Caprese Toasts

'Caprese' is being mutilated, verbally, by servers everywhere these days.   I  assume the chefs they work for know better  but  don't bother  to tell them it means 'in the style of Capri' and is pronounced  Ca-pray-say.

These tasty toasts are  a really  quick simple version of the famous Caprese trio --- tomato, basil, and mozzarella . You can make trays of them hours ahead, and they don't need to be refrigerated.

They're terrific appetizers, or accompaniment to  all sorts of  soups, salads, and entrees.  I was told some years ago  that Carrabba's  once served this as 'bruschetta'...

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cut a baguette or narrow French loaves in thin slices,  a bit diagonally. Barely toast one side in the oven or broiler.  When toasted, flip them over to cool.    Then spread each toast with garlic butter, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese  (or provolone), a thin  slice ( or half-slice) of a Roma tomato, then  slide about 1/2 tsp pesto over each.

Bake 4-5 minutes, until toasty and  a bit browned.  

See? I told you it was simple!

Trio of Fast Fabulous Retro Appetizers

    I'm not someone who enjoys  munching on  green onions as-is, but I sure rely  on them for great cooking flavor.  All are 80's flashbacks, reliable and  popular  go-to apps for many years.  Two  are based on  green  onions. They go together  with no effort  and  are great additions to your appetizer table.

Green Onion Teasers
Combine 1 c. commercially-crumbled crisp bacon ( or very  finely chopped cooked bacon, otherwise the proportions will be off), 3/4 c. real ( Hellman's) mayo,  3/4 c finely chopped green onion, including the green portion.    That's it.  Presto.  Serve with almost any cracker or   de-crusted toast triangles. 

 Hot Jarlsberg Cheese Dip  ( not pictured)
A friend  and catering client gave me her favorite recipe many years ago - she  swore that  you must make multiples so that  you have backups ready. Guests  tend to linger at this dish , scooping it up,  and she was right. ( Thanks, Sally MacD for the recipe, I've made it a few hundred times ).  The sweet nuttiness of the Norwegian cheese can't be beat; I substituted Swiss a time or two in a pinch and  it was not bad in a snowed-in type  emergency, but otherwise  stick to the Jarlsberg.   Serve with traditional ( black box) Carr's water crackers .
 
In an ovenproof dish, combine 2 c. shredded Jarlsberg cheese with 1 c. finely chopped green onion, tops included, and 3/4 c. Hellman's real mayonnaise.  Bake at 350 or  heat in microwave oven at 50%  till bubbling and melted.  Have your  backup  ready!  If you overbake or nuke too quickly   the mayo may separate a bit; just stir it up.

Bacon-Wand  Breadsticks
Make these  in smallish batches because they cool  immediately and you'll be able to  get them rolled in the cheese before they do.  Once they cool the Parm doesn't adhere.  Prepare  ahead a day or two if you like - cover loosely, don't seal in plastic, don't refrigerate.

Wrap crisp  purchased  breadsticks  --do not try to use soft, or the very  long, thin ones----  in a spiral with raw bacon. Use bacon strips halved  lengthwise - a full strip for long breadsticks ( like these shown) or a half strip ( also halved lengthwise) for   shorter breadsticks.    Place several layers of paper toweling on a plate, lay the wrapped breadsticks on it.  Tuck  any loose ends under  the breadstick... no need to  turn them as they cook.  Nuke on high for a few minutes - this will depend on  your microwave, but assume it will be 2-4 minutes.   Have a low shallow dish or plate of  Parmesan cheese  and another empty plate ready.
  When the bacon is   fairly crisp, remove the plate, and working quickly, before the bacon fat disappears, roll the breadsticks in the cheese and place them on the dry  plate.  If the bacon gets overcooked, or if you don't work quickly, the cheese  won't  adhere. The boxed Alessi brand - shown above -- long  breadsticks are a little iffy- they are so thin  and brittle that odds are slim that  you'll open the box and find them unbroken, or not break them when winding the bacon around.

The other appetizer shown is just  green onion  wrapped in  dried-beef slices (from a jar, not refrigerated) spread with plain or any flavor cream cheese.  If you were alive in the 70's you  had these many times!

Bacon Bark

    

As though bacon addicts need any more incredibly awesome  bacon recipes?   A wonderful   sweet/salty  finger-food appetizer or bar snack, you can  jar this up  for gifts, or selfishly keep it all to yourself.  

I almost always use sugar free 'maple syrup' and brown Splenda or Stevia, so if you want to calculate  a carb count, it's essentially just nuts and the sweetener.  Using real maple syrup  tastes  only slightly more fabulous.  If you intend to make this low sodium, use real maple syrup and low sodium bacon, cut the salt amount down and/or use  Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

It's a quickie recipe.  Use two dishes-- one medium bowl for the nut mixture, and a large  shallow one..... like  a pie plate  or platter.for the bacon mixture.   Preheat the oven to 350 for at least 15 minutes. Prepare  a rimmed cookie sheet.  Non-stick is best but even so, be sure to use  parchment or foil or disposable baking sheets. Parchment is best - and  if you use foil give it a light spray of Pam.  There's bigtime stickiness ahead. 

Nuts:  In one bowl, place 2 c. pecan halves and 2c walnut halves, 1/2 c. light brown sugar, 4 TB maple syrup, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp Hungarian paprika, 1 tsp coarse salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper. mix well and set aside.  Do not  use chopped  nuts!  but slightly broken,  almost-half  pieces are OK to include.

