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Spanish Cream Cheese Canape Is a Quick One-Bite Wonder

partysugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:15:26 -0800

Recently I participated in a "quickfire challenge." I was asked to concoct an amuse-bouche for 20 people. However, I didn't know anything about the group I was feeding, so the bite had to be vegetarian with universally liked ingredients. It had to be easily transportable, something that could be made in advance, and was representative of my cooking personality. The kitchen where I was to prepare the appetizer has a microwave and small toaster oven.After much deliberation, I finally decided to make these Spanish olive and cream cheese canapes because the three components - crisp toasts, a cream cheese mixture, and grated Parmesan cheese - were easy to prepare the night before the challenge. Luckily my hard work paid off: the final result was excellent! The one-bite toasts were crisp, salty, cheesy, and delicious. They would be a scrumptious start to a cocktail party or romantic dinner. Learn how to make them when you read more.

Spanish Olive and Cream Cheese Canapes
From Gourmet

Ingredients

10 slices firm white sandwich bread
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano
6 oz cream cheese, softened (3/4 cup)
1/3 cup pimiento-stuffed green Spanish olives (3 oz.), rinsed, drained, and finely chopped*
1/4 cup finely chopped scallion*
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper*
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons medium-dry Sherry
A 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter

Directions

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
Cut 40 rounds from bread slices with cutter, then brush 1 side of each round with butter** and bake on a large baking sheet until pale golden, about 8 minutes. (Leave toasts on baking sheet.)

Preheat broiler.
Finely grate Parmigiano-Reggiano. You should have about 1 cup.

Mash together cream cheese, olives, scallion, bell pepper, paprika, and Sherry until combined well, then top each toast with 1 teaspoon cream cheese mixture and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Broil canapés about 4 inches from heat until Parmigiano-Reggiano begins to turn golden, about 1 minute.

Makes 40 hors d'oeuvres.

Make ahead: toasts can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature. Cream cheese mixture can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before using.

*I was in a hurry, so I used the food processor to quickly chop the ingredients.
**I seasoned my toasts with salt and pepper before baking them.

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Celebrate With Fig Tapenade, Goat Cheese Amuse-Bouche

YumSugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:00:23 -0800

New Year's Eve is an ideal time to serve simple appetizers that can withstand hours of partying. After making Roquefort and Walnut Canapés, I had leftover walnuts, so I looked for another amuse bouche that could use up the nuts.

With its easy fig and olive tapenade, this delicious bite is served on a cracker with a small dollop of goat cheese and a roasted walnut topping. The tapenade can be made three days in advance, and the whole thing is quick to assemble just before party time. Every bite is the perfect combination of sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy. To celebrate with these appetizing hors d'oeuvres, read more.

Fig Tapenade and Goat Cheese Amuse-Bouche
Adapted From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

1 cup chopped stemmed dried Calimyrna figs
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon drained capers, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3-4 ounces logs soft fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves
1-2 boxes of crackers or 1-2 baguettes cut in rounds and toasted
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Place walnuts on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until fragrant. Watch closely as they can burn quickly.
Combine chopped figs and 1/3 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until liquid evaporates and figs are soft, about 7 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl.
Mix in olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, capers, and chopped thyme. Use a hand mixer to better incorporate all ingredients. Season tapenade to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
Arrange crackers and top with 1 1/2 teaspoon goat cheese and 1 teaspoon of tapenade. Garnish with walnut halves and thyme sprigs, if desired.

Makes 36-42 appetizers.

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Wow Guests With Roquefort & Walnut Canapés

YumSugar — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:00:39 -0800

If you're throwing a holiday party and need some appetizer ideas, rather than putting out the tried-and-true Chex Mix and guacamole, why not try something entirely new? I did, when I brought these blue cheese walnut amuses-bouche to my holiday party this year. The bread, when buttered and toasted, takes on the crispy, airy consistency of a cheese puff, which is a perfect foil for the brandy, mustard, and blue cheese topped with walnuts. While this bite is certainly elegant, it won't stay on your table long. To make these canapés, read more.

