Category: Appetizers

Sausage and Apple Handpies

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Can I just say again how frustrating Martha’s search engine is on her website? Why doesn’t it work? Aaargh.

So, I tried this recipe last year from Martha’s Halloween Issue, and I love it. I already made it this year for Halloween, but I’m posting it now because I can see it as a terrific appetizer for Thanksgiving (jeff!). It’s a bit of work, so if you have many Thanksgiving assignments besides this one, I wouldn’t recommend tackling it (especially not on Thursday), but they do freeze well if you have time in advance. And they are extremely nice–a great, delicate buttery crust, and a bit of a thick, savory filling. Together. Yum.

Sausage and Apple Handpies

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, diced (1 1/2 c.)
1 t. minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 t. fresh ground pepper
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. + 1 t. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 c. chicken stock
1 medium granny apple, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
Pate Brisee (recipe follows)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a plat. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, thyme, and pepper (if pan is dry, add th oil). Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add flour to pan; cook stirring, until thick, about 1 minutes. Stir in apples and reserved sausage. remove from heat, let mixture cool. (Filling can be refrigerated up to overnight in an airtight container.)

3. Preheat oven to 375. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough into a 14″x16″ rectangle slightly less tan 1/8″ thick. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper,; top with a second piece of parchment. Repeat with remaining dough disks, covering with parchment and stacking rolled dough. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

4. Using 3 3/4″ circle cutter (or bottom of a cup), cut rounds from sheets of dough. Place 2 T. filling in center of half of the round. Brush edges lightly with beaten egg. Top with remaining rounds, pressing edges with a fork to seal. With a small leaf-shaped cutter, cut shapes from scraps and adhere to pies with some of the beaten egg (alternatively, cut leaf shapes out of tops and add cutout slightly off-center to cover the open portion–this is a really nice presentation). Combine scraps and reroll. Cut rounds and repeat to fill and form more handpies. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush with egg. Refrigerate 15 minutes (this step is important if you want to see the fork tines. Alternately, you can pitch the edges with two fingers on one hand and your knuckle on the other–as you would a pie crust. I think this looks nicer).

5. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. [You can also freeze the pies for 3 days–you don’t need to thaw, and they bake for the same amount of time.]

Pate Brisee
[This recipe is really remarkable. The dough turns out bakery=quality, but you need to be sure not to overknead or work it, so the flour doesn’t develop gluten and become tough. Last year, I used frozen butter and mixed the dough with my fingers, and the result was fantastic. This year, I used the cold butter, still mixing it with my fingers instead of a food processor, and it still worked fine–but the food processor is more fool=proof, I think].

5 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. salt
2 t. sugar
1 lb. (4 cubes) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons (you can let out a small gasp–but remember, you yourself are not eating 1 lb. of butter! It’s divided up!)
3/4c.-1 c. ice water

Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add butter and pulse just until pea-size chunks remain. With machine running, add water through the feed tube, and process just until dough starts to come together. Transfer mixture t a work surface and bring together to form a dough. Divide dough in thirds. Flatten each piece into a disk, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to overnight).

Easiest Garlic Dip Ever

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This dip is outstanding.  I almost didn’t want to tell my party guests what was in it because it was so simple. I wanted them to stay impressed.  But I told them and now everyone can make this amazing dip.

Plus, it gave me an excuse to use my little dipper for the first time (though I’m sure you could also just simmer this over very low heat in a saucepan).

(From A Year of Slow Cooking)

Easiest Garlic Dip Ever

1 8 oz. block cream cheese
1/3 C. mayonnaise
whole head of garlic, minced (or, if you’re lazy like me, about 2 T. of pre-minced garlic from a jar)

Mix everything in your little dipper (or in a small saucepan) and simmer for an hour or so, stirring occasionally.  Serve with veggies, crackers, pita, whatever.  Fabulous!

