Hor d'Oeuvres at Natural Gourmet Institute

* Phyllo Triangles with Savory Mushrooms
*Tempeh Nori Packages
*Fried Shrimp with Wasabi Garnish
*White Bean Spread with Sundried Tomato/Kalamata Tapenade on Rosemary and Garlic Pizzelle
*Curried Chicken Salad on Papadam with Yogurt Raita
*Rosemary, Pumpkin, and Leek Dumplings
*Mini Salmon Cakes with Lemon Dill Aioli
*Parmesan Tacos Filled with Baby Mesclun Greens
*Pine Nut Ricotta on Endive
*Pumpkin Cornmeal Tartlet with Avocado Cream
*Phyllo Triangles with Herbed Greens

The staple of any party or gathering is the hors d’oeuvre. Whether it’s an intricately constructed piece of art or just a bowl of salsa and chips, everyone loves them.

White Bean Sundried Tomato/Kalamata Tapenade on Pizzelle

As a guest, you want something to nibble on while you’re talking, walking, listening, whatever. As a host, you want to make sure that your guests have a little something to put in their stomachs so they don’t roll out of your home stinking drunk. (They might anyway, but at least you’ll know it wasn’t your fault.)

The hors d’oeuvre (which literally means “outside the work”) has been around almost as long as people have been eating foods other than brontosaurus drumsticks. Romans, Greeks, and other ancient civilizations had little bite-sized snacks before their main meals.

Tempeh Nori Packages

Hors can be as simple as crudités and dip; however, “pretty” hors d’oeuvres are labor intensive. But an outstanding hors d’oeuvre is what people often remember most about a meal, even more so than dessert (unless that dessert was out of this world).

For a bunch of students, we made some very nice plates (see photos).

Pumpkin Cornmeal Tartlet with Avocado Cream

And they tasted pretty damn good, too.

I’m wrapping up work on a book of hors d’oeuvres for my second cookbook. I’ve been working on it for years and I’m hoping that a publisher picks it up. Wish me luck.

Here’s the recipe for Parmesan Tacos Filled with Baby Mesclun Greens, which is what I made in class. You’ll find it’s fairly easy and not overly time consuming. Let me know what you think.

Parmesan Tacos Filled with Baby Mesclun Greens

© Natural Gourmet Institute

For tacos:
9 oz. Parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated on small microplane grater
1 tbsp unbleached white flour, sifted

For filling:
1 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 small shallot, minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 oz. baby mesclun greens, washed and spin dried

Procedure:

Parmesan Tacos Filled with Baby Mesclun Greens

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line standard size baking sheet with Silpatbaking mat or parchment paper.
2. In small mixing bowl, toss grated Parmigiano Reggiano with flour.Sprinkle 1 ½ tbs cheese mixture onto Silpat mat to form a 3-inch circle and flatten. Six will fit on a standard baking sheet.
3. Bake until cheese is melted and very lightly golden brown (about 10 minutes) after 5 minutes rotate pan. Remove from oven and let sit 30 seconds. With a spatula, remove one baked round to a paper towel and hold it in the palm of your hand, folding up the edges. Depress a butter knife or small offset spatula adown the middle to form a taco shape. Make sure bottom is flat. Transfer to paper towels to cool. Repeat with remaining cheese.
4. While cheese is baking, in small mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, shallot, and mustard. Whisk in the olive oil slowly. Add salt and pepper to taste. When all of the crisps are made a cooled, toss the greens with vinaigrette. Place the greens carefully into the tacos and serve. Assemble as close to serving time as possible.

This year, it’s the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New Orleans Saints. And since this is the first time in the team’s history that the Saints are going to the Superbowl, I’m sure many New Orleanians and Louisianans are going to party hardy this weekend.

Now, I won’t claim to know much about football, but if you’re having a Superbowl or tailgate party, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s see what’s on the menu…

First, let’s take note on what food holidays coincide with the Superbowl. Tomorrow, February 6 is National Nutella Day. Nutella is an Italian chocolate-hazelnut spread. Hmmm, so many possibilities there. In France, a common snack food is crêpes stuffed with various ingredients, including Nutella. In fact, if you walk down the street of any city in France, you’ll likely encounter a street vendor selling an array of luscious crêpes made fresh right there in his or her cart. (I came across one of these carts in Aix-en-Provence and ordered a crêpe made with Gran Marnier, which is practically a national dish, but it really was hard passing up the Nutella version.) So, in honor of Nutella Day, buy some pre-made crêpes, spread a couple of tablespoons of Nutella over them, and roll them up. Or, do as the Italians do: spread Nutella on slices of bread and enjoy.

Sunday itself is National Fettuccini Alfredo Day. Okay, if you’re having a tailgate party, that may not be the best choice to pack in your cooler.  If you’re having a party at home, however, here’s a simple recipe for it at Epicurious.com. P.S.–It’s not a low-fat recipe. Nowhere even close. But, then, Superbowl Sunday never was about diets, was it?

So, what else can you serve at your party or pack for your tailgate fiesta? An excellent (and healthy) choice is Italian green bean, potato and tomato salad. So easy to put together, it’s just a few fresh ingredients tossed with a low-fat balsamic dressing. Click HERE for my recipe. Or, how about a fresh, delicious spinach and potato pie? It’s a little higher up in the fat and calorie content, but because it’s homemade, you’ll have something truly fresh and preservative-free. That recipe is HERE.

