The keyword here is easy … because traveling 4 days a week and working 13+ hour days should never be an excuse not to have a good time with friends or family over good food and drinks.
I threw together some spanish meatballs, rosemary honey cream cheese figs, and bacon-wrapped dates for a mani/pedi event we threw for our summers in the Upper East Side. The spanish meatballs added some heartiness to the line-up of hors d’œuvres and the bacon-wrapped dates served as a good transition into the sweet broiled figs, which ended up being my favorite dish of the night. All three are relatively pain-free to put together, and if timed correctly, can all be prepared from prep to plating within 1.5 hours. I liked these three appetizers so much that they made a repeat appearance last night at a dinner party I threw for my parents and their friends. This time around, I supplemented the menu with stuffed baby bellas, which ended up being the crowd favorite.
And the entree of the night? I kept it simple with a shrimp scampi over linguine with a caprese salad and a simple salad of romaine hearts. And how can I forget … dessert. I kept it super simple once again with pound cake topped with homemade vanilla ice cream and strawberries tossed in balsamic vinegar. But you’re just going to have to wait for the recipes for those, at least until the next post.
Spanish meatballs
Serves 6
4 cups ground turkey (completely unorthodox to measure meat in cups, I know, but please bear with me. My brain thinks in cups and spoons.)
3/4 cup unsalted almonds, roasted
1 small onion
2 tbspn minced garlic
handful of fresh parsley
1/2 tbspn salt
1/2 tbspn ground black pepper
1 egg
Olive oil
1. Pulse the almonds in a food processor for a couple turns until the almonds are coarsely ground.
2. Mince the onion and the parsley.
3. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and crack the egg into it all. Combine with a wooden spoon or better yet with your hands. Form into meatballs using about a tablespoon of the mixture for each.
4. Coat the bottom of a saucepan with olive oil and turn the heat on high. Place the formed meatballs onto the pan, cover, and let cook on one side for 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs onto the opposite side, cover, and let cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and sautee the meatballs in the pan by turning them occasionally until they are just shy of being cooked completely through. Remove from the heat and let cool. They will continue to cook off the burner.
Rosemary honey cream cheese figs
Serves 6
12 figs
1 cup cream cheese
2 tbspn honey
2 tbspn fresh rosemary
Set the oven rack to the highest level, leaving enough space for your baking dish to sit on the rack as close to the top of the oven as possible. Set the oven to broil.
1. Wash the figs and cut in half. Cut a small sliver off the undersides of the figs so they will sit evenly on the plate, cut side up.
2. Combine the cream cheese, honey, and rosemary.
3. Pipe or spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the flat sides of the figs.
4. Place on a baking tray and broil in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is soft and slightly golden brown. Serve immediately.
Bacon wrapped dates
Serves 6
24 pitted dates
12 thin strips of bacon
a handful of thyme
24 almonds
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit
1. Stuff an almond and a couple sprigs of thyme into the cavity of each date
2. Cut the bacon strips in half and wrap the bacon around each date. Soak a couple of toothpicks in water and use them to hold the bacon in place.
3. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven until the bacon is crisp (around 8-10 minutes). Serve warm.
Stuffed baby bellas
Serves 6
24 baby bella mushrooms (you could also use button mushrooms or big old portabellas here, too)
1 1/2 cups of fresh bread crumbs
handful of fresh minced parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 egg
1 small onion
1 tbspn freshly minced garlic
1/2 tbspn salt
1/4 tbspn pepper
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
1. Gently wipe down each of the mushrooms using a damp cloth. Remove the stems from each of the mushrooms and place the mushroom caps, undersides up, on a well-oiled baking tray
2. Mince the mushroom stems, onion, and parlsey and combine in a large bowl with the bread crumbs, parmesan, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Drizzle some olive oil into the mixture until it is glossy.
3. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Then spoon it into the cavities of the mushroom caps to form heaping mounds atop each of the caps. Make sure to pack the mixture (not too tightly, though!) so that it keeps its form.
4. Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the stuffing is cooked through and the tops are golden brown. Serve warm.
2 Comments
Nummy!!!
you are so impressive!