Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

Archive for the ‘Appetizers’ Category

Are you looking for a way to spice up your snacking?  Snack mixes with savory ingredients is the perfect way!  Nutty, crunchy and crispy ingredients blend with spices for a taste explosion!

Snack mixes are perfect for the big game, family gatherings or any time you’re looking for a good snack.

Savory Reindeer Mix

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups Bugles®
* 2 cups square-shaped cheese flavored crackers
* 2 cups pretzel sticks
* 1 cup Corn Chex® cereal
* 1 cup bite-size shredded wheat
* 1 cup pecan halves
* 1/2 cup butter, melted
* 1 tablespoon maple syrup
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 3/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, combine the butter, syrup, Worcestershire sauce, Cajun seasoning and cayenne; pour over cereal mixture and toss to coat.
2. Transfer to an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 250 degrees F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Super Snack Mix

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup canola oil
* 1 jar Orville Redenbacher Butter oil
* 2 packages dry ranch dressing mix
* 1 box Cheez-Its
* 2 bags oyster crackers
* 1 bags chow mein noodles
* 1 box Ritz mini cheese & crackers
* 1 bag crunchy Cheetos
* 2 cans mixed nuts
* 1 can cashews
* 1 box Crispix cereal

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients in a large garbage bag. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. We use a huge roaster pan but you can also spread out the snack mix on cookie sheets (which shortens baking time). Store in ziploc bags, makes a huge batch (about 4 gallon size ziploc bags).

Do not form the spring rolls more than thirty minutes before cooking, or the filling may seep through the wrapper dough.You can use the crispy spring roll wrappers found in Asian or specialty food stores, but they say it’s fine to use the soft egg roll wrappers found in most grocery stores in place of the spring roll wrappers.You will need enough oil to fill half a wok or fryer: the amount of oil will vary depending on the size of the pan. This recipe calls for soybean oil, but you can substitute with corn oil, sunflower oil, or peanut oil to fry the rolls.

For the filling

• 4 ounces bean thread noodles (also called cellophane or sai fun noodles)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup soybean, corn, safflower, or peanut oil, plus 3-4 cups for frying rolls
• 1/2 small head green cabbage, thinly sliced (approximately 1 1/2-2 cups)
• 1 (12ounce) can thinly sliced bamboo shoots
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienne
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
• 1 (14 ounce) package firm tofu, drained and crumbled, or 1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and cut into thirds, or a combination
• 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

For the seame soy dipping sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced scallion

For the spring rolls

• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 package spring-roll wrappers

1. To make the filling: Soak the bean thread noodles in hot water to soften, according to package directions.
2. Heat 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable oil in a wok over medium high to high heat. Saute the cabbage, bamboo shoots, carrots, and mushrooms 5-7 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat.
3. Drain the noodles, chop coarsely (approximately 3 inches in length), and add with the tofu, if using, to the vegetables. Add the cilantro, sugar, sesame oil, and fish sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Place the filling in a strainer or colander set over a bowl. Place in the refrigerator approximately 15 minutes, until the filling is completely cooled and all the liquid is drained. You may have to press down on the mixture to extract the excess moisture.
5. To make the dipping sauce: Place sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir. Set aside.
6. Remove the filling from the refrigerator. Add the shrimp, if using, and stir to combine.
7. To assemble the spring rolls: Place the beaten egg in a bowl and have a pastry brush handy. Place a spring roll wrapper on a work surface, with one point facing you. Spoon 1/4 cup of the filling near the bottom corner in an oblong shape. Fold the bottom corner of the center and then fold in the sides and pull tightly together. Brush the point farthest from you with a small amount of beaten egg to allow the wrapper to adhere to itself once it is rolled. Roll like a carpet and press gently to seal. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
8. Pour at least 3 inches of vegetable oil into a pot for deep frying and heat to 350 degrees F. Add the spring rolls in batches and fry 2 to 3 minutes, until crisp and light brown. Drain well on brown paper or paper towel and serve immediately with the dipping sauce or keep warm in the oven.

To reduce the heat in the salsa, remove the seeds from the
Chile before chopping. Whenever handling chilies, wear plastic or rubber gloves to protect your skin from the oil in them. Avoid direct contact with your eyes, and wash your hands thoroughly after handling.

• 3 large ripe tomatoes (about 2 pounds), cored and finely chopped
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 1 serrano chile or any fresh, hot green chile, cored, seeded (if desired), and finely chopped
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (from about 3 medium limes)
• Salt

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients, including salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 5 days, to blend flavors.

The quickest canapés are those made with foods that need no more preparation than being cut into bits and put on squares of toast. A few suggestions are: cheese, cured ham, chorizo sausage, smoked trout, smoked eel, smoked salmon, canned sardines, and rolled or flat fillets of canned anchovy. To decorate, use chopped cured ham, chopped or sliced black or green olives, chopped hard-boiled egg, minced parsley, bits of tomato or canned pimento, capers, and truffles. A dab of sauce such as All-i-oli or Romesco will transform cold meat canapés. Canape spreads can be made rapidly from canned or precooked foods as in the following:

Canape of Pureed Sardine

Remove bones from canned sardine, mash fish in mortar, spread on toast, and decorate with chopped hard-boiled egg.

Canape of Pureed Tuna

Mash tuna in mortar with yolks of hard boiled egg and mix with mayonnaise until it spreads easily on toast.

Canape of Pureed Chicken

Crush leftover chicken meat in a mortar with a few toasted almonds, season with salt and white pepper, and add sherry until the paste has the desired consistency. Serve on toast.

