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  • Food pairings & hors d'oeuvre ideas

    We're starting up our Friday Tasting Series again. And while I've got some good ideas for associated nibbles, I'm open to thoughts.

    The rules:

    I have to be able to make around 100 fairly quickly and with minimal effort
    No fancy techniques (rosettes, etc)
    Bite-sized
    No meat or seafood
    No crazy strong flavours
    Something that can be explained easily (if it's a cultural dish, even better! I'll match it with the wines!)
    Preferably minimally processed ingredients.

    Examples:

    Stuffed mushroom caps
    Rye toast points w/tart apple & mild cheddar
    Individual apple crisps
    Homemade red pepper hummus

    Have at it! I'm collecting these for future use as well as current, so keep 'em coming!

  • #2
    Deviled eggs are good.

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    • #3
      Baked ravioli, sweet peppers stuffed with cheese, wontons with cheese, vegetable kabobs, fondue. This project sounds fun a good Pinterest board to start!

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      • #4
        I like the fondue idea, though I'm mostly trying to keep away from communal bowls and dips (hummus is the exception, I can spread it on pita for an individual bite). I REALLY like the veggie kabobs. Might be a great January treat... warm and nommy!

        I totally forgot about wontons. I can make veggie potstickers!

        Deviled eggs are interesting. I make a killer one with a great pepper kick.

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        • #5
          Depending on the level of "formality" desired - -this would be more towards the casual end: Ritz with melted cheese. Crackers, salt side down, cheese on top (muenster would probably be good for this, it has a distinctive color & a noticeable flavor but it's not too strong), pop in oven/toaster oven until cheese melts.
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          • #6
            toothpicks with a maraschino cherry, a cube of sharp cheddar, and a chunk of pineapple threaded onto each one.

            tzatziki (greek yogurt sauce): blend plain yogurt, cucumber, and garlic - leave in the fridge overnight to meld

            parmesan toast: mix mayo, parmesan cheese, and minced onion (or onion powder), spread on cocktail rye and toast.

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            • #7
              I'd recommend getting hold of a pastry bag; this will let you mix up topping and squirt a pretty dab on top of a cracker or a slice of cheese.

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              • #8
                For something sweet, take your pita wedges and spread them with a mixture of tahini and date molasses. Date molasses can be found in grocery stores that carry Middle Eastern ingredients. It's very popular in Iraq. Both the tahini and date molasses are fairly thin when you pour them in a bowl, but when you mix them, something happens that I really can't explain and it becomes almost as thick as icing. That stuff is WONDERFUL.
                The original Cookie in a multitude of cookies.

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                • #9
                  Another idea - take baguette and slice it thin and lightly toast in the oven to make crostinis. Mix together soften cream cheese with lemon zest, a touch of lemon juice, and sugar or honey. Pipe the mixture on top of the crostinis - a dollop per slice. It's ok if it's not perfect, you're going to stick berries on top of that. Done!
                  The original Cookie in a multitude of cookies.

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                  • #10
                    Why not make sushi? You can do skinnier rolls with vegetable fillings as opposed to meat ones. A roll would give you what, 8 pieces? About 12 rolls, done.
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                    • #11
                      You can make mini pizza slices with crescent roll dough. Lay out the triangles of dough, spread your preferred topping on each one, bake. They can be tailored to the individual if you like, or you can set up an "assembly line" and do them all the same.
                      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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                      • #12
                        Stuffed dates, stuffed olives.

                        Both can use the same glop - I detest goatpiss flavoring in my cheese so I use cream cheese:

                        soften cheese of your choice, mix in a puree of roasted garlic, chopped fresh oregano, parsley, thyme and a dash of smoked paprika - to taste is fine. I use a piping bag to make life easy on myself with a Wiltons 230 round tip.

                        With either dates or olives make sure you gt them already pitted, because having to pit several hundred of the damned things gets to be a pain in the ass.

                        Insert tip into the cavity of the fruit, squeeze the bag until the goody is filled. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchement and pop in the fridge to get good and cold.

                        Oddly enough, sweet [date] is interesting with the savory garlic, and garlic and olives go well together.

                        Wonton shells fit nicely in the wells of a muffin placque, and you can either blind bake them to fill with salsa, cheese, beans and avocado to make taco bites, or fill with spinach artichoke dip, or anything you might like or you can put them into the placque raw, and fill with whatever needs to be baked like crab rangoon filling, lasagne sauce and meat and cheese, or anything like that. Less oil than frying also.
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                        • #13
                          You guys are giving me great ideas. I love the idea of stuffed olives, and dates on pita wedges? Totally using that for the Armagnac/Cognac tasting after Thanksgiving.

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                          • #14
                            Almost forgot: Cream cheese and savory jelly (vidalia onion or jalpeno pepper jelly) on crackers

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                            • #15
                              Just had another thought - I know watermelon and feta is a popular combination right now. I need to try it, it sounds amazing. But you could cube both and put them on toothpicks together.
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