For some other ideas, the Food Network has it all laid out for you. They offer different menus for different game plans. So, they have quick-and-easy, make-ahead, budget-friendly, and several other menus HERE.  Maybe you’re looking for a different Buffalo wings recipe or a different take on chili. It’s there, too. Guy Fieri has a particularly interesting menu (he always does) HERE. His menu intrigues me so much, in fact, that I’m tempted to have an impromptu Superbowl party just to try out his recipes. I mean, he’s got a Jambalaya Sandwich, Tailgate Sangria, and Waka Waka Salad Appetizer, which consists of  ramen noodles, three kinds of cabbage, wonton skins, and Spanish peanuts. Hmm.

(Speaking of the Food Network, I’m glad to report that those of us who subscribe to Cablevision cable service have gotten back the Food Network. I have no idea what deal Cablevision and Scripps Network hammered out, but I hope it doesn’t result in customers getting charged more. Now, Cablevision has sent me a letter saying I need a digital cable box—a separate issue from last year’s federal cable service mandate. It seems that it’s costing me more and more to watch TV, something that used to be FREE. Ugh.)

Over at Nola.com, read “New Orleans Saints players’ personal chefs offer up Super Bowl recipes” for some “home style” dishes.

How about these sure-to-please options:

Tomato-Avocado Salsa with Tortilla Chips

Garam Masala Deviled Eggs

Jalapeno Popper Spread

Pan-Fried Veggie Wontons with Sesame Dip

Cat Cora’s Keftdedes (Greek Meatballs)

Two Sisters’ Chicken Salad

North Carolina Style Pulled Pork

Alton Brown’s Coleslaw

To go with your fabulous menus, have different beverages available—a few different beers and wine (maybe a non-alcoholic choice for your teetotaling friends), some soda, and maybe some iced tea and lemonade. With all these tasty options, you’ll have the hottest Superbowl party in town.

What’s for dessert? Leave that to your guests.

Have a great week, everyone. Enjoy Superbowl Sunday!! And if you’re driving anywhere, be safe—if you’re drinking, have a designated driver.

Peace

Anyway, on with the show.

This week,  I want to talk about appetizers. It’s a pretty broad subject, I know, but they’ve been a part of my daily existence for the past year. Allow me to explain.

My next cookbook is going to focus on appetizers, so almost every day I have been testing at least one appetizer. The thing is, when you’re testing a recipe, you have to test it exactly as it’s going to appear in the final recipe, including ingredients and quantities. In other words, if you’re developing a recipe for turkey chili with red beans and zucchini (yeah, zucchini.  so?), you can’t substitute pork and chick peas in the testing and then use cauliflower because they were out of zucchini at the market. Everything cooks up differently, at different times, with different results. You won’t know what your end product will be and that could cause dissatisfaction in your readers. Your recipes must work as written. Where quantities are concerned, again, you need to use the same quantities as stated in the ingredients list of the recipe, otherwise, you may end up with a different yield. So, your readers might be expecting 4 servings and end up with only 3, or 10. And not all recipes are amenable to being doubled or halved.

Why is this a problem for me? Because if I’m developing a recipe for appetizers, it’s going to be for at least 6 people. Appetizers can be fun and delicious, but I must say, one can only eat so many appetizers. It’s gotten so that I’m sick of my own food. I give away a lot of food. A lot. The other night, I asked a friend if he’d like to go get Chinese food. I couldn’t stand the thought of eating my own food again. I was already cooking a couple of things that night, mind you, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat them. I finished cooking, packed it all up, and went out.

Don’t get me wrong. My food isn’t bad. In fact, if my family and friends are to be believed (not to mention my personal chef clients), I’m pretty good at this cooking thing. But sometimes I just need someone else’s food.

Anyway, back to appetizers. Appetizers have existed since ancient times. Here’s what I wrote about appetizers—or antipasti in Italian—in my cookbook, What, No Meat?:

One of the trademarks of an Italian meal is the antipasto (appetizers or hors d’oeuvres). Contrary to popular belief, antipasto does not mean “before the pasta.” It means “before the meal.” Pasto (meal) comes from the Latin word pastus, meaning “food.” The ancient Athenians actually invented the concept of appetizers; unfortunately for their guests, it was the only course they would serve. Other Greeks felt that this was a sign of cheapness because, as Lynceus put it, “such a layout as that may seem to offer variety, but is nothing at all to satisfy the belly.”

The ancient Romans began having true antipasto in the 3rd century B.C. and continued having this premeal course through the 4th century A.D. It included items that are still considered appetizers today, such as olives and a primitive pizza (think of the focaccia on the table at your favorite Italian restaurant).

During the Dark Ages, meals were more for sustenance than enjoyment, so antipasto had no place in it. During the Plague of the 14th century, one was lucky to get a meal at all, let alone appetizers. With the onset of the Renaissance, admiration for beauty and art was reborn and appreciation of food for its own sake reemerged. Appetizers came back in style and have remained with us to this day.

After I finish all this testing, I’m going on a diet. Maybe even a fast. Parties are fun, but parties every day become a bore (how does Paris Hilton do it, poor thing?). But I don’t want anyone to lose interest in the subject. Appetizers are creative little dishes that guests remember the next day and for days to come.

As Saki (writer H.H. Munro) wrote in “Reginald at the Carlton”:

Hors d’oeuvres…remind me of one’s childhood that one goes through considering what the next course is going to be like—and during the rest of the menu one wishes one had eaten more of the hors d’oeuvres.

Have a great week, everyone! And stay away from those viruses.