Ham and cheese is one of my favorite sandwiches, but this cute recipe for ham and cheese for grown ups is awesome! What’s fun about this simple recipe is you can do some of it ahead of time and then when you plan on having that little dinner party, assemble it and wow! You have a really nice presentation of some small bites that will whet the appetite… YUM!

Pinzon Apple and Potato Peeler, Corer, and Slicer

What you’ll need:
(Printable recipe)
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 8 slices thin white bread *
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large or 2 small green apples
- 4 to 6 ounces aged Gouda
- 1 tablespoon Dijon or whole grain mustard, apple butter or chutney
- 1/2 bunch watercress
- 8 thin slices prosciutto
- Freshly cracked black pepper

*Not a white bread fan? Me either. Use rye or a dill flavored bread or a really great whole wheat. The key is to make the slices really thin.

What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Bring the water, vinegar and brown sugar to a boil. Add the onions and remove the mixture from the heat. Cover, and set aside until the onions come to room temperature.

3. Trim the crusts off the bread and cut the bread into thirds, making 3 rectangular pieces. Then, lightly brush both sides of the bread pieces with the olive oil and lay them down on a baking sheet.

4. Toast the bread in the oven until just crisp and lightly browned, for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat source and cool.

To assemble:
1. Quarter, core, and very thinly slice the apple, (using a Mandoline slicer is terrific for this). Very thinly slice the cheese into triangles or shards that will fit nicely on the bread.

2. Place a dab or smear of mustard on the bread. Place a piece of apple, cheese and 1 or 2 sprigs of watercress on each piece of toasted bread. Wrap a small piece of prosciutto around each stack to make a neat package. Top with a little bit of the pickled onions, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve at room temperature on a pretty platter.

What you can do ahead:
Toast the bread ahead, and thinly slice the apple, placing them in lemon water to prevent them from turning brown. If you need to assemble the sandwiches ahead, don’t add the watercress, and cover them with a very light moistened paper towel.

This easy appetizer recipe makes 24 ham and cheese for grown ups finger food. Enjoy!

*Photo at the beginning of this post is courtesy of the Food Network. Thanks!

I especially love goat cheese and anything that goes with it. When you make these little sun-dried tomato and goat cheese kabobs for your next gathering, make sure you make a few more than you think you’ll need. They go fast!

What you need:
- 1 (8-ounce) log fresh goat cheese, chilled
-1  cup pistachio nuts, finely chopped
- 20 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
- 1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
- 20 small skewers or cocktail toothpicks

What to do:
GREAT TIP: Fill a pitcher with hot water. Dip a knife into the hot water to slice the goat cheese log in half lengthwise.

Slice each half into 10 pieces making sure to dip the knife into the hot water in between slicing to ensure a nice clean cut. Roll each piece of goat cheese into balls approximately 1/2-inch in diameter and put onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.

Add the chopped pistachio nuts to a shallow bowl. Roll a goat cheese ball into the pistachio nuts and coat 1/2 of the ball. Return to the sheet pan and repeat with the remaining goat cheese balls.

Drain the oil from the tomatoes and put onto a plate lined with a paper towel.

Skewer a goat cheese ball onto the skewer. Lay a basil leaf on top a sun-dried tomato. Fold the tomato in half around the basil leaf and add to the skewer with the goat cheese. Repeat with remaining skewers. Arrange on a serving platter, cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Deeeeelish! And it looks pretty too. This simple recipe makes 20 skewers. And for more wonderful ideas for appetizers, check out the cheese appetizers section of the Easy Appetizer Recipes website.

Photo courtesy of the Food Network.

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My "little Italy" backyard

But, sometimes, it’s just too hot to cook, or you aren’t in the mood. Here’s a solution:

Why not try a wine and cheese party? Here’s the beauty of doing that. YOU DON’T HAVE TO COOK!

So, if you are someone like me, who loves to have your best friends over for a fun evening of food and spirits, make it easy on yourself! I found this helpful video about making an easy wine and cheese party. Take a look and have fun!

A great place to order wine online is at Wine.com.

]]> http://easy-appetizers.com/wine-cheese-parties/feed/ 3 http://easy-appetizers.com/delicious-spanish-food/ http://easy-appetizers.com/delicious-spanish-food/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:36:58 +0000 BusyMOM http://easy-appetizers.com/?p=523 Spanish Food
Spain is famous for many things, but one of the best things is it’s food! Spain produces a wealth of natural, healthy foods such as olive oil, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seafood. All of this forms the basis of its traditional recipes.

As my blog reader, you know that I love the Spanish food of Tapas. I am enamored with how you can create beautiful small plates with such simple ingredients. So, I decided to share with you some of those yummy ingredients that you can easily get by going to your local specialty market or by visiting my favorite place online for buying GREAT Spanish food, La Tienda.

Here’s a list of some delicious ingredients. Then visit my Tapas Small Plates page to get some great ideas for Tapas. Enjoy!

Jamón Serrano or Serrano Ham is the famous dry-cured ham of Spain, with Jamón Ibérico the king of Serrano hams. Depending on the recipe, its easy to replace with bacon, or your local ham – such as York ham or Virginia ham.

