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Archives for January 2015

carrots and celery (400x400)

Turning Vegetables Into Appetizers

by Jane Wangersky January 30th, 2015| Cooking Basics
Ah, the raw vegetable platter. Every buffet, whether it’s just appetizers or a full meal, seems to have one. Articles on entertaining tell you to provide one for anyone who’s dieting; articles on sticking to your diet tell you to fill up your plate from it. There’s usually a
sushi squares (400x400)

“Sushi” Squares — No Sushi Chef Required

by Jane Wangersky January 29th, 2015| Appetizers, Recipes, Simple Solutions
Sushi shows up often as an appetizer or even a quick light meal -- but most of us buy it ready made rather than try to make it at home. Real sushi-making does take some training and special equipment -- if you’re interested, check out continuing education classes in
eggplant (400x400)

Eggplant Dip or Salsa

by Elizabeth Skipper January 28th, 2015| Chef Recipe, Recipes
Cooked eggplant makes a great base for a dip, especially if it’s grilled. If it’s not the season or if you don’t feel like firing up the grill, it can also be roasted in the oven, although you’ll miss a bit of the smoky taste the grill imparts. There
appetizers (400x400)

Lighter Appetizers for Super Bowl

by Elizabeth Skipper January 27th, 2015| Ask the Chef
I am sure I will be at some sort of gathering for the Super Bowl. While I do like indulging, it can be overwhelming to have so many heavy snacks. I try to bring a healthier appetizer, but I also am bored with a veggie tray. Do you have
onion goat cheese spread

Onion Goat Cheese Spread

by Michele Pesula Kuegler January 26th, 2015| Appetizers, Recipes
I love cooking. I love creating dishes that will please others. If I'm alone, I like tinkering with recipes, knowing that I only have my palate to please. Basically, I love working with food and thinking about all of the flavors and textures involved.  Reflecting upon my cooking, the
hot appetizers (400x400)

Keeping Food Hot: How Hot and How to Do It

by Jane Wangersky January 23rd, 2015| Cooking Basics
Though I’m always saying you should save yourself trouble by choosing to make appetizers that can be served cold or at room temperature, there will be times you want to serve a hot one, especially if it’s cold out and/or you won’t be serving your guests anything else. But
rsz_element_dark_choc_high_res_2

Element Corn & Rice Cakes

by Michele Pesula Kuegler January 23rd, 2015| Tasty Thoughts
ELEMENT snacks are a diet-friendly rice or corn cake that are great for snacking. They come in all different flavors, including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, strawberry, and orange. My favorite by far was the dark chocolate, and my least favorite was orange. The rice cake snacks were my favorites. At
bacon wrapped apple (400x400)

Bacon-Wrapped Apples: Sweet, Salty, Hot

by Jane Wangersky January 22nd, 2015| Appetizers, Recipes, Simple Solutions
When you use bacon in an appetizer, people tend to expect to find it wrapped around something, simply because it’s so easy to wrap around other foods (before it’s cooked, anyway), and it’s so good at sharing its intense flavor with them too. So on the buffet table you
candy cane

Peppermint Stick Parfait

by Elizabeth Skipper January 21st, 2015| Chef Recipe, Recipes
Parfaits are a delicious frozen dessert. The term is often used now to describe layered concoctions served in a tall, narrow short-stemmed glass. Classically, though, parfaits (the word means “perfect”) are desserts made of a flavored mousse-based ice cream combined with an equal amount of whipped cream.  Here’s an
candy-cane (400x400)

Using Up Candy Canes

by Elizabeth Skipper January 20th, 2015| Ask the Chef
Candy canes! I have too many of them left. Is there anything I can do with them besides trying to pawn them off on every person that visits our house?  I am open to a creative recipe or idea.

Ha – once Christmas is over, things like candy canes are
meats (400x400)

Charcuterie at Home

by Jane Wangersky January 16th, 2015| Cooking Basics
Charcuterie platters are one of the latest trends in appetizers at both restaurants and home parties. Though the literal meaning of the French word charcuterie is just “cooked meat”, to most English speakers it’s come to mean cured meats, like sausage and ham. (Curing in this sense means using
cheese diamonds (400x400)

Cheese Gems — A Quick Baked Appetizer

by Jane Wangersky January 15th, 2015| Appetizers, Recipes, Simple Solutions
I owe the origins of this recipe to yet another book at Project Gutenberg -- Recipes Tried and True, published in 1894 by the Ladies’ Aid Society of the First Presbyterian Church in Marion, Ohio -- and specifically to one contributor, Mrs. Fred Schaeffer. Though I’d seen similar recipes,