Category: Appetizers

Apricot-Orange Almond Goat and Cream Cheese Log

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It always seems like we’re noshing all day when everyone is home, and I wanted to try something different for New Year’s Eve. I made a version of Jenn Laughlin’s cheese spread and it was ridiculously delicious, and also so easy!

Ingredients

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup almonds, crushed (I used Trader Joe’s Sesame Honey Almonds, but you can use regular salted almonds, or other slightly-sweetened almonds.)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used flat leaf parsley) or Basil
1/4 cup Sarabeth’s Orange Apricot Marmalade
4-5 dried apricots, chopped
honey for drizzling

Blend the cream cheese and feta cheese.

In a gallon zip lock bag, pound the almonds until they are crushed. (I used a wooden potato masher.) Add the parsley and apricots.  (I was out of apricots so I skipped them.)

On a long, narrow plate, carefully spoon out the Orange Apricot preserves. (We love Sarabeth’s Orange Apricot Marmalade, but you could use 1/2 apricot preserves, and 1/2 marmalade.)  I might use a big more marmalade next time, or try warming it and drizzling it over with the honey.

Carefully cut the top off the bag of nuts and parsley. Gather the cheese mixture into a roughly long log shape and drop it into the nuts mixture. Press the mixture into the bottom of the log, and then carefully rotate the log to get nuts on all side. You can also square up the ends of the log, and press nuts into them.

Carefully remove the cheese log and place it on the marmalade.  Drizzle lightly with honey. Garnish with a few parsley leaves, and serve with hearty crackers or slices of Granny Smith apples.

Jenn Laughlin says it’s also great with fig preserves.

Crudites with Dip

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Made this for Thanksgiving 2007, and 2013. I think the dip is originally a Martha Stewart recipe. Part of the fun is to have lots of different, interesting vegetables. I gathered lots of little clear glass containers for the veggies and put them on a tray, with the dip in the center. Prepping the veggies take a little time but it’s worth it. You can also serve hummus with roasted red pepper.

green beans, tips cut off and blanched
thin asparagus, trimmed and blanched
celery sticks
jicama sticks
cucumber spears
scallion sections
baby carrots
grape tomatoes
yellow squash spears
zucchini spears (Both the yellow squash and zucchini are surprisingly good with dip.)

Arrange in glasses and bowls and serve with dip, below:

1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp minced chives
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 large shallot, finely diced

Mix all in a large mason jar and refrigerate until just before serving. (Note, I didn’t write down salt when I wrote the recipe, but I’m certain I added some. Taste and add salt as needed.)

Note: blanching vegetables is super easy. It just means slightly cooking vegetables. I use a deep basket shaped strainer that I got an an Asian grocery store, but you can just do it with tongs if you don’t have a strainer that fits in your pot.

Here’s how you do it. Bring a medium sized pot of generously salted water to the boil, and have another large bowl of ice water close by.

Put veggies in very briefly, maybe 2 minutes. Remove and plunge veggies into ice water for a few minutes, until they don’t feel warm anymore. This softens them up just a bit without losing their crunch. It also keeps the colors nice and bright.

Texas Caviar with Avocados

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We had this at our friend Dot and Johns’s New Year’s Eve party and I couldn’t stay away from it. It’s a wonderful appetizer, especially for me since I find appetizers challenging.

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup jalapenos, seeded and diced
1 cup Italian salad dressing
dash of cayenne pepper
2 avocados, diced

Mix all above and serve with scoopy corn chips.

Colleen’s Blue Cheese Cheesecake

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This savory cheesecake is a specialty of my friend Colleen, who is such an amazing cook. It’s a beautiful appetizer (something I’m normally terrible at) and perfect for potlucks.

Most people are familiar with sweet cheesecake so this cheesy, tangy one is something totally new.    Colleen puts it on a large platter garnished with pretty globe grapes and serves it with crackers.  (She makes it with light cream cheese, light sour cream and light mayonnaise, and it’s delicious, too – so you can do that if you wish.)

Crust:
3/4 cup crushed club crackers (18-20 crackers)
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix in a bowl and press into one large or two smaller springform pans. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Mix:
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
8 oz. of blue cheese
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3 eggs

Blend all ingredients very well and pour into baked crust. Smooth the top and bake at 300 for another 45 minutes. ( Check at 40 minutes if  you’re making two smaller ones.) Remove from oven and let rest one hour. Gently loosen edge with a butter knife and chill the cheesecake for several hours.

To serve, just remove the sides of the springform pan, and place the cheesecake on a large platter, with crackers and globe grapes. This would probably also be delicious with sliced apples.