"SteamyKitchen" news and stories

I don't know why, but I'm a visual appetizer-aholic. Show me a picture of a tasty-looking meal and I'll salivate, but show me an amazing appetizer or finger food and I'm a goner. I'm not sure why. It's not like I subsist on finger foods. In fact, I rarely eat them. Maybe it's just the allure of entertaining -- of not only tantalizing your guest's taste buds, but also opening them up to new food possibilities. Or maybe it's just how delicious food looks in tiny, bite-sized packages.

You can be sure that the above will be entering my party foods recipe list. Jaden at Steamy Kitchen just posted the above Cannellini Spread, from Chef Kurtis Jantz of Trump International Beach Resort in Miami. It looks super easy, which makes it all the more desirable for entertaining. The recipe just involves simmering some garlic, cannellini beans, and tomatoes, throwing in some parsley, salt, and pepper, and pureeing before lathering it on the bread/cracker of your choice.

Added bonus: It's animal-free, so you won't have to worry about catering your menu to the meat mongers and the lettuce lovers.

Last Friday, I made one of my favorite early winter salads - arugula, red onion, goat cheese and pomegranate seeds, dressed with a balsamic/olive oil vinaigrette. It's an easy dish that looks impressive and festive, with all those shiny, red pomegranate seeds glowing in the tangle of greens and cheese.

The only challenge this salad presents is that getting the seeds out of the pomegranate is often a messy, frustrating and time-consuming task. Luckily, just before I made the salad last week, a friend reminded me of the helpful tutorial that Jaden (of the Steamy Kitchen) recently put up that offers a new, easier way to deconstruct a pomegranate.

You can see the pictorial how-to here or you can watch Jaden demonstrate her method on regional morning show here. All you need to follow her instructions is a knife and a bowl of water. I don't think I'll ever open a pomegranate another way, ever again.

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