You can try treats that take time to prepare, such as Smoked Salmon Tart; Gougères, Gruyère, Piment D’espelette; or Warm Oysters in their Shells with Leeks and Champagne Butter. But some easier snacks can be assembled quickly — from
Snack Seasonings to Spiced Nuts to Honeyed Goat Cheese.
Holiday recipes: Seattle chefs share their twists on the classic dishes
Dish by dish, the chefs share their tips on how to improve traditional holiday recipes from trusted sources, such as Good Housekeeping, Betty Crocker and The New York Times.
Nobody is going to blame you if your New Year’s Eve party spread includes a bowl of mixed nuts, some grapes and a wedge or two of cheese. After all, most people enjoy them and are willing to nibble mindlessly on them. As long as you remember the Champagne.
But it is easier than you think to elevate your feast by bolstering those tired party snack clichés with a few more creative offerings.
You can try treats that require some time to prepare, such as Smoked Salmon Tart; Gougères, Gruyère, Piment D’espelette; or Warm Oysters in their Shells with Leeks and Champagne Butter.
However, if you don’t have the time or energy, other party snacks can be assembled in less than 10 minutes — from Spiced Nuts or Marinated Olives to Honeyed Goat Cheese or Bacon-Date Cream Cheese Dip. Many can be assembled ahead of time. And the only truly important rule is to make sure everything is neat and easy to eat (one-handing it really is best for party food).
To help get your party started, we’ve assembled easy — and not-so-easy — snack ideas.
SMOKED-SALMON TART FOR A CROWD
Makes 4 tarts, each serving 2 to 4 people
Cut into wedges, it looks like an upscale pizza, but the crust is essentially a large buttery homemade cracker. Spread with horseradish-enhanced crème fraîche, this tart is easy to assemble and even easier to eat.
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Kosher salt
4 ounces/1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut in half-inch chunks
2 egg yolks, beaten with enough ice water to make ½ cup
8 ounces/1 cup crème fraîche
3 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish, or more to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Zest of 1 lemon
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 small sweet onion, very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ pound/4 ounces sliced smoked salmon
2 ounces trout roe or wild salmon caviar (optional)
1 tablespoon snipped chives
1 teaspoon roughly chopped tarragon, or torn leaves
1. Make the pastry: Put flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly, then add butter all at once and whir until mixture resembles wet sand. Add egg and continue just until dough comes together. (Alternatively, cut butter into dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix by hand.) Knead dough lightly on countertop, then divide into four pieces and form each into a ball. Wrap with plastic film and flatten to 1-inch-thick disks. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Make the horseradish cream: Mix together crème fraîche, horseradish, mustard and lemon zest. Season generously with salt and pepper, then keep cool. (If cream firms upon standing, beat with a fork.)
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put onion in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and mix to coat. Roll out each piece of dough to an 8-inch-diameter circle. Place the pastry discs on parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle onion slices over each round.
4. Bake tart rounds for six to seven minutes, until pastry is lightly browned and puffed, and onions are starting to brown. (Turn pans halfway through for even browning.) Let cool for a minute or two.
5. Assemble the tart: Put pastry on a cutting board. Cut into six to eight wedges. Spoon some horseradish cream onto each wedge. Tear salmon slices into wide ribbons and lay them over the cream. (Use 1 ounce salmon per tart.) Top each wedge with a tiny spoonful of roe, if using, and sprinkle with chives and tarragon. Serve directly from the board.
— From David Tanis, The New York Times
GOUGÈRES, GRUYÈRE, PIMENT D’ESPELETTE
Makes about 2 dozen gougeres
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1½ cups milk
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ to 1 teaspoon piment d’Espelette or chili powder
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1½ cups plus (about 6¾ ounces) flour, sifted
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or Jacobsen, for finishing
1. In a large saucepan, heat the butter, milk, salt, piment d’Espelette and nutmeg together over low heat until the butter has melted completely. Add the flour, stirring vigorously until the mixture forms a paste, then cook, stirring and smearing the dough constantly, until the mixture starts to smell nutty and small beads of fat form on the surface of the dough that’s just come off the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes total. (It will be thick, like sugar-cookie dough.)
2. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and set aside until the dough has almost reached room temperature, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
3. When the dough has cooled, with the machine on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until the batter re-forms between each egg and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. When you have added all the eggs, mix in the Gruyère and Parmesan on low speed.
4. Using two spoons, form the batter into golf ball-sized balls and arrange them on the prepared baking sheets about 1½ inches apart, dipping the spoons into a bowl of warm water between each one to keep the dough from sticking. Sprinkle the gougères liberally with the sea salt.
5. Bake the gougères for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 25 more minutes, or until the gougères are brown and crisp on the outside and half hollow in the center.
6. Serve immediately, or set aside to cool on racks no more than a few hours before serving. Or you can bake them early in the day and then recrisping them in a 400-degree oven just before serving.
