Artisanal creamy cheese topped with fig jam on a baguette, it’s a positively decadent combination. This is the easiest appetizer to pull-off with the most luxurious of results. Our friend Shelley brought this delectable cheese appetizer to a holiday party that tasted and looked amazing. Most of the fun in making this appetizer is shopping for the ingredients. Selecting the right creamy cheese, picking up a sweet fig jam, and grabbing an awesome baguette – this is a great opportunity to try something new and have fun with it! Pick a cheese that is spreadable and packed with flavor for this wonderful appetizer. Any type of soft flavorful creamy cheese such as Blue Cheese, Brie, Camembert, Chèvre, or Gorgonzola will work. Continue reading Creamy Chèvre on Baguette with Fig Jam
Tag Archives: appetizers
Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Rather than have the family binge on some cookies and crackers on a Sunday afternoon I made this roasted cauliflower dish for a late afternoon snack which the entire family devoured 😋. I picked up this recipe watching an old episode of Ina Garten’s show Barefoot Contessa on Food Network channel. The episode was all about vegetable side dishes, and this cauliflower dish caught my attention because it was so easy to make and looked scrumptious. It involves just roasting cauliflower and then melting Parmesan cheese over the florets. How easy is that? The best part of this cauliflower dish is how awesome it tastes!! Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower by Ina Garten. Continue reading Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Pakoras, Cake and Chai. A Menu Worth Replicating
I had my cousins over for tea a couple of weeks ago as I hadn’t seen them in a while, and when all our schedules finally aligned, getting together for Sunday afternoon tea seemed like the perfect low-key way to meet up, catch up, and hang out with some afternoon treats. What I had planned for tea was going to be delicious and fun 😋 😃. Continue reading Pakoras, Cake and Chai. A Menu Worth Replicating
Lakshmi’s Out of this World Veggie Pakoras
Happy International Women’s Day! 🌹🌷
This is the perfect recipe to share on International Women’s Day as I made these delicious pakoras with my girlfriends Lakshmi and Basanthi. Pakoras are deep fried Indian fritters made with chickpea flour and vegetables. Some of the best pakoras I’ve had are made by my friend Lakshmi. She makes the most delicious pakoras I have ever tasted. Any time Lakshmi is invited to a dinner gathering or a party, she brings her signature appetizer – her veggie pakoras. Lakshmi’s pakoras are in a league of their own – full of a wide variety of vegetables, crunchy, with a kick of green chili spiciness, they are so good that you could never have just two or three. It’s the variety of vegetables that makes her pakoras taste so good. The veggies add so many flavors that there are no spices in these pakoras, just salt and green chilies for a little heat. Continue reading Lakshmi’s Out of this World Veggie Pakoras
Kale and Feta Lavash Rolls
I took this appetizer to our friends Dave and Rose’s Hanukkah party recently that got many nods of approval. I wanted to make an appetizer with greens that wouldn’t release too much water that way when I stuffed them into a tortilla or lavash bread the bread didn’t get soggy. Kale seemed like a good option and just in case my greens got a little too moist I added potatoes to the mix for some heft and mushrooms for extra flavor. Continue reading Kale and Feta Lavash Rolls
Mushroom and Artichoke Baguette
One of my most requested appetizer recipes over the years has been a mushroom and artichoke baguette. Every time I have served my mushroom and artichoke baguettes I have received so many requests for the recipe that over the years I have typed and re-typed the recipe and emailed it to many. I made this appetizer more times than I can count for parties that I finally got tiered and stopped making them completely.
Then recently over the summer break the kids asked me how come I haven’t made my mushroom and artichoke appetizer in a long time? They were craving some 😋. So I dug up my emails from years gone with the recipe and made the mushroom baguettes again when I had my uncle visiting from India. His newly married nephew and wife came to see him from Salt Lake City and making a yummy appetizer for a large gathering seemed just perfect. These mushroom artichoke baguettes tasted just as delectable as the first time I made them over fifteen years ago. Continue reading Mushroom and Artichoke Baguette
Curly Kale and Ricotta Salata on Crackers with Nasturtium Blossoms
This little appetizer packs a ton of flavor and looks amazing too. I came up with this hors d’oeuvres when I was making an egg frittata with kale, leeks and ricotta cheese. The combination of kale and ricotta cheese tasted so good when I was prepping them for the eggs, that I decided to try this combination of ingredients in an appetizer. The opportunity presented itself perfectly when I had a couple of friends over for tea one afternoon.
Continue reading Curly Kale and Ricotta Salata on Crackers with Nasturtium Blossoms
Roasted Heirloom Tomato & Shallot Dip
I started roasting heirloom tomato and shallot for a salad, then when I finished roasting the veggies, they ended up looking more like a delicious dip. The tomatoes and shalltos carmelized into a creamy gooey texture making it a perfect dip consistency to have with a crusty baguette. Continue reading Roasted Heirloom Tomato & Shallot Dip
Fresh Figs & Lemongrass
Delicious fresh figs all plump, sweet, super soft and dripping with nectar. I picked a bunch of fresh figs from my friend Devi’s garden a few days ago. The temptation to eat these figs right off the tree was hard to resist, I ate a couple right away and brought the rest home.
Fresh figs right off the tree – when fruit is this fresh it’s hard to mess with them by adding them to salads or making a dessert of some sorts. We just ate them in their pure fresh fig form – just delicious😋. To present these figs as a dessert option that same evening I served a few with aged Parmesan cheese and walnuts. Added a small glass of sweet port and I had the makings of a deliciout fig inspired all-natural dessert. Continue reading Fresh Figs & Lemongrass
Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart
After going to the Heirloom Tomato Festival in Los Gatos and purchasing a few giant heirloom tomatoes, I decided to make a tomato tart that evening. I had saved a recipe a while back from Ina Garten for a tomato tart with goat cheese, and now seemed the perfect time to try it out with my newly bought tomatoes. Continue reading Heirloom Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart
