Peripatetic party pleasers
By John Kirkendall
Something for the office? Something for the neighborhood gathering? The bridge club?
What can be packed in the car and driven some place and not only survive but arrive to applause? I have a repository of such recipes I am willing to share with you today. They are visually and gastronomically stunning. What’s more they are simple. A warning! Once you deliver these, you will never, yes never, get off the list of those called upon to furnish those pieces de resistance that make a party, well, a party. It’s just as well. Why subject guests to the ordinaire, when you can deliver these easy-to-prepare culinary gems. These are tried and true. What’s more they do not require a heating source once you arrive at your destination.
A word about traveling etiquette. If you require use of the host’s kitchen facilities beyond the most perfunctory chores, check with the host in advance to be sure you will not be clogging up the works. The host may have a carefully laid out plan for the use of the kitchen that your plan will impede. Just check.
An unusual and colorful appetizer is this make-ahead cherry tomato vodka chilled appetizer.
Cherry Tomatoes in Vodka
The day before, peel the tomatoes by dipping in boiling water for 10 seconds then plunging into ice water. The skins will easily slip off. Place peeled tomatoes in a plastic container with a tight snap-on lid. Cover with Kettle One vodka and refrigerate overnight.
Serve with a small dish of coarse, flaked English Maldon salt for dipping, just a few flakes will do it. Don’t toss the leftover vodka. It is flavored with the tomatoes and tastes delicious in your next Bloody Mary!
Stuffed Strawberries
Ingredients:
24 bit sized fresh strawberries, hulled
1/2 cup soft goat cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
24 strips (1/4-inch wide) prosciutto
Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Garnishes
shredded spinach
lemon twists
black olives
Directions:
Use a demitasse spoon to scoop out the center of each strawberry halfway down.
Combine the cheese and mint. Stuff each strawberry, then wrap each horizontally with a strip of prosciutto. You may want to trim the prosciutto so it just goes around one time.
Combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette.
Arrange the strawberries on a spinach-lined platter. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the top and garnish the platter with lemon twists and olives
Provide cocktail plates and picks for spearing.
Snow Peas with Caviar
The trick here is to have crisp snow peas with the strings and tiny peas removed. Fill a glass or two with ice cubes and cover with water. String the peas and place in the ice water and refrigerate. Prepare the filling and that’s all there is to it.
Ingredients:
2 ounces Neufchatel cheese — softened
1/4 cup low-fat (or not) cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
16 large fresh snow pea pods (even limp ones will perk right up in the ice water)
2 teaspoons red, black, or golden caviar
Leaf lettuce
Directions:
Combine first 4 ingredients in container of an electric blender; process until smooth.
Carefully open curved side of pea pod. Remove peas from each pod. After removing from the ice water and carefully drying, pipe 1 teaspoon cheese mixture into each pod. Place 1/8 teaspoon caviar on top of cheese mixture. Arrange pods on a lettuce-lined serving plate. Chill thoroughly before your travels.
Judge Kirkendall is a retired Probate Judge. He presently serves on the Elder Law Advisory Board of the Stetson University College of Law. He has taught cooking classes for more than 25 years at various cooking schools in the Ann Arbor area and has himself attended classes at Cordon Bleu and La Varenne in Paris, as well as schools in New York, New Orleans and San Francisco. I am (thankfully) past president of the National College of Probate Judges. He can be reached at Judgejnk@yahoo.com
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