Herbed Spinach Dip

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This is a great dip from the New Best Recipe that works well with vegetables and with crackers.  My friend Linda requested it, and since there might be a few potlucks and gatherings this weekend, I thought it might be of interest to more than just her! The taste depends on the fresh dill and parsley and garlic, so I wouldn’t recommend substituting dried.

Herbed Spinach Dip
Makes about 1 1/2 c. (for 8-10 people)

1 (10 oz.) box frozen, chopped spinach
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
3 medium scallions (green onions), white parts only, sliced thin
1 T. chopped fresh dill
1/2 c. packed fresh parsley leaves
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 t. hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/2 medium red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced fine

1. Thaw the spinach in a microwave for 3 minutes at 40% power. (The edges should be thawed but not warm; the center should be soft enough to be broken into icy chunks.) Squeeze the partially frozen spinach of excess water.

2. In a food processor, process the spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, dill, parsley, garlic, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and stir in the bell pepper; serve. (The dip can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days–and even tastes a little better.) [Note: if you don’t have a food processor, you can blend the mixture, or just chop it really fine and stir it together–it will still work!]

Pomegranate Fontina Rice Balls

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This is a Martha Stewart Living Recipe from this last December. When some friends and I were together last year, eating these yummy

Martha's Picture, not mine

rice balls in Boston, I starting searching for a good recipe to make them. Although this one might be a little more extravagant than others, it’s also very, very good. I didn’t use grapeseed or safflower oil (just canola), and because pomegranates are out of season now, I put in small dollops of black current jam. I think lingonberry jam would also be terrific, as would probably raspberry or any other favorite. I did use fontina cheese, and it was great–melted perfectly and was delicious. But, if you’re wanting something a little more budget-friendly, cubes of mozzerella would also be good, I think (just not fresh mozz). Cubes of ham would also be good, if you wanted.

Also, the recipe doesn’t specify how much salt to add, but it needs quite a bit. Definitely taste the rice mixture before refrigerating it, and add according (1 t. + more according to taste). And note the yield: it makes a lot. I refrigerated the rice mixture for a couple of days and it held up well in an airtight container.

Pomegranate Fontina Rice Balls
Makes about 50

  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)
  • 1 pound arborio rice (2 1/3 cups)
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 6 cups water, plus more if needed
  • 3 small sprigs rosemary
  • 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (4 ounces)
  • 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup diced fontina cheese (4 ounces)
  • 1 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 4 cups fine plain breadcrumbs
  • 4 large eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  • Safflower oil, for frying (about 8 cups)

Directions

  1. Heat grapeseed oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add rice, and toast, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat. Add wine. Heat over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add 2 cups water and the rosemary. Cook, stirring constantly and adding 2 cups water at a time, plus more if needed, waiting for each addition to be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes more. Discard rosemary sprigs.
  3. Add Parmesan and butter, and season with salt and pepper. (Mixture will loosely hold its shape.) Transfer to a baking sheet, and refrigerate until cooled, about 2 hours or overnight.
  4. Transfer rice to a bowl, and stir in fontina and pomegranate seeds. Form into 1 3/4-inch balls, and transfer to a clean baking sheet. Place breadcrumbs on a plate. Roll each ball in breadcrumbs to coat, then in egg mixture, then again in breadcrumbs, returning to baking sheet as you work.
  5. Heat 4 inches safflower oil in a medium pot until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 350 degrees. Working in batches, carefully drop rice balls into oil, and fry until golden, about 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plates to drain. Sprinkle with salt.

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

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We made this last weekend when we got together with friends, and we were surprised out how well it turned out, especially ’cause it’s made mostly with pantry supplies (I love things that are easy to keep on hand–it seems like I’m always needing to find something to make for a party and I don’t have enough time to get to the store beforehand. And between this and the quesadillas, I now have two reasons to keep roasted red peppers on hand!). The dip’s sweeter than I would’ve expected, but it tasted great with salty crackers and the other veggies we had. This recipe comes from The New Best Recipe cookbook.

