four servings
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 cup almonds, crushed
One 8-ounce piece of brie cheese cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium-sized apples cut into wedges
1/2 of a crusty baguette, sliced
Procedure:
Place the flour on a plate. Whisk the eggs with the water and place in a pie dish. Place the almonds on a second plate.
Dust each brie wedge with the flour. Place in the egg wash. Then, roll each wedge in the crushed almonds, pressing the nuts firmly onto the cheese. Place the cheese on a plate and keep chilled.
Place the oil in a skillet and heat it until it is very hot, but not smoking. Place the brie wedges in the skillet and lightly brown the nuts on each side. This should take about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve with the apple wedges and the baguette.
Note: I explained to class participants that if this was something that they would make on a camping trip, that it could be made ahead of time at home and then packed in a plastic container, and then transported in a cooler. Then the brie can be grilled at the campsite. Similarly, if you are making it at home, it can be made ahead of time and kept chilled until ready to grill.
Mushroom Crostini
The mushroom crostini topped with Brie and ready to bake.
This is one of my favorite before dinner nibbles. I have even had people that aren’t crazy about mushrooms like these. I have used this recipe many times in hands-on cooking classes. They are usually ready before the rest of the food, so the class participants could eat them as they were preparing the rest of the food, because they can be made quite quickly. Brie is nice to use as it melts so easily, but Camembert could also be used. If you like goat cheese, Montrachet would be good to top these crostini with, or use a goat cheese that is seasoned with black pepper.
Makes sixteen crostini
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 lb assorted mushrooms, sliced (use white, crimini, or shitake) and stems removed.
2 shallots, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 of one baguette cut into 16 thin slices
4-oz brie cheese, sliced thin
Procedure:
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and shallots and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the thyme and the brandy and cook a further 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and stir. Reduce until the sauce is fairly thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide the mushroom mixture between the bread slices. Top each crostini with a little piece of the brie cheese and bake in a 375-degree oven until the cheese melts.
N’awlins Shrimp
The N’awlins Shrimp ready to serve.
I adapted this recipe from one that I used when I was a chef at Oscar Taylor’s in Phoenix. I am sure it was adapted from somewhere in New Orleans, but am not sure how it originated exactly. On a busy Friday or Saturday night, we could literally make 100 orders of this, so this meant going through 150 lbs of shrimp! It was the most popular dish we made and I think it is the sauce that everyone loves so much. Make sure you have a lot of bread on hand for mopping up the sauce!
Makes six appetizer servings
Ingredients:
Seasoning mix:
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
24 ounces (1 1/2 lbs.) medium sized shrimp, shells and veins removed
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beer, at room temperature
12 oz. cold butter
Warm French bread, sliced
Procedure:
Mix together all of the items in the seasoning mix and set aside.
Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and sauté until they are almost cooked about 3 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, seasoning mix, garlic and beer and simmer until the beer is reduced by half.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time until you have an emulsified, thick sauce.
Serve at once with the warm French bread.
Roasted Red Bell Pepper Dip with Cumin Pita Crisps
I have made this chip and dip combo in many classes, for parties at home and at work to use for health fairs. Both the dip and pita chips are low in fat, and make a great alternative to regular potato chips and high calorie creamy dips. You can further reduce the calories by using an olive oil type spray on the pita crisps instead of the ¼ cup olive oil and they will still be very good. If you don’t want to take the time to roast the peppers, a good jarred variety will work out just fine.
Makes eight to ten servings
Ingredients:
5 red bell peppers roasted and skinned
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt
