Appetizers

Academy Awards Party Food Bleu Cheese and Olive Clapboard

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Here’s a sneak peek of a tasty dish I’m serving at my Oscars Party to watch the Academy Awards. It’s actually very simple made with cream cheese and bleu cheese dressing, minced olives, provolone cheese, and A-Z Spaghettios for the letters on the clapboard!

February 20, 2012 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Chinese Chicken Wonton Tacos

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These tacos were a big hit at a recent cocktail party I hosted for my husband and the crew from a TV show he worked on, Fashion Star! (This show is going to be a huge hit – premieres February 2012!) This recipe takes off where minced squab on lettuce cups and mu shu chicken [...]

September 13, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Vegetarian Kabocha Curry on Papadum Crisps

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I stumbled upon a package of papadum disks, large crispy wafers served in Indian restaurants, in the store while shopping for a cocktail party and thought they would make tasty round crisps for an Indian-inspired recipe. Typically, papadoms are about 6 to 8 inches in diameter. For this recipe I quartered each uncooked disk, making [...]

September 13, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Baja Shrimp Tortilla Cones

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I’ve been experimenting with various edible containers for appetizers using wontons, papadum, and tortillas! The tortilla cones were definitely the most challenging to work with because I had to hold the cone shape together while immersing it in hot oil. The Baja shrimp blend is delicious, but the cones take some time and effort to [...]

September 13, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

4th of July Snacks on a Stick

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Grab and go foods such as these snack on a stick ideas are great for the 4th of July as most parties are super casual. From a simple star-shaped watermelon to single s’mores marshmallow skewers to red, white, and blue chocolate dipped pretzel sticks, there’s something a little sweet, salty, and partiotic for everyone at our Fourth of July celebration. 4th of [...]

June 29, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Grilled Figs with Balsamic Syrup and Roquefort and Candied Walnuts on Honey Pumpernickel Toast

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This recipe is so very Napa 2000. I was in my favorite local Russian market buying caviar and they had a sale on fresh figs – 79 cents for a basket of 8! “Figs on the grill,” I thought, “as an afternoon respite between the Quail Eggs Benedict Blini and other pancake-topped delicacies I had [...]

June 24, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Salsa Borracha

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Upon a recent visit to Rosarita Beach (video) on the Baja Peninsula, I discovered this excellent salsa. Happily, its star ingredient was beer!  In my broken Spanish, I asked our waiter Roberto for the ingredients and he went into game show mode acting out food, mixing, and drawing a blender on the paper tablecloth.  “And, [...]

June 23, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Prosciutto, Melon, and Kiwi Appetizer

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Talk about fabulous color in an appetizer! The gorgeous color combo of soft brown prosciutto, light orange melon, and bright green kiwi absoutely jumps off the plate in this riduculously easy starter. 4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto 1/2 of a very ripe cantaloupe 5 kiwi fruits wooden picks Tear prosciutto into 1-inch-by-4-inch strips. Peel cantaloupe [...]

April 26, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Baby Red Potatoes with Sour Cream and Caviar

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One of the easiest and most elegant recipes, this classic appetizer of baby red potatoes topped with sour cream and caviar is a great go-to for dinner parties. Top half with the caviar and the remainder with chopped chives for those who prefer the potatoes sans the salty little sea gems. 12 baby red potatoes [...]

April 26, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Mashed Potato Martini Bar

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Mashed Potato Martini Bars have been a popular party station for years at Los Angeles events and elsewhere. Invidual servings of mashed potatoes are set out in Martini glasses and small bowls of toppings are placed nearby for guests to tailor-make their taters. The photos for this dish are from my St. Patrick’s Day appearance [...]

April 1, 2011 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

White Chocolate Covered Brie with Cranberry Rosemary Chutney

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Without fail, this dish garners the most rave reviews and recipe requests from my friends! There’s something about the offbeat combination of white chocolate covering a wheel of Brie that sparks guests’ imaginations and the bright cranberry chutney topping makes it a dynamic and delicious holiday party appetizer. 2 cups fresh whole cranberries 3 tablespoons [...]

November 15, 2010 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Smoked Salmon Wrapped Ovaline Mozzarella

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This appetizer recipe couldn’t be easier. Basically, you wrap smoked salmon around ovaline mozzarella balls, which are @1-inch long little mozzarella balls, and then zest them up with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Skewer these with wooden toothpicks or a similar item so guests don’t have to touch the salmon. You could also put them [...]

November 13, 2010 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

White Asparagus Wrapped with Prosciutto and Parmesan

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This simple appetizer recipe has become my favorite for dinner parties. The ingredients are few but the prep in wrapping the prosciutto and Parm around the white asparagus spears takes a little bit of time. I prefer white asparagus to green as the texture is much more velvety. Green asparagus always has that woody vibe. [...]

October 6, 2010 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Cold Mango Ginger Carrot Soup with Green Tea Cream Float and Coconut Caviar

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Some of my blogging friends had posted great step-by-step shots of their adventures in molecular gastronomy or cooking, most notably blogger Mira Uncut. Knowing that I wanted to create something really unique for my husband’s birthday dinner party, I started experimenting, and this delicious cold soup is what I ended up serving. I must say, [...]

September 19, 2010 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

Rosemary Marshmallows

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I’m a big fan of savory-sweet combinations, and friends let me tell you, this recipe is a slam-dunk winner. I was inspired to make these Rosemary Marshmallows after reading a post on Chef Garrett Kern’s blog, Garrett’s Table. This recipe is his with my addition of the rosemary. I served them on bamboo skewers alongside [...]

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April 20, 2010 CONTINUE READING THIS POST →

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