Foodarrific» Appetizers & Hor d’oeuvres

loaded potato slices

chili queen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:31:56 +0000

Vegetarian day is frequently a headache for me. The kids are not huge fans of veggie stir-fries which is standard fare for me on vegetarian days. These days, it’s been raining elephants and llamas, so going out to grab a veggie pizza or burger is out of the question.

If we stay home, I have to get creative and this recipe is one I concocted recently. Ta-da! Loaded potato slices.

These are very easy to make. Of course, it’s not as easy as swiping a bag of frozen french fries through a Honeywell Barcode Scanner, but these taste so good that my picky eaters called for an encore and I ended up making a second batch.

Here’s what you need:

4 large potatoes, skinned and sliced 1″ thick lengthwise
1 large tomato, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 stalk cilantro, finely chopped
2-3 teaspoons lime juice
pinch of salt
grated mozzarella cheese

Yes, there’s quite a bit of cutting involved. Combine the tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt in a bowl. Leave aside for a while, then drain off excess juices. You don’t want that.

First I microwave the potato slices on high for about 2 minutes. Transfer them to a tray and space them out nicely. Spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice and top with grated mozzarella cheese.

Then I just pop the tray into my toaster oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese and potato edges brown slightly, and they’re ready to serve.

These loaded potato slices make a very yummy, very healthy meal as there’s no oil added and all the ingredients are fresh. With its vibrant colors, it’s also very presentable and you can serve it as an hor d’oeuvre. Try it, I’m sure you’re going to love it as much as we do .

crispy stuffed taupok

chili queen — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:15:34 +0000

I bought some taupok, or tofu puffs from the market because I was thinking of trying my hand at making my own vegetarian curry. But I changed my mind when my neighbor said she’d get me a tub of vegetarian curry from the temple.

So I decided to stuff the taupok with some meat and fry it. I think some restaurants serve this as an appetizer or hors d’oeuvres. Taupok is a roughly 2-inch square tofu puff that’s hollow inside.

So what you need is:

10-15 taupok, cut into half
100 grams of ground pork
2 cups of cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste

The first thing I do is to season the ground pork with some salt and pepper, and leave aside while I cut the tofu puffs into halves.

Using a teaspoon, I stuff the ground pork into the hollow of each taupok half. Then I heat up the cooking oil on high heat and drop the taupok in, one by one.

I kept my stuffed taupok very basic as I was in a bit of a rush. But if you’re planning to serve these as hors d’oeuvres, you can pretty up the stuffing with shredded carrots and green (spring) onions.

I serve these hot from the wok with chilli sauce and ketchup right out of the bottle, provided there’s still any left after the kids are done pinching .

finger-lickin’ good chicken fingers

chili queen — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:24:15 +0000

My kids want something to snack on while watching the Olympics. Since we don’t happen to have crunchy snacks around, I suggested making them chicken fingers and french fries. There was a huge resounding ‘yay’ from my kids!

I first made these chicken fingers a couple of weeks back. I was doing a post for Four Foods on Friday about oven bakes when the sudden inspiration for this recipe struck me like lightning.

The chicken fingers turned out to be an instant hit with my kids ! Okay, tell me, which kid doesn’t like crispy, crunchy boneless chicken pieces??

The recipe is very simple. I just use chicken breasts cut into broad strips and marinated salt, sugar, pepper and chilli powder for an hour now.

Again I’m using the ‘grandmother’s method’ of not measuring the ingredients but just using approximates. If you like spicy, add more chilli powder otherwise tone it down, it’s all up to you.

Then I drizzle a little cooking oil over the pieces to lightly coat them. Then dredge the pieces through a combination of flour and finely-grated parmesan cheese. Line up the strips on a greased tray and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or till golden brown.

Served with french fries, the kids tell me it’s just like eating McDonalds or KFC! Thing I love is these are oven-baked so they’re not greasy. They’re crisp and the parmesan cheese is what makes it taste so-oo good. Great Olympic finger food!

baguette topping: bacon and cheese

chili queen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:09:48 +0000

I just haven’t been able to resist buying baguettes lately. My kids love the different toppings I’ve been putting on them. And obviously what better time to stuff yourself silly with baguette than when they’re on sale. Two for the price of one is so worth it.

I made this for breakfast last Sunday and again for lunch this week on my kids’ request. Simply lay strips of cheddar cheese slices along the length of the baguette and top off with a strip of streaky bacon. Pop them into the oven toaster for about 8-10 minutes.

I tell ya, the smell of bacon crackling in my oven toaster first thing in the morning is heavenly. I rarely buy streaky bacon but the bits of fat in it really do add a great sizzle of flavor.

If you’re making these as hor d’oeuvres for a party, you can cut the baguette into shorter lengths and stick a fancy toothpick in the center.

vegetarian spring rolls

chili queen — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:45:20 +0000

Yesterday was the first day of the sixth moon on the Chinese calendar, a vegetarian day for me. So I made vegetarian spring rolls which, by the way, would be a tasty appetizer for your 4th of July party too.

To me, there’s always something mysterious about a springroll because you never quite know what’s inside until you take the first bite. I like mine vegetarian because, for one thing, it’s healthier and for another, it only needs three main ingredients.