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

1 c. walnuts
12 oz. jarred raosted red peppers, drained, rinsed, and patted dry with paper towels
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 c, coarsely ground plain wheat crackers
3 T. juice from 1 large lemon
1 T. mild molasses
1 t. honey
1/2 t. ground cumin
3/4 t. salt
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

Place the walnuts in a medium skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan occasionally to turn the nuts, until they are fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool the nuts on a plate.

Process the toasted walnuts with the remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth, about 10, one-second pulses. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill until the flavors meld, at least 30 minutes (the dip can last 2 days in the fridge before serving).  Note: you can also finely chop the walnuts and peppers and mix with other ingredients, or use your blender if you don’t have a food processor.

Chinese Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

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Potstickers are undoubtedly one of the most divine foods. This recipe is also quite straightforward, and terrific. The dipping sauce also really makes it shine. I served these with rice and broccoli. Yum. And thanks to Kung Fu Panda, my kids think they’re cool to eat, too.

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
from the Best International Recipe

Filling:
3 c. minced napa cabbage leaves
3/4 t. salt
3/4 lb. ground pork
4 scallions, minced
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
4 t. soy sauce
1 1/2 t. minced or grated fresh ginger (must use! critical for flavor)
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/8 t. black pepper

Dumplings:
24 round gyoza wrappers (you can use wonton wrappers, which will decrease cooking time to 6 minutes, and increase the yield to 40)
2 T. vegetable oil
1 c. water

For the filling:
Toss the cabbage with salt in a colander and set over a bowl and let stand for 20 minutes, until cabbage begins to wilt. Press the cabbage gently with a rubber spatula to squeeze out any extra moisture, then transfer to a medium bowl. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix thoroughly, then cover with plastic and refrigerate until mixture is cold, 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

For the dumplings:
Fill, seal and shape the dumplings. If you haven’t done this before, I found a great, short video clip here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE82VmqPYj4

I usually use water and my fingers to seal, just because it’s easy–and fun. As you fill the dumplings, place them on a floured or parchment-lined sheet. At this point, they can be frozen for up to a month. (It’s great to have help with this step or else it takes a little while. We’ve had fun filling and cooking these with friends as a casual dinner party.)

When ready to cook, brush a non-stick 12-inch skillet with 1 T. of oil, then arrange half the dumplings in the skillet with the flat side facing down. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook the dumplings, without moving, until golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add 1/2 c. of water and cover immediately. Continue to cook, covered, until most of the water is absorbed and the wrappers are slightly translucent, about 10 minutes. Uncover the skillet, increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook, without stirring, utnil the dumpling bottoms are well browned and crisp, 3-4 minutes more. Slide onto a towel-lined plate to let drain, then transfer to a platter. Cook remaining dumplings and serve with sauce.

Scallion Dipping Sauce

1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. mirin or white wine mixed with 1 t. sugar
2 T. water
1 scallion, sliced thin on the bias
1 t. chili oil (optional)
1/2 t. toasted sesame oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve.

Parsley Hummus

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For our wedding, some friends got us this nifty contraption called the AeroGrow.  It utilizes “aeroponics” to grow herbs and vegetables.  It was an awesome present because we love it, but it’s not anything we would have ever bought for ourselves because it’s kind of expensive.  So far it has been a surefire way to grow herbs quickly.  Once the plant outgrows the AeroGrow, you can transplant it to a pot.  I still have some chives growing in the dining room that started in the AeroGrow in March 2008.

Parsley grows like crazy in the AeroGrow and threatens to take over the kitchen (along with its buddy, the dill), but I never really know what to use it for.  Until now.  Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen (another of my favorite recipe blogs) posted an awesome-sounding recipe for Parsley Hummus recently.  We’re having some people over tomorrow so I thought I would whip up a batch and serve it with veggies and pita bread.  Well, I just finished making it and it’s fabulous.  I could eat it with a spoon.  It’s heavy on the tahini and sesame oil so I almost want to call it Sesame Parsley Hummus.

