So friends are coming over for a drink. Or, you're going to a party and promised to bring a platter of appies -- appetizers or nibbles. And you don't have a lot of time. Think solutions based on tried and true party hits: cheese, chicken, a dip and shrimp - ingredients all supermarket available.
CREAMY GOAT CHEESE TRUFFLES
A step up from a cheese tray, and yes a little more work than arranging cheese and crackers on a board, but, hey, you want guests to know you care. These mini cheese balls are creamy enough to qualify as truffles, savoury truffles, that is.
1-1/4 cups (300 ml) walnut or pecan halves
1 pkg. (250 g) cream cheese
1 tube (140 g) soft goat cheese
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) finely chopped green onion (green part) or chives
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) crumbled dried thyme or basil
1 tsp. (5 ml) lemon juice
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) hot pepper sauce
Arrange nuts in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Toast in centre of 350F. (180C.) oven until fragrant and darkened, about 8 minutes. Let cool; chop finely, but not to dust. Spread in shallow bowl; set aside.
Meanwhile, cube cream cheese and goat cheese. Place in bowl and beat by hand or electric mixer until smooth. Add green onion, thyme, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce; stir until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until firm.
Using small ice cream scoop or rounded teaspoon (5 ml) scoop up cheese truffle mixture. Roll each until smooth and rounded. (Make-ahead: Arrange in shallow airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Thaw in refrigerator.) Roll in pecans, pressing enough to coat truffles thoroughly and evenly.
Makes about 32 truffles.
VARIATION: Goat Cheese Truffles. Follow the recipe above, reducing cream cheese to half a 250g package and upping the goat cheese to 1 (300g) tube creamy goat cheese.
TIP: Toasted nuts deliver much more flavour than raw nuts, but it's fiddly to toast small quantities to order. Make life easier by toasting a pound (500 ml) or more at a time and bagging them for the freezer. Saves energy, and how handy toasted nuts will be to add to salads and cookies, chop into apple crisp toppings and more. Toasted unblanched almonds are particularly delish to put into a bowl and offer a non-greasy, no-salt snack with your favourite beverage.
SPICY CHICKEN SATAYS
Every season there is an inspiring array of new cookbooks, and this fall, the Chatelaine Modern Classics, 250 fast, fresh recipes from the Chatelaine Kitchen (Wiley; $39.95) made its appearance. The well-tested, no-fail recipes are a signature of Chatelaine under the leadership of retired food editor Monda Rosenberg, and continuing with new food editor Claire Tansey, making this a very appealing book. Start your tasting with these vibrant easy-to-make appies, slightly adapted for Sun readers.
20 small wooden (bamboo) skewers
2 limes
1/3 cup (75 ml), approximate, finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
2 Tbsp. (30 ml) vegetable oil
2 tsp. (10 ml) chopped garlic
2 tsp. (10 ml) hot chili-garlic sauce
1/2 tsp. (2 ml) salt
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 Tbsp. (60 ml) soy sauce
1/2 tsp. (2 ml) dark sesame oil
Soak skewers in water for 20 minutes. Finely grate 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) peel from limes into large bowl. Stir in coriander, oil, garlic, chili-garlic sauce and salt.
Cut chicken lengthwise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick strips. Stir into coriander mixture to coat. Refrigerate if not using right away.
When ready to cook, position oven rack in top third of oven. Preheat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and brush with vegetable oil. Then thread 1 strip of chicken onto each skewer. Place on baking sheet. (It will be a tight fit.)
Broil until meat is lightly golden and firm to touch, 7 to 9 minutes. You don't need to turn skewers. Sprinkle with more coriander if you wish.
In small bowl, stir soy sauce with sesame oil for dipping. Arrange skewers and dipping sauce on platter. Cut limes into wedges and add to platter for squeezing over skewers if you wish.
Makes about 20 skewers.
GET AHEAD: Prepare chicken up to 2 days ahead and thread onto skewers. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to cook.
TIP: Jars of chili-garlic sauce are available in Asian section of supermarkets.
GUACAMOLE DIP
Tastier than store-bought and not a lot of work to make. All you have to remember is to buy your avocados green and hard, 4 to 5 days ahead, and let them ripen at room temperature. They will soften and turn almost black and give ever so slightly when pressed at the stem end. Serve with corn chips.
1/2 cup (125 ml) diced cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) minced fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) finely chopped green onion
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) mayonnaise
1 tsp. (5 ml) finely diced jalapeno pepper
Pinch salt
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) lime juice
2 ripe avocados
Remove 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) of tomatoes and set aside. In medium bowl, stir together remaining tomatoes, coriander, onion, mayonnaise, jalapeno pepper and salt.
Halve and pit avocados, reserving 1 of pits if making ahead. With spoon, scoop flesh into separate bowl; mash avocados until chunky smooth. Stir in tomato/jalapeno mixture. (Make-ahead: Bury pit in avocado mixture. Press plastic wrap over surface and refrigerate, along with remaining tomatoes wrapped separately, for up to 3 hours. Remove pit.)
Sprinkle tomatoes over guacamole.
Makes about 2 cups (500 ml), enough for 12 to 16 scoops.
TIP: Avoid buying already ripened soft avocados from the heap of avocados in supermarket produce bins - inevitably they are bruised and you will end up throwing most or all of the delicious flesh away.
CHILI GARLIC SHRIMP
Look for 1 lb. (454 g) bags of frozen shrimp, graded by size and choose large shrimp, about 21 to 30 per bag.
1 lb. (454 g) large zipperback shrimp, thawed
2 Tbsp. (30 ml) canola oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. (15 ml) chili powder
2 tsp. (10 ml) tomato paste
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) salt
2 Tbsp. (30 ml) white wine, vermouth or chicken broth
2 Tbsp. (30 ml) minced fresh coriander (cilantro) or parsley
Peel and devein shrimp; pat dry.
In large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and fry until garlic is soft, about 2 minutes. Add chili powder, tomato paste and salt; cook, stirring until slightly darkened, about 1 minute.
Add shrimp, stirring until shrimp are coated and starting to firm. Stir in wine; increase heat to medium-high and saute until shrimp are pink and firm and liquid has thickened enough to coat them evenly, about 1 to 2 minutes.Remove from heat; toss with coriander.
Makes about 20 pieces.
TIP: Transfer shrimp to shallow bowl and pierce each one with a toothpick before passing to guests. Napkins are a must.