Canape of Pureed Hake

Use leftover cooked hake or simmer a slice of fresh fish until cooked through (5-10 minutes). Any white fish may be substituted for hake. When fish is cool, mash with a fork, mix with a little mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper to taste, and spread on toast. Sprinkle with chopped hard-boil egg.Whole fillets of small fish make delicious canapés. Any small, flat fish, such as young flounder, may be substituted for sole in the following recipe.

Canape of Baby Sole

Wash cleaned soles, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and let fish simmer until cooked through (a very few minutes). When fish has cooled, carefully cut out the fillets, put them on strips of toast, and decorate with capers.

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• 3/4 lb. rice
• 1 lb. ricotta
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup toasted bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup olive or peanut oil
• Salt to taste

Cook rice in 3 quarts of rapidly boiling salted water about 25 minutes or until done. Drain and cool, spread 1 tablespoon of rice on palm of hand; place 1 tbs. of ricotta over rice; sprinkle with salt; top with more rice; shape into round or oblong croquettes. Continue until all rice and ricotta are used. Dip croquettes in well beaten egg; roll in bread crumbs. Fry in very hot olive or peanut oil about 3 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.Serve hot as a side dish with meat or fowl. May be served also as a dessert. Simply roll in powdered sugar and serve hot or cold.Serves 6 to 8.

Tempura Sauce:

• 3/4 cup dashi or 3/4 cup clam juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 3 tsp. sugar
• 3 tbs. grated white radish
• 1 tsp. powdered ginger

Dashi is made from dried fish-clam juice is a good substitute. Mix together the fish stock, soy sauce, sake, and sugar. Divide among 6 bowls. Just before serving place a little radish and ginger in each bowl.

Tempura Batter:

Any combination of raw foods may be used, but here are a few typical suggestions:

• 18 shrimp
• 2 fillet of flounder
• 6 scallops
• 1 lobster tail
• 1 carrot
• 1 green pepper
• 18 string beans

Remove shell from shrimp but leave tail. Slit, and discard vein. Cut across underside to straighten shrimp. Cut flounder in 3-inch pieces. Cut scallops in slices. Remove meat of lobster and cut in bite-size pieces. Cut carrots in lengthwise slices and then into squares. Cut green peppers into squares. Leave string beans whole. Dry all ingredients carefully. No moisture should remain.

Tempura Batter:

• 2 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 qt. Vegetable oil

Sift the flour 3 times. Beat the egg yolks and water adds the flour, stirring lightly from the bottom with chopsticks or a spoon. Don’t over stir-flour should be visible on top.

Heat the oil to 325 degrees. A constant temperature is important for good tempura. Hold shrimp by the tail and dip in the batter; drop into the oil and fry until lightly browned. Dip other ingredients into batter on a spoon and gently drop into oil. Serve foods as soon as they are cooked, with the tempura sauce or coarse salt.

Salad is a first course in Spain as it is in California, where the custom may be a legacy of the Conquistadores. Salad is sometimes simply lettuce and tomato; sometimes it includes a number of vegetables. The Spanish rarely make a tossed salad. Instead, they arrange the vegetables decoratively on a large shallow platter and sprinkle the whole generously with salt, olive oil, and wine vinegar or just olive oil and salt. Small slender spouted cruets of vinegar and olive oil are put on the tables for those who want more seasoning. The most decorative salads are probably those made by the Catalans. The greens and reds of the peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce, the blacks and greens of the olives, and the white rings of onion lend themselves to innumerable appetizing patterns. Salad may be served alone or accompanied by a few slices of cold sausage or ham. When there are many accompanying tidbits, the salad is reduced in size and variety, and the collections of platters is called entremeses variados (assorted hors d’oeuvres). These can be as rich or as simple as you choose; they can even constitute a full meal as in a typical Catalan dish called Xato.

Ensalada Madrilena -
Madrid Salad

• 1 large head of lettuce
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• Olive oil
• Wine vinegar
• 6-7 pitted black olives per person
• 6 or more small marinated fishes
• Salt to taste

Peel tomatoes, squeeze out seeds, and chop fine. Mix with chopped lettuce, olives, and fish, boned and chopped. Season with olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Top with slices of hard-boiled eggs.

Xato (pronounced cha-toh’)is a Catalan dish traditionally eaten in January and February, the two coldest months, during which the Catalans find the sharp taste stimulating and warming, although they ordinarily use very little pepper in their food. It is during this season, too, that the heart of curly endive, which is the base of the dish, is whitest. Generally served as a first course in
Catalonia, Xato is substantial enough to constitute a supper or lunch.

Xato Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic
• 7-8 peeled and toasted almonds
• 1 or more sharp chili peppers (or powdered cayenne pepper)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp. salt

This sauce can be made in 5 minutes in an electric blender: simply put all the ingredients in at once and beat until the pepper is reduced to fine particles. If you do not have a blender, crush the garlic and almonds in a mortar, add one or more finely chopped chili peppers, and mash to a smooth paste before gradually blending in the oil and vinegar. The number of peppers (or the amount of cayenne) you use depends on how sharp you like the sauce. When tasting the seasoning, bear in mind that the sauce will seem less sharp when mixed with the salad.

Little cocktail pastries are excellent made with any leftover, unsweetened dough. Fresh dough does not take long to prepare and can be mixed the day before you wish. For that matter, the pastries can be baked hours in advance. Best hot or warmed over in a moderate oven, they are also good cold. The following recipe makes enough dough for about forty bite-size pastries or thirty tartlets.

Empanadilla Dough

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs. milk
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Put flour on a board or marble slab, make a hole in the center, add all ingredients in the hole, and mix well with fingers. Roll into a ball and cover with a damp cloth. The dough must rest for 15 minutes before use; it can be kept in a cool place for 24 hours.