Roquefort and Walnut Canapés
From Saveur

Ingredients

16 1⁄4"-thick white bread slices, preferably Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Sliced Bread
Unsalted butter, melted
8 tbsp.softened unsalted butter, plus more to melt and brush on bread
4 tbsp. softened cream cheese
2 tbsp. brandy
1⁄2 tsp. dried mustard powder
8 oz. crumbled blue cheese, preferably Roquefort
Kosher salt
32 flat-leaf parsley leaves
16 walnut halves, cut into quarters

Directions

Using a 2" round cookie cutter, cut out 32 circles from bread slices. Brush both sides of each circle with melted butter and transfer to a baking sheet. Toast bread in a 400˚ oven, turning once, until light golden, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat 8 tbsp. of the softened butter, cream cheese, brandy, and mustard powder in a medium bowl. Stir in blue cheese. Season with kosher salt.
Spread about 1 tbsp. cheese mixture onto each bread circle and garnish with a flat-leaf parsley leaf and a piece of walnut.

Makes 32 canapés.

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Yummy Link: Cornets a la The French Laundry

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:03:14 -0700

The first thing I ate at The French Laundry was a delectable cornet. If you want to try and make it at home, here's the recipe. Oh and can I just say, this one is possibly even more beautiful than the one I ate while there. - Chubby Hubby

Definition: Amuse-Bouche

YumSugar — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 02:31:18 -0700

If you've been a fan of Top Chef, then this definition is already part of your vocab. If not, then read up:

Amuse-Bouche
Bite-sized tidbits served before the meal (usually before appetizers) in order to excite the taste buds and offer a glimpse of what's to come.

Translated from French, amuse-bouche literally means "mouth amuser."

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Top Chef 3.1 - First Impressions Recap

YumSugar — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:13:11 -0700

On last night's season 3 premiere, Top Chef appeared to be back on form - solidifying its place in my cooking reality shows hierarchy. Unlike Hell's Kitchen, which is about Ramsay screaming at folks and The Next Food Network Star, which is about people showing off their personalities, last night's Top Chef was mostly about the food. Sure there was a little contestant squabbling and drama, but overall it was about the food and the cooking. Plus any show that pulls out my favorite food celebrity as guest judge is going to get big props anyway. To get the full recap (with spoilers), read more

The show starts off with 15 contestants arriving at what appears to be a cocktail party at Casa Casuarina (Versace's former mansion). At this point there are too many people to get to know, in fact we strangely only get introductions from 11 of them.

After the cheftestants have mingled and devoured a lot of food, Padma and Chef Tom surprise them with a quickfire challenge. The folks have 10 minutes to make an amuse-bouche using the leftover food in front of them. The winning dish was Micah's "Tuscan Sushi Revisted" - an italian ham with figs & balsamic dressing - and the losing dish was Clay's apple filled with salsa/gazpacho something. It looked great to me, but it was not an amuse-bouche. Meaning Micah gets immunity and Clay is now the guy who doesn't know what an amuse-bouche is.

Next they're whisked off to their fancy new digs in order to prepare for tomorrow's elimination challenge. When they arrive at the challenge they're faced with a large table of "proteins" and are asked to create a Surf & Turf dish. The catch (there's always a catch) is that these are pretty exotic proteins, such as kangaroo, black chicken, eel, rattlesnake, geoduck, alligator, etc. The ol' knife block is pulled out to determine who gets to choose proteins first and of course the tamer ones are picked first. Once proteins are chosen they're told that today's guest judge is exotic cuisine-loving Anthony Bourdain - leaving the folks with the tame meats second-guessing their selections.

During the cooking I noticed one major thing, not once did Padma say "The Kenmore Pro Kitchen." The sponsors are still there, but they're not in our face, which in my opinion, is a huge relief. I also noticed that food photography looks better this season and that there were more shots of food and fewer shots of chefs scowling. Also, two contestants (Brian and Howie) actually don't finish their dishes in time (anyone know if this is a TC first??). My favorite part of the night happened when Howie was criticized for not having plated his dish in time and quoted Bourdain to Bourdain as retaliation! I knew there was no way he was going home after that.