Bacon:  Into the other dish, cut 12 slices of center-cut bacon  in  1"  pieces across the strips.  It's easiest to use scissors and cut  several strips at once, while the bacon is still cold and stuck together, then separate the pieces once they're cut... space them out in the flat dish so when  you add the other ingredients they'll  easily coat the bacon.  Then add  a mixture of  1/2 c. brown sugar, 1 tsp Hungarian paprika,  zest of  2 oranges or  lemons, salt and pepper. Pat it on and then with a fork or fingers , stir/toss   gently til all  bacon pieces are pretty much coated.  Then spread them  on the prepared pan and bake until the bacon is almost done and all the  sugar is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

Then add the nuts to the pan.   Using a  spatula, turn and mix, then spread out again and bake 15-25 minutes more, turning and spreading again halfway through.   It's done when the mixture has obviously turned caramel-ly and sticky.   The length of time will depend on how thinly or closely the mixture is spread on the pan.  Be sure that there are no large gaps --- you want it to stick together. Just slide the foil or parchment sheets off the hot pan to cool.

When cooling, you may want to flip the  pieces over a few times   to let the undersides harden a bit before storing them away so they  won't be sticky.  Let sit on the counter until it's 'dry' enough to  break or tear into  clumps. This may take several hours..   Edited to add that it doesn't need to be refrigerated in the  short term.  If saving for days on end I do pop it in the fridge

Scarf some  down while gooey and warm,  or let it cool and break it apart.   This recipe will make  about  6-7  cups of sweet,  spicy, salty, bacony, nutty  goodness.  No one will be the wiser  if you  claim  that you only made a half recipe...just be sure you get all the sticky evidence off your fingers.

Crab & Jack Stuffed Mushrooms in Garlic Butter

This rich, cheesy appetizer is just as easily served as an entree with salad. It's my favorite stuffed mushroom recipe, courtesy of  Mountain Jacks' Steakhouses, and  an automatic menu choice anytime I had the chance to eat  there. I think the entire  chain may be defunct now, but we continue to enjoy what may be  the all-time primo  low-carb appetizer. Other than the teeny bit of flour, it's very low carb and easily converted to low sodium.

Clean and stem 20-25 large mushrooms. If necessary, slice a thin piece of the rounded tops off so they will not roll around when served.

Mince the stems to get ½ c. Melt 1 Tb  butter  & saute the mushroom bits with 1 TB  finely chopped green onion til the liquid evaporates. Add 1 tsp parsley, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Cool.

In small saucepan melt 2 Tb butter, then stir in 2 TB flour to thicken. Cool 5 minutes, then return to heat and slowly mix in 1/2 c. cream and 4 oz crabmeat -- canned is fine. Mixture will have a texture like play-dough.  Cool 10 minutes, then  stir in the cooked mushroom stems.

Roll mushrooms in 8 TB melted butter mixed with 1 heaping tsp minced garlic. Stuff the mushrooms  with the crab and top each with a  small cube of  monterey jack  cheese (push it in gently). You may find it easier  to stuff first, then roll in the garlic butter.     Put in a flat shallow baking dish and bake in a preheated 375 oven 10-12 minutes, til bubbly and golden brown.

These are easy to make ahead. Just keep them covered when in the fridge, then bake as usual and enjoy the  irresistible  garlicky/ buttery aroma wafting thorough your  kitchen.

Cranberry-Caramelized Onion Cheese Spread

An unusual and delicious  taste, with the sweet-tartness of  the cranberries offsetting the tang of the blue cheese. Your guests will scoop this up like lightning! Stock up on cranberries in the fall and keep them in  the freezer to  enjoy cranberry dishes year-round.

Combine 8 oz. softened cream cheese with 4 oz. crumbled blue cheese, beat until smooth and creamy.  Add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, blend.  Spread onto a shallow  serving plate. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp. veg oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add 1 medium onion, quartered and sliced. Stir-fry for 2-4 minutes or until tender.  Reduce heat to medium low, add 1 tsp. sugar and mix well.  Cook another 10-12 minutes, until soft and golden, stirring occasionally.  Remove onion from  pan and set aside.

In the same pan, combine 1 cup fresh or  still-frozen cranberries, 1/4 c. sugar or splenda, 1/4 c. water, and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until berries pop and mixture thickens. Stir in onions and 1 TB. balsamic vinegar, then cool slightly.

To serve, let the cheese base come to room temperature, spoon the berry-onion topping almost to the edges, sprinkle with   1/4 c. chopped walnuts. Serve with crackers.

Pepper-Jelly Brie Kisses

You'll need 2/3 lb brie cheese and one 18 oz box of frozen puff pastry sheets and a jar of hot pepper jelly. Cut brie into 1/2" squares and place on a plate in the freezer while thawing the pastry at room temperature for 30 minutes . As it thaws, unfold and roll lightly to remove creases. Cut each sheet in quarters, then each quarters into quarters. Each sheet will make 16 squares.

Lightly spray mini-muffin tins, and fit a pastry square into each cup. Pointed edges should extend straight up. Place a square of cheese in each, and top with 1/4 tsp hot pepper jelly. Bake at 400 10-15 minutes until golden.

Makes 32

Gruyere Oysters

A fabulous appetizer. If you can't find oysters on the half shell, used drained fresh oysters and place them in individual little 'shell' dishes, if you can find them.

Heat broiler, and arrange 24 oysters on the half shell on a broiler pan. Whisk 1 tsp cornstarch into 3/4 c heavy (whipping) cream in a small saucepan. Add 1 TB UNsalted butter ( no margarine!) and broil to a boil, whisking, and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 c shredded Gruyere ( preferred) or Swiss (OK) cheese and 1 TB of Pernod (anise-flavored liqueur). Stir til the cheese melts. Spoon the sauce over the oysters evenly and top with 1/3 c more cheese.

Broil the oysters 4" from the heat 4-6 minutes, until golden. Transfer to serving plates, serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.