Tag: Appetizers

Two “Make Ahead“ Appetizer Dishes

Whether you’re hosting or attending an event, it’s always a great idea to have a delicious appetizer recipe stowed away in your back pocket, and it’s even better when you can make that recipe hours ahead of the event, leaving you plenty of time to prepare. Well, with this collection of “Make-Ahead” Appetizers from Martha Stewart, you’ll be quite prepared and celebrated for your next event.

Artichoke Dip with Fontina Appetizer

A well-prepared artichoke dip is never underappreciated or under-valued at a social function.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ medium-sized yellow onions (diced small)
  • 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
  • 3 14 oz. cans of whole artichoke hearts (drained and coarsely chopped)
  • ⅓ cup dry white wine
  • 4 oz. of room-temperature Neufchatel cream cheese
  • 2 ¼ cups Fontina Cheese (¾ lbs, cubed)
  • ¼ cup of fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 8 pitas, each cut into 6 wedges

Directions:

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F. Then, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet that is set to medium heat. Once heated, add your chopped onion and cook it until it’s softened. After about 5 minutes, add garlic and cook until it’s fragrant. After approximately 1 minute, add the artichokes and wine, and cook it all until the liquid evaporates, totaling about 8 minutes.
  • Remove your skillet from the heat and stir in the cream cheese until it’s all blended, then fold in 1 ¼ cups of Fontina cheese and parsley.
  • Afterward, transfer the mixture to a 2 qt. baking dish and sprinkle 1 additional cup of Fontina on top. Place the dish in the oven, baking it until it’s golden and bubbling, which will be about 30 minutes.
  • While the dish is baking, toss your pita with 1 tablespoon oil and spread the pitas out on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until it’s golden and crisp. This is usually about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve your dip alongside warm pita chips.

Italian Seafood Salad Appetizer

This light, fish-filled salad that is packed with flavor, protein, and color always surprises guests with how wonderful it tastes.

Ingredients for Appetizer:

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together your lemon zest, salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic. After it’s combined, whisk in your oil and chopped parsley. While you’re mixing these, bring 4 qt of water to a boil, after having put 6 tbsp sugar and ¼ cup of salt in the pot.
  2. Once the water is at a rolling boil,  add the squid, and blanche for 30 seconds until it is slightly tender. Then, transfer the squid to an ice bath with a slotted spoon to stop its cooking. Once it’s cool. Drain the squid of water, place it on a paper towel to dry, and transfer it to the bowl of dressing.
  3. Return your pot of water to a boil, add your shrimp, stir it once, cover it, and remove it from the heat. After letting it stand for three minutes, use your slotted spoon to remove the shrimp and place the pieces onto a plate to cool slightly. Pat dry, and place in the dressing with the squid.
  4. Return the pot to a boil and add the mussels. Then, lower the temperature to medium heat, cover it, and simmer until the mussels open (approximately 3 to 5 minutes). Drain the pot, transfer the opened mussels to a plate, allowing them to cool, and remove all but 10 from their shells and add them to a bowl with the rest of the seafood. Reserve the remaining mussels left in their shells for serving.
  5. Then, it’s time to toss your seafood and dressing together with the fennel, bell pepper, celery, crab, and parsley leaves. Toss thoroughly, seasoning with salt and pepper and either store it (up to 8 hours) or serve immediately with reserved mussels and lemon wedges.

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Glazed Bacon Wrapped Date Appetizer Recipe

If you find yourself in need of the perfect appetizer to prepare and bring to a potluck, tapas night, or buffet table, then rest assured that you’ll be impressing whoever grabs a toothpick from your serving dish thanks to this delicious recipe for cider-glazed, bacon-wrapped dates from Smittenkitchen.

The masterstroke of concocting the pitch-perfect appetizer is an art form in and of itself because you want to entice those surveying your initial offering of food for the evening if you’re also preparing the entree that is. Because if that’s the case, then you want to immediately grab their attention and get their mind wandering, thinking about the flavors just around the corner when the oven chimes. Alternatively, if this appetizer is your only dish at a community dinner, then it needs to be substantial enough to not only speak for itself but also be addictingly tasty in such a way that you return from a walk around the room to an empty serving dish.

So, no matter the aim, this dish is perfect, as it blends crispy bacon with a cider glaze that accentuates the hardened, but the not-too-crunchy texture of the meat with the bitter flavor of apple cider vinegar, caramelized sugars, and (of course) the naturally chewy and salty dates. Be prepared to commit this recipe to memory, as the empty serving platter you’re left with will almost assuredly be accompanied by your guests asking “so how do you make the glaze?”

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces of bacon (thinner strips preferred)
  • 6 ounces of dates (pitted)
  • 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
  • A few pinches of sea salt
  • A few pinches of red pepper flakes

Directions:

  1. Begin by heating your oven to 425°F and divide each strip of bacon into two segments.
  2. Then, wrap one half-strip of bacon around each of your dates and secure them tightly with a toothpick. Line a baking sheet with tin foil (alternatively use a roasting dish), and arrange your bacon-wrapped dates atop it while the oven preheats.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, combine together with your maple syrup (or alternative sweetener), apple cider vinegar, and red pepper flakes with a whisk or spoon.
  4. Next is the glazing of your dates. For this, you can lightly brush each bacon-wrapped date with your glaze, spoon the glaze over each date in the foil-lined tray, or truly cover each date by rolling each piece of bacon-wrapped fruit in the cider glaze until it is completely coated. No matter your method of coating, sprinkle each with flaky sea salt.
  5. After your oven is hot and ready, roast the dates for a minimum of 15 minutes and an excess of 35 minutes. Keep a watchful eye, as the goal is for the outlying bacon to have sizzling, crisp brown coloration. The timing isn’t precise as it depends on your brand of pork product and the general thickness of your strips, which is why thin is ideal.
  6. While it’s roasting and you’re hearing popping and sizzling sounds, be sure to check the dates, as this will be somewhere around the early 15-minute mark, and then return every 5 minutes afterward until the color and crispness of the bacon are perfected.
  7. If you have any extra glaze leftover, you can infuse the caramelized sugar flavor by brushing that excess atop the dates during the second half of their roasting time.
  8. Once they’re brought to your crisp, brown coloration, remove them from the oven, letting them cool slightly. Sprinkle a couple of pinches of additional sea salt and red pepper flakes atop them, and serve them up warm!

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