The two top performers of the evening turned out to be Tre with ostrich and abalone and Hung with geoduck and blackened chicken. They were so serious during Judge's Panel, but when told they could smile, they actually smiled. And when asked if he tried Hung's food, Tre started gushing amazingly nice sentiments. If this was season 2, you would have expected Hung to scowl or roll his eyes in return, but what does Hung do? Why he gives a genuine thanks and smile. How novel! In the end Tre is the victor with seared ostrich fillet with heirloom tomato risotto and abalone reduction. His prize: he gets to hang out for a night with Bourdain in NYC, as well as receive autographed copies of all of his books. I personally thought it was a weird prize, and this is coming from someone who would hang out with Bourdain any night!

With Tre declared winner, it's time to send someone home. During the loser's panel Padma breaks from her robot persona and smiles naturally while stating that they could fry her toe, dipped in batter and it would taste good. However, after deliberation, it isn't the fried food that gets sent home. Bourdain declares Clay's dish to be like the "quality class of air cambodia" and so Clay is told to pack his knives and go.

If the season 3 premiere didn't satiate your Top Chef hunger, it looks like Bravo gave their TC homepage a makeover. There's even a Hung vs. Clay taste test battle video that didn't make it into the premiere, as well as several of last night's recipes.

And if you're wondering where Ted Allen was, rumor has it that he and Gail will be alternating as judges.

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Top Chef 5.4 - Today Show Recap

partysugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:45:11 -0800

Well another Wednesday night has come and gone and with it, the third episode of Top Chef season 5. Did you watch? To discuss the episode (warning: spoilers ahead), read more.

Can we talk about the intro? I'll admit I've done a little "put on my chef coat" dance in front of the mirror. Has anyone else?
Do you consider Jamie the strongest member of Team Rainbow?
Rocco: love him or hate him? I love him!
What is your favorite breakfast?
In Jamie and Leah's amuse bouche war, who won in your mind?
What dish would you make for a television presentation?
Which chef do you think is the best for television?
Wasn't it interesting how we already knew which dish won?
What did you think of Kathie Lee's behavior?
Were you surprised by Ariane's win? Did she take the easy way out, making a salad?

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David Chang on Slow Food (and Fast Food)

YumSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:00:08 -0700

On hand at this weekend's Slow Food Nation was Momofuku chef David Chang, whose self-described "vaguely Asian" New York restaurants have catapulted him to celebrity status in the past several years. In a guest appearance at the festival's Green Kitchen, Chang showed the audience Momofuku's twist on caprese salad. As he was prepping for his demonstration, he was kind enough to talk to me about slow food, fast food (Chipotle and In-N-Out are his favorites), future plans, and his latest infatuation. To read what he had to say, read more.

YumSugar: Why did you get involved with Slow Food Nation?
DC: Alice [Waters] asked me to be a part of it. I've gotten to know a lot of work that she does outside of Chez Panisse. I'm not affiliated [with Slow Food] . . . but they're trying to preserve certain traditions. At the very least, it's a really amazing opportunity for people to try new things.

YS: What do you think of those who see Slow Food as an expensive cause for food snobs?
DC: I understand both points. They’re not trying to hurt people. They just want to share. It's a byproduct of American culture - the fact that we don’t have a food culture - to enjoy food is to be elitist. To not eat fast food means that you’re in a different income bracket.

YS: Where will you dine while you're in town?
DC: I'm going to eat at Michael Mina and Quince. I want to check out Daniel Patterson's restaurant [Coi]. My good friend Ed Carew opened up the Cottage Eatery with his wife in Tiburon. Tonight I'm going to go to A16. Tomorrow we're going to Chris Cosentino's restaurant [Incanto], and then we're going to Napa. I always like Bouchon, and I'd love to check out Jeremy [Fox]'s new restaurant Ubuntu.

YS: What do you consider to be your greatest culinary accomplishment?
DC: I don’t know. Honestly, [the fame], it's absurd and comedic. I’m just that dude!

YS: Where do you eat when you're not working?
DC: I love wd-50 and Peasant. I love to go to Per Se, and Hearth is a great restaurant. I love all the Grand Sichuans and Oriental Garden.