Depending on the crowd you’re preparing for, you’ll need:

1 packet spring roll wrap
1 medium-sized Chinese turnip or jicama (see picture), shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 clove garlic, diced

It’s very simple. First, I heat up some oil in my wok and lightly saute the garlic. Next, I add the carrots and turnip and saute for about 5 minutes, finishing off with a dash of salt, pepper and soy sauce to taste.

I usually let the filling cool off on a plate for a bit. It’s easier to wrap when you don’t keep burning your fingers .

Wrapping a spring roll isn’t hard at all. Just lay out the wrap on a flat surface and place 2-3 teaspoons of filling about 1 inch from the edge nearest you and to the left and right of the wrap.

The edge nearest me is where I start working from. Lift that edge and fold over the top of the filling. Then fold the left, then right side and roll forwards until you get a sorta cigar-like roll.

Seal the loose edge with a dab of water or egg white all along the edge. If I have to, I just press it a little to make it stick, otherwise the spring roll might burst open half-way through deep-frying.

Heat up a cup of oil in the wok. Deep-frying requires that the oil be very hot. If the oil is not hot enough, the spring rolls will absorb more oil and become greasy and heavy which also makes it very fattening.

Deep-fry till light brown and drain off excess oil on a sieve or a piece of kitchen roll. That’s it. All ready to be gobbled up . Even more yummy served with my homemade chilly dip recipe (it’s at the bottom of that post).

butterfly wontons – hors d’oeuvres that pack a crunch!

chili queen — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:01:52 +0000

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like wonton. It’s like the universal finger food that appeals to anyone anywhere. They’re great as hors d’oeuvres and are a hit at potlucks and dinner parties.

They’re really easy to make too. But if you’re making them for a party, you’re best getting an early start because you have to hand-fold each one, then deep-fry them in batches and that takes time.

What you need to do first is marinate your ground meat with salt, pepper and a drizzle of sesame oil. You can pretty much use any kind of meat, or combinations of meat. I like to use ground pork. But you can use chicken, chicken and pork, pork and shrimp.

For an element of surprise and to have your guests raving for days, add some finely chopped water chestnuts for that crunch.

You can get the wonton skin in packs at the frozen section of the grocery store. Use a teaspoon to place a small scoop of marinated meat (not too much or the meat won’t cook through) at the center of the wonton skin.

Dab a bit of water all round the meat. Lift one side of the wonton skin to fold into a triangle. Press down gently all around the meat. The water will act as a glue and seal the meat in nicely.

Heat some oil in the wok. To test if the oil is hot enough, stand your chopsticks in it, and if the oil bubbles and sizzles, it’s ready.

Lay each wonton straight with the wings stretched out as much as you can. Understandably as the wok gets crowded, you’ll get some folded wings, which are okay too. So maybe some butterflies are resting or doing a dance, huh ?

Fish the wontons out of the wok as soon as they start turning a light brown. Wonton skins are very thin and burn easily. Remember even after you remove them from the wok, the heat will keep them cooking for a while. You want your wontons golden brown, not charcoal black.

Leave wontons on a strainer or paper towels to drain away/soak up the excess oil. Now that wasn’t too hard, was it? The hardest part is perhaps standing in the heat of the wok. But hey, if you have one of those new-fangled electric deep fryers, by all means, use it.

Aren’t these butterfly wontons pretty enough to eat?

I don’t typically make a dip to go with my wontons. I use chili sauce and ketchup straight out of the bottle. But I notice Chinese restaurants in the US serve a sort of special dip. So I concocted my own since my friends had all come to expect it.

With a bit of oil in the wok, I saute some chopped garlic. Then add ketchup, a dash of chili sauce (yes, only a dash), juice from half a lemon and a bit of water to dilute the sauce. Bring it to a quick boil. A drizzle of sesame oil and you’re done!

The dip is sweet and sour with a slightly spicy tang and a distinct fragrance from the garlic and sesame oil. Use a nice little bowl for the dip and place it on your tray of butterfly wontons! There you go…

four foodarrific ideas for baguette toast toppings

chili queen — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:57:10 +0000

I wouldn’t usually think of buying a baguette (or French loaf, as some call it). But if I happen to see them, I’m always be tempted to buy one or two.

Last weekend, they were on sale – two for the price of one, so I didn’t think twice.

With two baguettes starring at me, I had to get creative pretty quick. The kids and I were having it as a full meal for lunch.

So I thought I’d add a little variety so they could choose what toppings they wanted.

I cut up the baguette slantwise into inch-think slices and threw them into my oven toaster for 3 minutes while I readied four different toppings to go with it.

Naturally I had to have my coconut jam (or kaya) spread (top). I also made some plain ones with just butter (bottom) which smells and tastes really good.

Then I also made some with tuna topping – plain tuna with mayonnaise (right) and spicy chilly tuna (left). Tuna on toast is something else .

A couple of quick tips here. Baguettes are easiest to cut when they’re fresh. Use a super-sharp bread knife if you want the pieces to keep their shape.

If your knife is not sharp enough, you end up having to press harder against the bread in order to saw through it, causing the pieces to get squished out of shape.

Misshapen pieces don’t look half as nice, aren’t as flat and offer less surface area for you to work with. So you may find you have less space to lay out your toppings.

Baguette toasts are great for a quick snack, or even a main meal if you add a fairly substantial topping.