Appetisers and Hors D’oeuvres

Appetisers and Hors D'oeuvres, Fruit Inspired, Savoury

Red Wine Poached Pear and Blue Cheese Crostini

Have you ever poached pear, or for that matter, any other fruit? Until recently, I never had. But after tasting the wondrous results of humble home poached fruit, I am obsessed. I admit that I am showing symptoms of another obsession – crostinis! But they’re just so dam good, its kinda hard not to.

Since we are talking about obsessions, strawberry season is back! Over the weekend I experimented with some jalepeno infused strawberry margaritas from How Sweet It Is’s new book, Seriously Delish. And can I just say, it was just ah-mazaing! It was made up of pureed strawberries, fresh jalepeno, cointreau and of course, some good old rum. You could totally swap the rum for the originally called for tequila, but I found this incredibly delicious (yet not too sweet) cocktail to be am amazing spin on a bloody-mary meets a daiquiri meets a caprioska.

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Appetisers and Hors D'oeuvres, Savoury

Mushroom Hors d’oeuvres

A few weeks ago, I wanted to make an hors d’oeuvre which could be served both warm and room termperature, and had the ability to invoke the desire in anyone to lean over for one more! I find that mushrooms and parsley are one of those heavenly matches – like strawberry and balsamic, orange and dark chocolate. Puff pastry is an obvious and amazing choice. How can you go wrong with something that has 1000 layers, and rises butterfully (see what I did there – beautifully with butter).

On a free afternoon, I pre-thawed the puff pastry for a few hours in the fridge and then rolled it out, cut 2″ rounds using a cookie cutter, and pressed down the corners with the back of a fork – providing those pretty little ridges in the pastry. The indentations also allow the corners to rise more and get nice and golden, whereas the centre remains a little dented, paving way for filling of choice. After they were indented, I popped them back into a freezer layered with parchment paper between each circle, to prevent any scope of sticking. This method saved me a huge amount of time and effort on D-day, and is also a great way to utilise any excess pastry.

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Appetisers and Hors D'oeuvres, Savoury

Peach & Ricotta Crostinis with Lavender Honey and Onion Microgreens

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a big sucker for crostinis of any kind. Evidence includes my lip-smacking grilled pear, honey and brie crostinis with rosemary, strawberry crostinis and roasted mushroom and herb crostinis with parmesan.  And honest to God –  they are dead simple! Typically an essential to the crostini is the bread itself. Once you have that, all the fun begins with permutations and combinations of pantry goods, fresh produce and favourite staples. 

The history behind the crostini (meaning “little toast” in Italian) and our need of the day are one and the same – bite size simple do ahead appetisers to be served at a get together or during Happy Hour. 

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Appetisers and Hors D'oeuvres, Fruit Inspired, Savoury

Mexican Quick Fix: Mango Salsa & Guacamole

After reading this article, the opening words struct me:

“It won’t be surprising if cultural historians look back on the first two decades of this century as The Era of Crazed Oral Gratification. I’m speaking of the fetishization of food, of cooking and eating, of watching other people cooking and eating, that has become omnipresent across all platforms, all media, all screens and all palates in our great nation.”

It really is so true! And in light of the quest for ‘Oral Gratification’, the journey comes to a standstill with my favourite 2 bowls of goodness. Think about it – there are few things in this world as satisfying as a bowl of salsa, guacamole and a bag full of crispy corn nachos. The ultimate treat! Now while I am not the largest fan of the ‘fusion’ movement (although it has actually been with us for centuries), this combination of mango and Mexican flavours does some serious magic – and that just cannot be ignored. For the last year or two, pretty much ever since I made the first batch of it, mango salsa has become a staple party snack, and a regular on our dinner table whenever we have a Mexican meal.
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Appetisers and Hors D'oeuvres, Savoury

The Locavore Diaries: Locally produced BomBrie and CamemBay

The Locavore Diaries is a new series launched by Joie De Vivre, with the intention to highlight locally created outstanding produce, and to show it being used in an original Joie De Vivre recipe. I feel very strongly about supporting local entrepreneurs, about eating food that I purchase locally, and to encourage new ventures that improves the quality and calibre of products available locally. This is not only a sustainable and eco-conscious move, but also one that promises the maximum flavour and freshness of produce.

To kick off the series, what better than some artisanal cheese, made right here, but tastes as good as its French inspiration.
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