YS: What's next for you? There's been lots of speculation.
DC: Maybe trying to unravel all of this? We’re doing lunch for Ko, renovating Ssäm Bar, and redoing the menu at Noodle Bar. We’re doing an expansion of soft-serve, bakery, and dessert at the Ssäm Bar. That's a lot. So while there’s all this talk about future projects, that’s certainly flattering, but we’re just trying to keep it running.

YS: I hear you want to start an Edible Schoolyard in New York, Alice Waters-style.
DC: I would love to. That would be really great.

YS: Noodles or rice?
DC: Rice. Right now I’m infatuated with rice. As much as I love noodles, it’s the year of the rice for me, for all of the [Momofuku] restaurants. Nobody knows anything about rice. Think about Vietnamese cuisine. How the hell do you make rice with no technology? It’s pretty impressive.

YS: Top Chef or Iron Chef?
DC: Neither. I’d like Iron Chef more if Alex Lee never lost. Alex Lee may be the greatest chef America never knew about - maybe the greatest chef America ever produced - and he lost, which is a bunch of bulls**t. Top Chef is great. I used to watch it, but once you start seeing people that you know on TV, the contestants, it's like watching a train wreck. I don’t want to watch it.

YS: Tokyo or Paris?
DC: F**k, that's hard. I'm gonna say Paris.

YS: Truffles or foie gras?
DC: What kind of truffles? We'll go with truffles - no, both. I want to have my cake and eat it too.

YS: Amuse-bouche or dessert?
DC: Amuse.

YS: Chinese takeout or pizza delivery?
DC: I love both! Chinese takeout.

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Not Your Regular Nachos: Gourmet Nacho Bites

partysugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:00:28 -0700

The other day I saw a bag of Yukon gold potatoes sitting on the counter at my parents house. Since potatoes weren't on that night's dinner menu, I knew I could use them to make a delicious and easy appetizer. Inspired by a crisp potato recipe from the latest Everyday Food magazine, I decided to make these nachos with blue cheese, green onions, and grape tomatoes. The final, bite-sized result was the perfect amuse bouche - warm, crunchy, salty - pure scrumptiousness. Some of my guests dislike blue cheese, so I made a fresh mozzarella version to suit their picky tastebuds. The recipe is highly adaptable, you can top the potato chip with any cheese and vegetable combination, so get it now and read more.

Gourmet Nacho Bites
Original Recipe by PartySugar

Ingredients

3 Yukon gold potatoes (chose potatoes that have a large diameter). thinly sliced into rounds
1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
salt
pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1/4 blue cheese*, cut or crumbled into small pieces
2 green onions, dark green ends removed, minced
10-15 grape tomatoes, cut into quarters

Directions

Preheat oven to 475°F. Finely chop garlic, and sprinkle with salt. Using a chef's knife, press flat side of blade back and forth across garlic to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in salt and pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter or oil. On a large-rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with garlic mixture; bake until browned on underside, 15 to 20 minutes.
When the potatoes are crisp, remove from pan. Pat excess oil off with a paper towel and remove any burnt chips. Transfer to a clean baking sheet.

Change oven temperature to broil.
Top each chip with a cheese cube, a sprinkle of green onions, and a tomato wedge.

Return baking sheet to oven. Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and vegetables are soft.
Serve immediately.

Serves 5.

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Get a Sneak Peek at the Secrets of a Chef

YumSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:00:17 -0700

Recently I had the opportunity to take a behind the scenes look at Hubert Keller's cooking show Secrets of a Chef. Filmed in the Napa Valley, his fantastic PBS show is a mix of great cooking, relaxed presentation, and fun. I was absolutely nervous to meet such a prestigious chef, but it wasn't him I should've been scared of, it was his producer Marjorie Poore!

An award-winning cooking show producer with a meticulous eye for detail, she knows exactly what she wants and isn't afraid to tell people what that is. In fact, I watched her command Chef Keller to pick up a pot and put it back down five times until the angle was just right. Her technique was thoroughly impressive and the entire crew was a treat to work with.

I'll have more about the experience later, but for now I'll leave you with a video of what it was like. Consider it a little amuse-bouche.