Also, for any Rhode Islanders who haven’t discovered Not Just Spices yet, check it out.  I got a giant jar of tahini there for $6 and they have piles of spices and chutneys and all sorts of good things for making authentic Indian and Middle Eastern fare.

Pão de Queijo

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Little Cheesy BreadsIf you have been to Brazil, or know anyone who has (like my husband), they will undoubtedly know what these divine little cheese breads are. If you haven’t yet been introduced, pão de queijo are street food throughout Brazil, and they are unbelievably terrific. A batch of these makes about 200, and we usually eat 100 of them the night we make them (and all feel a little sick, of course, too). Tonight, Peter stuffed three in his mouth all at the same time, and then lowered his face to the table to pick up another. Sadly, Henry too had four in his mouth. Definitely a safety hazard.

Pão de Queijo

4 c. milk
1 c. vegetable oil
2 lbs. polvilho doce/sweet yucca starch (in Rhode Island, this is found on the international food aisles of almost all grocery stores, by the bagged beans. It’s white and powdery–looks like corn starch. Out of state, it might be found in latin markets. I’m not sure.)
1 lb. mineiro cheese or 12 oz. parmesan (or romano) cheese, grated
1 T. salt
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Place yucca starch in a large bowl. Boil the milk and oil in a large pot, watching carefully since it can quickly bubble over the sides. Remove milk mixture from the heat and pour over the starch, and mix together well with a large wooden spoon. Let the mixture cool (about 25 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 350. Once the mixture is cooled, add the cheese to the milk mixture, and knead well, until mostly incorporated. Add the beaten eggs and salt, and knead thoroughly (I do this by hand and it’s extremely messy, but I can’t get them to turn out correctly otherwise). The dough will be soft and sticky. With wet hands, form the dough into teaspoon-sized balls, rewetting your hands as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Placed on greased sheets and cook for 30 minutes. (I usually use 3 baking sheets total to make a full batch).

If you can find the ingredients, I would really recommend making these. If you can’t, next time you come over, I’ll make them for you.

Holy Moly Guacamole

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Holy Moly Guacamole from Hungry Girl Recipes

My sister-in-law brought this to a family party and I knew I’d found a winner! Don’t let the peas scare you. Being an avid pea-hater my entire life, I’ve only recently begun serving them in any form to please my husband. Believe me, you cannot taste them at all. The best part about this recipe is it’s healthy too! Only 78 calories per serving (1/3 cup).

One 15 -ounce can early (young) peas, drained

1/2 cup mashed avocado

1/3 cup chopped cherry or grape tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

4 teaspoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

additional salt and pepper, to taste

optional: chopped fresh cilantro, chopped jarred jalapenos

In a medium sized bowl, mash peas thoroughly with a potato masher.  Add avocado, yogurt, lime juice, garlic, and seasonings.  Continue to mash until blended.  Stir in tomatoes, onion, and if you like, some cilantro and/or jalapenos.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Guacamole

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This is my favorite guac recipe, and the best I’ve ever tried, but of course, by posting it, I’m also inviting variation.

Guacamole

3 ripe avocados (soft to the touch and blackened skin–if Haas)
1 jalapeno, seeded and white ribs removed, if you don’t like spice
1-2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 c. cilantro, stems removed and chopped
2 T. onion (I prefer red), minced
juice from 1 lime (limes that have harder or thinner skins have the most juice, yielding about 1 T., I’m guessing)
salt and pepper to taste (I use abt 1/2 t. salt and a dash of pepper)

Cube the avocados by slicing them in half with a butter knife, removing the pit, and then cross-hatching the flesh, and removing it with a spoon. Place in a bowl, and slightly smash, and then add the rest of the ingredients, saving the lime for last. Fold all the ingredients together (gently) and serve.

I’ve heard that you can prevent avocados from turning brown by keeping the pit in the guac before serving it. I tried it and I’m not convinced. Does anyone know of any other ways?