Super Bowl Sunday - Appetizers

Super Bowl Sunday - Appetizers

Since this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday, I thought I might share some of my favourite appetizers. I'm working Sunday but plan to put together a few things for Moe and our neighbour to pick at while they watch the game.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Spanish Tapa - Garlic Shrimp
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6 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons of chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt
2 Tablespoons minced parsley

Italian or French Bread cut into cubes


Heat the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a large, shallow pan.
When the garlic just begins to turn golden, add the shrimp and cook
over high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the broth
and lemon juice.

If serving in the living room, pour into a large earthenware bowl and
sprinkle with salt and parsley. Serve immediately.

Goes great with a nice dry white wine, dry sherry, or Martini

Note: Use more chicken broth and lemon juice if you like more sauce
to dip the bread into.

Printable Recipe Link

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Stuffed Mushrooms
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Source: Sharon (Chase)
20 large white mushrooms
1/3 Cup butter (maybe a bit more)
4 or 5 green onions chopped fine
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar
1/3 Cups bread crumbs more or less if needed
salt
Clean mushrooms and carefully remove stems. Chop stems and onions finely (I use the food processor). Melt butter in a saute pan. Saute mushroom stems and onions over medium heat until soft but not browned and the stems have given up their juices. Mixture should be quite moist. Add the bread crumbs, only enough to absorb the liquid. Add the grated cheese and stir just until it has melted. Don't worry if the oil separates from the cheese.~
Stuff the mixture into the caps and sprinkle with a bit of salt (or you can salt after they come out of the oven...which is what I usually do).
Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until the caps are nice and soft.

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Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Blue Cheese Tartlets
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Source: Williams-Somona


8 oz tart pastry dough (or frozen puff pastry)
3 oz spinach or Swiss Chard
1 egg
2/3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup freshly grated Emmenthaler Cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
3 oz Blue Cheese (Roquefort, Gorgonzola,etc.)
2 Tablespoons pine nuts

If using tart pastry, prepare the dough and refrigerator 30 minutes
before you are ready to roll it out. If using commercial puff pastry
defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Preheat an oven to 425°F. Bring a large saucepan filled with water to
a boil. Plunge the spinach or Swiss Chard into the boiling water and
cook for 30 seconds. Immediately drain in a colander and rinse with
cold water to halt the cooking. Drain again, pressing against the
greens to force out as much water as possible; set aside.

Break the egg into a bowl. Add the cream, Emmenthaler cheese, nutmeg
and salt and pepper to taste and beat with a fork until completely
blended. Coarsely chop the spinach or chard and add it to the bowl;
stir well.

On a lightly floured board, roll the dough out as thinly as possible.
Sprinkle the Roquefort or other blue cheese evenly over the dough.
With a fluted pastry cutter about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, cut out 18
dough rounds. Use the rounds to line 18 individual tartlet pans or
wells in tartlet trays or miniature muffin pans. If using the former,
arrange the lines pans on a large baking sheet. Fill each lined pan
with some of the egg mixture and scatter a few pine nuts on top. Place
the tarlets in the oven and bake until the filling sets and the crust
is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve Warm.

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Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Focaccia topped with warm Goat Cheese
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1 focaccia, homemade or purchases

1 roasted red pepper, cut into strips and drizzled with olive oil.

1 recipe homemade Tapenade (or purchase all ready made)

Chevre (Goat cheese)
.
Cut the Focaccia into bite size squares

Cut the roasted pepper into small strips

Warm the Goat Cheese in the microwave to soften.

Put a dollop of goat cheese on top of each square of focaccia.

On half the focaccia place a few strips of pepper and on the other half
place a small spoon of Tapenade.

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Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Tuna Pate
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Although this is a very easy appetizer that can be made earlier in the day, it is also a very rich because of all of the butter. One of my favourites.


2 (6 ounces) cans white tuna drained
1 cup butter
2 Tablespoons chopped roasted red pepper (Homemade or bottled pimentos)
1 to 2 teaspoons capers
fresh lemon juice
2 to 3 drops Tabasco
salt and pepper

Puree tuna and butter in processor

Add chopped red pepper, capers, lemon juice, salt, pepper and Tabasco.

Process on pulse until the capers and red peppers are finely minced.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pack into decorate serving bowl and cover and refrigerate.

When ready to serve remove a bit early from fridge so that the pate
has a change to soften just slightly.


Serve with toasted pita triangles

Cut Plain or whole wheat pitas into triangles. Separate each triangle
and place on cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter or margarine. Bake
at 350°F until crisp and golden. Be careful not to burn.
Remove and let cool.

Serve triangles surrounding tuna pate

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Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Escargot In Mini Toast Cups
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Source: Elegant Entertaining Cookbook - M. Sable

1 loaf of white bread
1/4 cup melted butter
1 can escargot (36 to 50 size)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 shallots
2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 bay leaf
1 cup whipping cream
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
.
preheat oven to 400°
Cut crusts off bread and roll out very thin. cut 2 inch rounds and fit
each round gently into a well buttered 1 1/4 muffin tin.
Brush tops of rounds with melted butter and bake them for 10 minutes or
until edges are golden brown. Remove from tins and cool.
In a medium sauce pan combine wine, chicken stock and shallots, thyme
and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce liquid to 1/3 cup. Stir in
cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Reduce liquid to 1/2 cup. Add escargot.
Remove bay leaf and stir in butter.
Fill each croustade with 1 or 2 escargot and some of the sauce.
Sprinkle with minced parsley.

Options: Use puff pastry instead of toast cups

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Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Stuffed Endives With Crab Meat
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Filling

Fills about 24 leaves

1 2-oz. can whole pimentos
1 green onion
1 shallot
1/2 lb. cooked crab meat
1 tsp. prepared mustard
2 tsp. lemon juice
2-4 Tbl. mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Paprika
3 Belgian endives


Chop 1 pimento (reserve the remainder for another use), the green
onion, and the shallot.
Combine the crab meat, mustard, lemon juice, green onion, shallot,
and 2 Tbl. of the
mayonnaise, adding more if needed. Add the pimento and season to
taste with salt, pepper,
and paprika. To prepare the Belgian endive cut off 1 inch from the
root end; carefully separate
each leaf. Stuff Belgian endive leaves with crab meat filling.

 Printable Recipe Link

Antipasto Platters

Antipasto Platters are always well received. You can make them simple by just buying olives, peppers, artichokes, salami, cheese, etc or you can make them a little more interesting by grilling shrimp and eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, sausage, focaccia, etc... It's all good.






Grilled Italian Sausage with Roasted Peppers

This is one of my favourites. The Sausage are grilled and the sliced, topped with grilled or roasted peppers , drizzled with olive oil and garlic and shaved Parmesan. Served with focaccia. YUM!!!