Friday, July 17, 2009

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

Appetizer-style dinners I recently returned from a trip to Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia where I visited a restaurant where the entire menu consisted of appetizers from three different regions — Asian, Italian and French. This type of dining presents a great opportunity for a full scale dinner with family and friends featuring appetizers from around the world. Why not give this type of eating a whirl at your next dinner soiree at home. Invite some of your friends from different islands or different countries to come over and bring at least two indigenous dishes to make up a fun-filled potluck dinner party. Appetizers can range from simple to sophisticated, regional to international, ethnic to domestic, and can be offered as snacks between meals but they work perfectly in the pre-meal role, while others have always been served as little taste-tempters. From France come the tiniest of appetizers — amuse bouches — miniature mouthfuls that play with the tastebuds even before the first course arrives. Also from France there are the classic hors d'oeuvres, traditionally a selection of small portions — usually cold — served at the beginning of a meal. The Italians have a similar first-course tradition known as antipasti, literally meaning "before pasta." Russians enjoy zakusi, which means "little bites" and originally referring to sweet delicacies served after a meal, but now describing savories served before the meal, often with vodka. From Spain and the Middle East comes tapas and meze, perfect for serving as appetizers as well as, in the traditional style, little snacks to accompany drinks. Asia also produces an inspired array of traditional snacks, Japanese sushi, Chinese dim sum, Indian samosas and pakoras to Thai fishcakes, Indonesian satay, and Vietnamese salt-and-pepper squid. There is so much to choose from in selecting the right set of appetizers for your next dinner gathering. So go all out with appetizers the next time you invite family and friends over for a fabulous dinner. Cooking is about sharing and having fun in the process so allow me to share the great recipes from Roscoe's Kitchen and be sure to listen to Star 106.5FM every weekday at 6:30pm. Apple Pie Filling 6 large Granny Smith apples 2 tablespoons superfine sugar 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest Pinch ground cloves Pastry 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons self-raising flour 5 1/2 ozs butter, chopped 2 tablespoons superfine sugar 4-5 tablespoons iced water 2 tablespoons apricot jam 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 tablespoon sugar Peel, core and cut the apples into wedges. Put into a saucepan with the sugar, zest, cloves and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook gently for 8 minutes, or until the apples are just tender. Drain and cool. Sift the flours into a bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it resembles fine crumbs. Add the sugar, mix well, then make a well in the centre. Add the water and mix with a flat-bladed knife until the mixture comes together. Gather the pastry together on a floured surface. Divide into two, making one half a little bigger. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 º F. Roll out the larger piece of pastry between two sheets of baking paper to line the base and side of a 9 inch pie plate. Peel off the top piece of paper and invert the pasty into the dish. Peel off the other baking sheet and trim the excess pastry. Brush the jam over the base and spoon the apple into the shell. Roll out the second piece of pastry between baking paper large enough to cover the pie. Brush with water around the rim, then place the top on. Trim off the excess pastry, pinch the edges together and cut a couple of steam slits in the top. Gently re-roll the excess pastry bits, and cut into leaves to decorate the top. Brush the top lightly with egg then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350 º F and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, or until golden. Source: Comfort Food — Bay Publishing Chicken Burger with Tangy Garlic Mayonnaise 4 chicken breast fillets 1/2 cup lime juice 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce 4 bacon rashers 4 hamburger buns 4 lettuce leaves 1 large tomatoes, slice Garlic Mayonnaise 2 egg yolks 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 cup olive oil Place chicken in a shallow non-metal dish; prick chicken breasts with a skewer several times. Combine lime juice and chilli sauce in a jug. Pour over chicken and cover. Marinate several hours or overnight. Prepare and light barbecue 1 hour before cooking. Remove and discard rind from bacon, cut bacon in half crossways. Place chicken and bacon on hot lightly greased barbecue grill or flat-plate. Cook bacon 5 minutes, or until crisp. Cook chicken another 7 minutes until well browned and cooked through, turning once. Cut hamburger buns in half and toast each side until lightly browned. Top with garlic mayonnaise. Finish with remaining bun top. To make Garlic Mayonnaise: Place egg yolks, garlic, mustard and lemon juice in food processor bowl or blender. Process until smooth. With motor constantly running add the oil in a thin, steady stream. Process until mayonnaise reaches a thick consistency. Refrigerate, covered, until required. Source: Sensational Barbecues — Bay Publishing Grilled Tomatoes with Bruschetta 1 loaf Italian bread 4 large ripe tomatoes 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar 2 tablespoons olive oil, extra 1 garlic clove, cut in half 1/2 cup chopped marinated artichokes, un-drained 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley Cut bread in thick slices. Preheat grill or broiler. Cut tomatoes in half, and gently squeeze out seeds. Place tomatoes cut side up in shallow ovenproof dish. Place marjoram, oil, vinegar and sugar in a small screw top jar. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and shake well. Pour dressing over tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes under the hot grill for 30 minutes. Turn halfway during cooking. Remove from heat and keep warm. Brush bread liberally with oil on both sides and toast until golden. Rub cut surface of garlic over bread, top with artichokes and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately. Source: Sensational Vegetable — Bay Publishing Scallops and Fish in Ginger and Lime 1 lb, 2 ozs firm white fish fillets 12 oz scallops 2 tablespoons oil 2 inch piece fresh ginger, grated 3 spring onions (scallions), chopped 1 tablespoon lime juice 2 tablespoons chili jam 2 tablespoons water 2 tbsps finely grated lime zest 1/4 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves Lime wedges, optional Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces and remove any black veins form the scallops. Heat half the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the ginger and spring onions and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the wok and set aside. Reheat the wok and when it is very hot, add the remaining oil. Add the fish and scallops in three batches and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the wok and set aside. Add the lime juice, chilli jam, water and lime zest to the wok, bring to the boil, stirring. Return the fish, scallops, and onion/ginger mixture to the wok, tossing gently with the sauce. Serve immediately sprinkled with coriander leaves. Garnish with lime wedges and serve the seafood with steamed rice. Source: Thai Cooking — Bay Publishing Tomato Seafood Soup 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 leeks, finely sliced 1 thick celery, finely sliced 2 gloves garlic, crushed 9 oz potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes 3 1/2 oz sun-dried tomatoes, drained, chopped 14 oz can diced tomatoes 5 cups fish stock 2 teaspoons sugar 12 oz firm white fish fillets 9 ozs. raw medium prawns (shrimp) 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the leek, celery and garlic and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the potato and sun-dried tomato and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the diced tomato, stock and sugar. Bring slowly to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove any skin and bones from the fish fillets and cut the fillets into bite-sized cubes. Peel the prawns and gently pull out the dark vein from each prawn back, staring at the head end. Add fish to the saucepan and simmer gently for 5 minutes, or until nearly cooked. Add the prawns and cook for 3 minutes, or until cooked. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir in the chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread. Source: The New Seafood Cookbook — Bay Publishing SPICE OF THE WEEK: CAYENNE PEPPER Cayenne pepper takes its name from its supposed center of origin — the Cayenne region of French Guiana, with cayenne deriving from a Tupi Indian name. It is now grown largely in India, East Africa, Mexico and the United States, in fact most tropical and sub-tropical regions. Chilis originated in South America, where they have been under cultivation since prehistoric times. The seeds long viability facilitated the rapid spread of the plant throughout the tropics and sub-tropics by the Spanish and Portuguese, the spice becoming as popular there as vine pepper. Chilis were long known as "Indian pepper" meaning "of the New World" rather than "of India." Despite its specific name, and the supposed use of special chilis for it, there is little to distinguish cayenne from ordinary pure chilli powder, except that commercial chilli powder usually contains other spices such as garlic or cumin, and is rougher in texture. Wednesday, July 1, 2009