Chorizo is Spain´s spicy sausage. Other Spanish sausages include Morcilla, made from blood and similar to English black pudding, and Butifarra – a white sausage made from pork, tripe, and pine-nuts. If you can’t find it, you can always replace with a spicy sausage, black pudding, or white sausage from your
own country.

Piquillo Peppers – are small, pointed red peppers from the region of Navarre, which are canned and sold throughout Spain. Replace with canned, ordinary red peppers, or roast a fresh red pepper yourself.

Saffron – is derived from a certain strain of crocus, and used to flavor and bestow that golden-yellow color to dishes.

Cheese – Spain has numerous regional artisan cheeses and, when a certain one is specified, a description of its type follows in brackets, [hard, soft, blue, etc.] Use your local equivalent.

It’s great if you can use authentic ingredients from Spain for your Tapas and cooking Spanish foods, but if not, then use the equivalent. It’s all good!

Here’s the first one that I must say, is delicious. It’s called, Idiazabal Sheep’s Cheese Lightly Smoked.

Wow! I have tried other smoked cheeses and sometimes the smokey flavor is just too overwhelming, but this cheese was perfect. Lightly flavored with just enough of the smoke essence and but not so much that it overwhelmed the natural cheese flavor. DEEEEELISH!

This is the description you’ll find on La Tienda’s website about this delicious finger food of cheese:

• Deep, subtle smoked flavor
• From the heart of Basque country
• Aged 8 months

Our Idiazábal cheese is from the original producer and is still produced by the same family in the heart of Basque Country. A smoked unpasteurized sheep’s milk cheese aged 8 months, it gets a deep but subtle flavor from being smoked with hawthorn and cherry wood.

Traditionally Basque shepherds would keep their flocks high in the Pyrenees Mountains throughout the spring and summer. In the early autumn, right after the first snows, the shepherds would appear in the villages below carrying with them the cheeses they made from the ewe’s milk all summer long.

In order to preserve the cheeses in the highlands they stored them by the chimneys of their mountain shelters, where they aged and naturally smoked.

This D. O. controlled raw sheep’s milk cheese is hardwood smoked, coloring the outer rind from orange to a nutty brown. The smoke gently permeates the pale beige interior. As it ages, the flavor becomes a little sharper, and can be grated.

Idiazábal goes beautifully with fresh fruits, ham, salchichón and crusty bread and pairs well with a favorite red wine from your wine collection. It can keep in your refrigerator for a month or more. Store in foil or waxed paper, so that your cheese can continue to breathe.

Try it… I think you’ll find it is a beautiful cheese to serve with your favorite cracker, bread or fresh fruit.

Enjoy!

For more great ideas for appetizers, please visit our Simple Appetizer Recipes page.

I love chips and dip and all kinds of appetizers. I make meals out of them! I would prefer to eat finger foods over any other kind of meal. And I try not to snack to much. I know, how crazy is that?

Anyway, I may convert you to a snack-aholic with these incredible homemade chips that are super simple to make and you’ll never want to go back to the bagged kind again. Trust me, you’ll love them!

To get this yummy recipe for the beloved finger food and read the rest of the article, visit my Homemade Pototo Chips page.

Memorial Day

Here’s a little help in that area… I’m listing 5 of my favorite Chicken Wings Recipes for you to try out. Chicken Wings – when done right, are a wonderful simple appetizer that everyone loves. Watch. You’ll see. They will disappear before your eyes!

#1. THE Original Buffalo Chicken Wings – Take a peak at the first recipe that started the popularity of chicken wings. Simple and easy appetizer to make.

#2. Apricot Onion Chicken Wings - I like this one because it blends the sweet with the tart and the combination will make this a real party pleaser.

#3. Coffee Chicken Wings – Ooo la la! This recipe is exotic, but oh-so-delicous!  You’ll love the smokiness the coffee flavor adds to the wings.

#4. Dragon Breath Chicken Wings – These wings you grill and they will spice up any party you might throw. The nice thing about this recipe is that they are as delicious served cold as they are straight from your grill.

#5. Diablo Canyon Chicken Wings – This is a wonderful simple appetizer recipe for the spicy-shy adult and kid. The flavor is a nice mixture of sweet and salty.

Enjoy your holiday and remember to be SAFE!

Try it, you’ll like it…

What you’ll need:
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ranch dressing mix
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1 pinch paprika, for garnish (optional)

What to do:

1. Place eggs gently in a saucepan and then, cover with cold water. Next, bring the water to a boil and immediately remove the eggs from the heat.
2. Cover and let the eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water with a slotted spoon, cool and peel.
3. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and carefully remove the yolks – put them in a bowl. Mash up the yolks with the mayonnaise and the mustard. Next, season the yolk mixture with pepper and ranch dressing mix, blending until the mixture is smooth. Spoon the mixture into the egg white halves and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.

Serve this yummy finger food right away or store in your refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Delicious and a nice addition to your Easter brunch. Enjoy!

For more great appetizer ideas, visit our Simple Appetizer Recipes page.

Here’s a video I found about how to make Appetizer Pinwheels that you make with tortillas. Enjoy!

Appetizer Pinwheels

Posted to Taste of Home by Taste of Home Editors on June 22, 2008

Click to Play | View Details

If you like this recipe, you might also like to try Prosciutto Pinwheels.