with any type of spread (many of which are available in small jars) such as sun dried tomato, tapenade, artichoke, you get the idea. If you don’t like nuts, top with fennel seed or cumin seed, toasted if you want-something that will give a bit of crunch. Add a glass of wine.

These lovely little crostini are a perfect pre dinner bite. This recipe will make 12 pieces. What you need: 1/4 cup of peas-fresh if available or frozen(about 1/2 box if frozen), 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, a splash of olive oil, 1 Tablespoon chopped mint, salt and pepper to taste and 12 round slices of baguette, toasted. Prepare a bowl of water and add some ice cubes to get the water really cold. Set aside. Bring a pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt and the peas. Cook until just tender, you should be able to flatten between your fingers with just a bit of resistance. When peas are done, drain and add to the cold water to stop the cooking. When cool, place on a board and mash slightly, you want some texture to the mixture. Taste for salt. Set aside. Mix the ricotta, lemon zest and juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the chopped mint, and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed. Spread 1 teaspoon of the mixture on each of the crostini and top with a teaspoon of the peas. Scatter remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of mint leaves over top. Eat. Variations on a theme? Add some finely chopped prosciutto to the ricotta mixture. Or add red pepper flakes to the ricotta mixture. Or top with caramelized onion. Or for color, add thinly sliced radish. It all works.

 

Multipurpose Marinated Mushrooms. These are more than a nibble or a bit. They can actually can be used as is, as a sauce, a spread, or eaten with a spoon out of the jar. This recipe requires an overnight rest before eating, but the result is worth the wait. You will need a box of white mushrooms, generally speaking they are about 10 ounces (you can get fancy if you want, I am just giving you the basics), 1/3 cup best olive oil you have, 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, a clove of garlic minced or shaved over a microplane if you prefer, a pinch of red pepper flakes or more for a bit of heat, 1 Teaspoon of fresh thyme, salt, and parsley for finishing. First off, if your mushrooms are large as those shown in the photograph are, halve or quarter them, if not, leave them whole. Bring a pot of water to boil and add about 2 Teaspoons of salt. Drop mushrooms into the water and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from water and set aside to drain and cool. Meanwhile, make the marinade. In a measuring cup, combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, pepper flakes, thyme, and salt. Taste and add more of what you feel it needs to suit your taste. When mushrooms are cooled, press the excess moisture out using a paper towel. Don’t mush them, you want them to retain their shape as much as possible. Add them to a bowl along with the marinade and combine all. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature for serving and top with parsley to finish. They can be served skewered with a toothpick, chopped to be used as crostini, tossed with cooked pasta and a bit of the pasta water and maybe the yolk of an egg if you are adventuresome, they can be pulsed and made into a spread for crackers, they can be used as a topping for pizza Bianca with maybe a bit of sausage crumbles and some caramelized onions, or used just as part of an antipasto plate. A glass of Beaujolais? Yes please!

Another 3-4 ingredient nibble for really hot and muggy days, like today. Serve with an icy glass of Pernod or a white wine as long as it is cold. Your ingredient list? some good Greek yogurt (or labney if you have it), some chopped herbs: parsley, chives, thyme, whatever you like, salt and pepper and other dried spices to your taste and or liking, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and some toasted walnuts for crunch. Serve with gluten free crackers (like Mary’s) or pita. And the recipe is? In a bowl, combine yogurt and chopped herbs along with salt and pepper and other spices if using and spread mixture onto a plate. Top with olive oil and toasted nuts. Done. If it is just too hot to toast the nuts, don’t bother. It will still be yummy. Just make sure your libations are chilled. Baby, it’s hot outside.

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Simple Starter Scallop Ceviche. Ceviche is fish cooked in a citrus acid or vinegar and can be prepared with different varieties of fish and a multitude of ingredients and techniques, but this is basic, simple, and fresh, and all the ingredients are easy to come by. You will need sea scallops (plan on one per person), the zest and juice of one lime, 1/2 Serrano pepper or Jalapeño pepper or whatever pepper you want for heat (or keep it heat free if that is your preference and use 1/4 slice red bell pepper cut into small dice), a slice of red onion-diced, mint, and salt and pepper to taste. First, slice your scallops across to make three small discs holding your hand on top of the scallop to make even cuts. Then cut each disc into cubes; try to get nine per disc as shown. Add the lime zest to the cubes. Save the juice for finishing. Add the chopped onion. Slice the pepper into small rounds and then chop finely. Add the amount you want for desired heat to the mix. If serving later, cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate. If you are serving right away, add 1/2 the reserved lime juice and the salt and pepper and taste. If you want more tang, add more lime juice. The scallops will start to cure immediately, the longer they sit, the more “cooked” they become. Tear pieces of the mint and scatter over the ceviche. Stir well. Serve on a tortilla chip, on a small spoon, or even on a potato chip. It all works. One more thing, if you don’t like or can’t eat scallops, you can make this with any non oily fish using the same technique. Or if shrimp is your thing, just blanch the shrimp (cook in boiling water until shrimp turns pink and rinse in ice water to stop the cooking), chop into bite sized pieces and add the rest of the ingredients. Cocktails, anyone?

