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#Post#: 77014--------------------------------------------------
A small gathering.
By: MOM21SON Date: September 2, 2022, 7:11 pm
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Before I got sick I was a volunteer with a program in my area
the helps with the homeless. I have been too sick the last two
years but I’m back this year. Anyway, I offered to host a gift
wrapping party. Maybe 10 people. I would like to have so
snacks/apps. Any easy recipes to share? TIA!
#Post#: 77018--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: Aleko Date: September 3, 2022, 9:50 am
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Whenever I'm hosting-with-nibbles, I try to make at least one
batch of my crunchy cheese shortbread biscuits (that's
'biscuits' in the Rightpondian sense, of course). They're dead
easy, quite unusual, and everybody loves them. Also they keep,
so you can make them well ahead of time. (They also are pretty
robust provided you pack them well, so they're great for taking
on picnics or bringing to the office to share. When my DH's
workplace was nearly in meltdown earlier this summer due to
being messed with by the Powers That Be, I baked almost every
week so I could send him off to work bearing comfort for all.)
Crunchy cheese shortbreads
6 oz plain (all-purpose) flour
3 oz semolina*
6 oz butter
4 oz tangy hard cheese, e.g. a mature English Cheddar, grated
finely**
1 tsp salt
Optional: A bit of ground paprika***
Pre-heat oven to 150C/gas Mark 2/300F.
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl; mix in the semolina and salt.
Add the cheese and rub it in evenly; then add the butter and rub
in until it forms a rather greasy lump of dough. (It's also OK
to add the butter first and then the cheese. Just don't try to
save time by adding butter and cheese together - each clumps
together, and it's almost impossible to get an even mix.)
Roll it out on a floured worktop or board, and cut into shapes.
The dough holds a shape well so you can use any kind of
ornamental cutter.
Place them on a greased baking sheet (you can afford to place
them close to each other - they hardly spread at all in the
oven) and bake for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. The time
they need will depend on your oven and how thick you have rolled
them; just keep checking after 30 minutes or so. When they have
just begun to change colour, they're done.
When quite cool, sprinkle just a bit of paprika on top (them
(don't do this before baking: the taste of burnt paprika ruins
any food!) and put them into an airtight container. If you can
only keep from wolfing them all on the spot they will stay fresh
and crisp for weeks.
Notes:
*I don't know how commonplace semolina is in the US. If it's not
something sold in mainstream stores, Middle Eastern stores are a
good bet because it figures in many Turkish honey cakes and
desserts. You need it to give the shortbread a crunchy texture.
(I have tried fine couscous, but that's just slightly too big a
grain for comfort.)
**I don't know what American cheese might equate to real mature
Cheddar. Whatever you use must be properly hard (no 'give' if
you try to pinch it) with lots of flavour. Real Italian Parmesan
or grana padano is fine. I don't use it myself, because over
here it's much more expensive than a good cheddar and the result
is no nicer; but I'd pay the extra like a shot rather than make
my shortbreads with a 'meh'-flavoured cheese.
***The paprika is actually not so much for flavour, though it is
nice, but to make them look savoury. These look just like
ordinary shortbreads, and we all know how disconcerting it is to
take a mouthful of something you expect to be sweet and find it
savoury (or vice versa)! Alternatively, you might press a tiny
sprig of fresh rosemary into the top of each one before baking.
Or anything else you can think of that would have the same
visual effect.
#Post#: 77019--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: EmmaJ Date: September 3, 2022, 11:58 am
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I had something similar to Aleko's cheese biscuits at a book
club meeting, but the baker had added something spicy to the
mixture. Maybe a little cayenne? Everyone raved over them and
the platter was empty in minutes.
#Post#: 77022--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: NFPwife Date: September 3, 2022, 2:31 pm
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I wonder if it was a proper hungarian, hot paprika.
My Hungarian uncle complained that so many "American paprikas"
were trash. (I grew up and learned how right he was.)
Edit punctuation
#Post#: 77040--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: lakey Date: September 5, 2022, 8:53 am
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PVZFan, your uncle is right. I've gotten Hungarian paprika at a
specialty store, and it has a lot more flavor. I also picked up
some smoked paprika, which I love.
Anyway, easy appetizers:
1. 1 jar grape jelly, 1 jar barbecue sauce or chili sauce,
small sausages or meatballs. Put everything in a crockpot, heat
until jelly melts.
2. Easy TexMex dip, 16 oz. Velveeta cheese, 1 10 oz. can Rotel
tomatoes, 1 can Hormel chili without beans. Cube Velveeta. Put
everything in a crockpot. Heat until cheese melts. Serve with
tortilla chips.
I make these recipes in the crockpot so that they can be kept
warm.
#Post#: 77047--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: jpcher Date: September 5, 2022, 11:45 am
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Tortilla roll-ups. A bit time consuming to prepare, but for 10
people? A little bit goes a long way.
Spread cream cheese on the (low carb;)) flour tortillas, lay
down some thinly sliced corned beef to cover the tortillas. Roll
the tortillas to make a log then cut them into 3/4-inch pieces.
You can substitute the corned beef with anything of your choice
like salami or veggies. For 10 people I think 3-4 8-inch
tortillas would be enough (I usually make this to feed a crowd )
#Post#: 77055--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: Hmmm Date: September 6, 2022, 8:59 am
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A snack I only do when we aren't serving wine because it ruins
the wine.
Cold Artichoke Spread.
Finely dice a small jar of marinated artichokes by hand or in a
food processor. Add in a finely diced tomato. Dice some green or
black olives (what ever you have on hand) Crumble in some feta
(if I have the basil flavored feta, I use it). Taste and see if
it needs a squeeze of lemon and maybe some red pepper flakes.
Serve with toasted baguette slices. I also try to keep a couple
of tablespoons back to use in a frittata the next day.
#Post#: 77435--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: Gellchom Date: October 17, 2022, 4:09 am
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Aleko, those sound fantastic! I will try them.
I am not surprised that couscous didn’t work. It is a tiny
pasta, not a grain. Semolina is easy to find here in Tel Aviv
and as I recall it was pretty easy to find in Columbus, too.
Italian groceries or supermarket sections might be a good place
to start.
Have you ever tried them with part cornmeal? That might give an
interesting flavor, too. I’d use fine, not polenta/grits (they
are the same thing, coarse corn meal - just usually costs a lot
more if the label says polenta!)
Hmmm, just to show how ignorant I am about wine, what is it
about your recipe that ruins the wine? It sounds so good.
#Post#: 77438--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: TootsNYC Date: October 17, 2022, 11:04 am
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If it's a gift-wrapping party, you have to worry about
greasy/dirty fingers making smudges on the wrapping paper, no?
That's an extra wrinkle, I think.
#Post#: 77440--------------------------------------------------
Re: A small gathering.
By: Aleko Date: October 17, 2022, 11:37 am
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[quote]Hmmm, just to show how ignorant I am about wine, what is
it about your recipe that ruins the wine? It sounds so
good.[/quote]
It's because artichokes contain a chemical called cynarin which
makes most wines taste weird.
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