"appetizer" news and stories

But it's just a humble cheeseball, you say, why call it "the ball of shame?" Well, because shame is what you feel when, in mid-manufacture, you say you'll just take one swipe with a cracker to see how it tastes and wind up scarfing down a half-dozen. Shame is what you feel when you find yourself standing in front of the refrigerator at night, licking off the Saran wrap. However, pride is what you'll feel when you bring it to a party and watch people fall on it like starved hyenas.

What a fantastic idea: splitting waffles into individual squares and filling them with chutney! Genius.

The recipe comes to us from Vegalicious, and you'll find a recipe for the waffles as well as for the chutney.

Hmm - what if we can't find papayas? Perhaps mangoes would be a good substitute?

And just a reminder: this is most definitely a vegan recipe, so the recipe calls for "egg replacements" instead of eggs, as well as soy milk and soy margarine. And before you go changing the ingredients to real-milk products, try it vegan! You might just like it...

Last night, a friend introduced me to a fun appetizer idea that makes a terrific edible centerpiece. When I pushed for the inspiration, she admitted that it was a concept borrowed from another friend, who always serves it at parties. It is simply white and green tortellini (the secret is to only cook it for half the time the package directs, or it will be too soft to stay on the skewer), a grape tomato and a small ball of fresh mozzarella wrapped in a basil leaf.

As you can see from the picture, she arranged them in a vase, so that they look almost like a flower arrangement. It made the table gorgeous and they were absolutely delicious to boot.

photo by Marisa McClellan

It can be very difficult watching your calorie and fat consumption during Valentine's Day simply because everything looks and tastes so delicious. Having dessert (or at the very least, chocolates) is pretty much a given, so save yourself some calories on the appetizer or main course so that you are able to indulge with a little less guilt. Over the next few days I'll be writing up some menu ideas that work well simply because you won't slip into that food-induced sleepy coma, because really...who wants that on Valentine's night? In the meantime, here are a few tips to get you started on your menu planning:

• If you want to serve pasta, make it as an appetizer and fill small bowls or plates rather than serving a full portion. If you are serving dessert later, try to avoid heavy cream or cheese sauces and stick to lighter, tomato-based options like marinara instead.

• You can rarely go wrong with salad as a starter, and soup works well too as long as it doesn't have a heavy cream base. I'd also avoid thick and hearty soups like minestrone.

• Choose menu items that you can prepare mostly in advance. You don't want to be stuck in the kitchen the whole night, especially between courses.

• Prepare a small fruit and cheese plate in advance, place it in the fridge, and have it available for a midnight snack. Chances are good you might be hungry later on.
  

I adore chipotle peppers. They may be trendy, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are very tasty. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos and are usually packed in cans in an adobo sauce. The original process was developed to preserve the peppers, but the smoky flavor and lingering heat of the chipotle long ago caused it to become popular in its own right. That heat makes a nice background to the cool, creamy avocado in this guacamole.

You can choose to make it either creamy or chunky, depending on what you want to serve it with. Chunky guacamoles tend to work best with chips and crackers, as both provide ample surface area for scooping. Creamier dips are a better choice for veggies and pretzels, or other snacks that don't make for a good scoop. For a chunky dip, simply mince everything and stir it together to blend. For an ultra-creamy dip, use the food processor to combine everything.