This is the world’s easiest nibble to create. It requires three ingredients, the choices of which are a matter of taste, preference, and wallet. It takes the concept of Chips and Dips to a whole new level, a gilding of a lily the doesn’t necessarily need gilding, but benefits by doing so. It is that perfect blend of salt, creaminess, and crunch, doesn’t require a fork or knife, and can be served with any libation. Your guests may be skeptical, but they will soon be converted. Ready? You need a bag of potato chips, your favorite, they can be ridged or not, they just need to be crunchy. You need a small container of sour cream or creme fraiche. You need fish roe, otherwise known as caviar, any color, any type, depending on your preference and your wallet. Less expensive varieties can be found in the canned fish area of your supermarket, more expensive types in the specialty area. Save the Beluga for something else, we don’t want overgilding! Take a chip, add a dollop of the cream, top with a bit of caviar. That’s it. Don’t prepare in advance, the chips will get soggy and no one likes soggy chips, irrespective of how gilded they are. Serve and watch them disappear.

 

Roasted peppers have found their way into my fridge since the days of my very first apartment. My grandmother taught me how to cook them and as a fledgling foodie, it was an easy recipe to follow. Roast on high heat, put in paper bag, peel skin, seed, add chopped garlic, olive oil, and eat with really good bread. But, a few days ago, my dear friend Chris Hanc found some of those baby sweet peppers which had been lying around and came up with this idea. Kudos to him because it was a great bite! A riff on your standard roast peppers without all that peeling and seeding. Here is what you need. Peppers, of course, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Preheat your oven to 400F (200C)–(yes, you can use a toaster oven). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (easy cleanup). While oven is heating, toss the peppers in a bowl with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Place on the prepared pan and roast until the peppers are softened to your liking turning occasionally to caramelize. Total cooking time, about 20 minutes. Serve. We drank Rose’. Lambrusco would be nice. Leftovers? Store in a jar and use on sandwiches with mozzarella and basil or as a side dish with some shaved Parmiggiano Reggiano, basil and capers. You can still drink Rose’ or Lambrusco.

I am sure that everyone reading this has a favorite chicken wing recipe. Add Frank’s Hot Sauce. Add Blue Cheese. Add any number of Asian blends. This recipe is my hands down favorite and is adapted from the way they are offered at Ocean’s Grille in Fort Lauderdale owned and operated by my friend Joe Israel. I serve these for spur of the moment weeknight dinner parties accompanied by a refreshing salad and chilled white wine or Beaujolais or even something fizzy and my guests have devoured them. Ingredients? Simple. I plan on 10 pieces per person so multiply according to the size of your group–wings, juice of 3 limes, salt, pepper and arugula or something green for serving (in the photo below I used celery leaves). That’s it. Preheat oven to 400F (~~200C). While the oven is preheating, separate wings if not already done and line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and parchment paper. The parchment prevents the wings from sticking as they cook, the tin foil aids in easy cleanup because you don’t want to be scrubbing a pan when you could be eating and drinking. Roast wings about 15-20 minutes a side until really crispy. At Ocean’s Grille, they are baked and then deep fried, I skip that step. While wings are roasting, juice your limes and add salt and pepper to taste to the juice. When wings are done to your satisfaction, toss them with the lime juice mixture. Find a pretty platter, scatter the arugula or whatever greens you have chosen and plop the wings on top with the lime dressing. That’s all there is. If you want to stray off the path a bit, you can change up the juice for either lemon or even orange, it is a matter of preference or what you are in the mood for. And at the end of the day, if you still miss your Frank’s or Asian spices, have at it. It’s all good.

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Roasted beet and yogurt spread with pita. Can be done ahead. Allow time for roasting beets. Easy. You will need 2 medium sized beets, 2 cloves of unpeeled garlic, vegetable oil (or canola or olive), 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon walnuts or nut of your choice, 1 tablespoon of walnut or another nut oil, even olive oil if that is what you have, the juice of a lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. For finishing and serving, pita bread cut into triangles and plain Greek yogurt or Labne–more on that in a minute. First, wrap the beets and garlic cloves in aluminum foil with a bit of the vegetable oil and salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees until the beets are softened-about 45 minutes. Let cool and peel both beets (maybe with gloves?) and garlic. While beets and garlic are roasting, toast the nuts being careful not to burn them. Chop when cooled. Combine the beets, garlic, and 1/4 cup nuts and put into food processor or chop finely by hand if food processor is not available. Add walnut oil, salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice to your liking. To finish, spoon mixture on a flat plate and swirl in yogurt or Labne. Labne has a similar taste and texture as Greek yogurt and if you can find it, give it a try. It can be found in the refrigerator section of your grocer. It can also be found in Middle Eastern markets if you live in an area where they exist. Top with last tablespoon of chopped walnuts and drizzle with a bit more of the nut oil if you wish. Serve with pita triangles and a glass of your favorite libation.