— Adapted by the Los Angeles Times from Seattle chef Renee Erickson’s “A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus.”
WARM OYSTERS IN THEIR SHELLS WITH LEEKS AND CHAMPAGNE BUTTER
Serves 4
2 dozen oysters, shucked, with liquid reserved and shells washed and reserved
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, julienned
2 shallots, finely diced
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons Champagne or dry sparkling white wine, divided
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1. Heat the oven to 175 degrees. Refrigerate the oysters in their liquid and place the shells on a baking sheet. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch the leeks until tender, four to six minutes. Drain the leeks and spread them out on a towel to cool.
2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the shallots and 2 tablespoons Champagne, cooking until the liquid is reduced to almost nothing. Over very low heat, slowly whisk pieces of butter into the nearly dry pan, one at a time. The mixture should thicken as you whisk. Thin the sauce with the remaining one-half cup Champagne and taste for seasoning, adding a little salt if desired; the sauce should be only lightly salted (the oysters are already salty).
3. Place the oyster shells in the oven. In a small pot set over low heat, gently simmer the oysters in their liquid until they begin to curl up ever so slightly. Remove the shells from the oven and arrange them on a serving platter lined with rock salt. Fill each shell with a spoonful of cooked leeks and a warm oyster, and finish with the Champagne butter and a sprinkle of chives.
— Adapted by the Los Angeles Times from the book “French Roots” by Jean-Pierre Moulle and Denise Lurton Moulle
10 EASY IDEAS FOR PARTY SNACKS:
1. Spiced nuts: Beat 1 egg white with 1 teaspoon of water until frothy. Add 3 cups of your favorite unsalted nuts and toss to coat. In another bowl, whisk together ¼ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon five-spice powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Toss the sugar mixture with the nuts and spread on a rimmed baking sheet lined with kitchen parchment. Bake at 350 F until fragrant and dry.
2. Marinated olives: Whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, the zest of 1 orange, 2 minced cloves garlic and 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary. Toss with 2 cups mixed pitted olives. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least four hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.
3. Honeyed goat cheese: Set an 8-ounce log of soft goat cheese on a serving plate. Drizzle the cheese liberally with honey, then sprinkle with toasted pecans, chopped fresh tarragon, grated lemon zest and ground black pepper. Serve with crackers or sliced baguette.
4. Apricot prosciutto beans: Spread a half slice of prosciutto very thinly with apricot preserves. Wrap the prosciutto around several haricot verts (thin French green beans) and a thin strip of roasted red pepper. Make a dozen or so bundles in this fashion, then stack on a serving tray. Sprinkle with ground black pepper.
5. Bacon-date cream-cheese dip: Beat an 8-ounce block of cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of milk until light and fluffy. Stir in ½ cup crumbled well-cooked bacon, ½ cup chopped dates and 2 thinly sliced scallions. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Top with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
6. Avocado shrimp cocktail: In a food processor, combine the flesh of 3 avocados with ½ cup cocktail sauce, 2 tablespoons horseradish, the juice of 1 lime, a splash of hot sauce and a bit of salt and pepper. Process until smooth, then transfer to a serving bowl. Top with sliced scallions and serve with cooked, chilled shrimp.
7. Candied kielbasa bites: Slice 1 pound of kielbasa into thin ovals. Arrange in a single layer on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix together ¾ cup brown sugar with ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Sprinkle evenly over the kielbasa. Bake at 350 F until the slices are golden brown and the sugar is bubbly, about 30 minutes.
8. Smashed lemon cannellini beans: Drain and rinse a 15-ounce can of cannellini beans. Pat dry with paper towels, then spread on a dinner plate. Roughly smash the beans with a fork or potato masher. Drizzle all over with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with grated lemon zest, chopped fresh oregano, coarse sea salt, black pepper and smoked paprika. Serve with toasted pita chips.
9. Marinated mozzarella with anchovy and peanuts: Mash 3 anchovies with a fork in a medium bowl. Add ½ cup good olive oil, 1 pound cubed, drained fresh mozzarella, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 2 cloves grated garlic, ¼ cup torn fresh basil leaves, and ½ cup lightly chopped unsalted peanuts. Serve with bread for scooping.
10. Sweet and spicy cracker bark: Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray. Arrange saltine crackers in a single layer covering the entire baking sheet. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cayenne (more or less to taste), ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer and stir to combine. Pour the mixture over the crackers, spreading until the crackers are evenly covered. Bake at 350 F until golden brown and bubbling, about five minutes. Sprinkle the top with ½ cup crumbled crisp-cooked bacon and ¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds. Allow to cool completely, then break into bite-sized pieces.
source: http://seattletimes.com/html/foodwine/2025316511_1recipe29snacks10xml.html?cmpid=2628
