SIMPLE SPRING APPETIZERS II-CANAPES
There’s nothing like a sunny day in May to lure people outdoors to appreciate the balmy temperature and fresh greenery. Singly or in groups, sitting on a park bench or celebrating an event, we just want to enjoy the season. Like most enjoyable things, the experience is better with food, which is why so many occasions in May are celebrated outside.
Although major events require more elaborate menus, for the lunch break, the pre-dinner pause, the casual get-together, even the start of a big celebration, simple, basic canapes are the answer. They’re neat, most being self-contained bite-sized items, they hold up well, are easy to transport or brown-bag, generally simple to make and with the ingredients often in plain sight, usually accepted.
There are thousands of canape recipes with an equal number of degrees of complexity of preparations and presentations covering any type of occasion. However, straightforward ones like these are perfect for casual spring events and will really ease your menu planning. For more ideas click on my posts for May 21, 2020 , April 25, 2019, April 18, 2019,
RECIPES
The simplest, yet most elegant presentations are cheese boards. For detailed information on choosing boards, the various cheeses most often offered and the best combinations for presentation, click on my post Say Cheese April 14, 2022.
Therefore, the simplest canapes are cubes of hard cheese (a cheese which doesn’t crumble and slices clean-Edam, Gouda, Cheddar, Swiss etc.) on toothpicks. They’re also the best to transport or brown bag and easiest to dress -up with the addition of a large variety of complimentary foods. Some of the most frequent choices for stacking are:
FRUITS: Dried-craisins, apricots, pineapple, dates, figs Fresh: grapes, apple, pineapple, figs, cherries.: VEGETABLES: peppers, grape tomatoes, scallion rings, cucumber, zucchini, radish, spinach
CONDIMENTS: olives, capers, pickles
MEATS: ham, smoked turkey, corned beef, pepperoni, salami, summer sausage
Thin slices of cooked ham, Prociutto Crudo or smoked turkey can be wrapped around cubes of cheese, fruit, especially melon, and slices of pickle. These treatments are light enough to be especially suitable for pre-dinner serving.
A package of cream cheese can be a valuable tool in entertaining anytime, but especially in spring when the groups range from out-door casual to special event. Not only is it an essential ingredient in other appetizers, but alone, it provides a blank canvas for presentations, which, though communally shared, are of a texture requiring spreaders, putting them in the ‘safe-serve’ category.
A block of cream cheese, plated, can be spread or drizzled with many toppings; chopped hard boiled eggs seasoned with dry mustard, salt and pepper or the egg dip recipe in my post for April 18, 2023, toasted chopped nuts, artesian relishes, chopped marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts, smoked oysters or mussels, salted, chopped fresh tomatoes or sun dried in oil also work well this way, as does a spicy chutney, pesto and even preserves. Tapenade is currently the most popular and perhaps easiest topping choice.
A stunning presentation is to cut an 8 oz. block of cream cheese in half diagonally and flip one half over to form a tree shape. Add a cinnamon stick, twig of herbs or actual twig to form a stem and ‘decorate’ the tree for the season with a combination of suitable foods.
Spanish tapenades, especially olive and sun-dried tomato ones are now sold in the relish aisle of most markets. However, the variety is limited, and they are usually sold only in small jars, to keep only 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator. Its better, and easier, to make your own, especially if you can do it ahead and keep it on hand.
A tapenade is simply a combination of any of several ingredients, marinated in olive oil to meld the flavors. Possibilities are: sliced olives, black and/ or green, chopped onion, chopped garlic, chopped peppers, red and / or green, fresh and / or roasted, sweet and/ or hot (very little of the latter) slivered pimento, capers, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, if oil cured, use some of the oil in the marinade, even ones re-hydrated in water are good and I find a bit of the tomato water softens the oiliness of the marinade. I’ve had tapenade with anchovies, or smoked oysters added at serving time. Just about anything goes so long as proportions are to taste. I would suggest starting with the olives, which come pre-sliced in cans, think tomatoes, onions, garlic and go from there.
Cream cheese has other valuable uses in easy appetizer recipes. It’s the backbone of most Canape ‘Sandwiches’.
Lebanon Horseradish Wedges or Rolls: Yield about 32 wedges and 16 rolls
Mix cream cheese to taste with bottled horseradish and spread it on rounds, about 1/8in. thick, of Lebanon bologna. If you are not familiar with this deli meat, it’s made of beef, looks fatty, but is actually very lean, and has a smoky, salty tang that is interesting, unique and pleasant.
4 oz. meat = about 8 slices
4 oz. cream cheese
Bottled white horseradish- amount to taste
Spread on one slice, it can be rolled, or covered with another and cut in wedges separated by layers of waxed paper these keep well for a day in the refrigerator.
Smoked Salmon and Dill: Yield about 16-24 pieces
4 oz. pkg. smoked salmon
4 oz. + pkg. of cream cheese
Dried dill weed to taste + more for garnish
Optionally Kosher dill pickle juice or sour cream
5-6 thin slices of seeded Jewish rye bread or 4 slices of packaged Jewish rye
NOTE: Smoked salmon shreds so the yield depends on the individual package. If working with commercially packaged bread, flatten each slice with a rolling pin.
Mix the cheese, dill and sour cream or pickle juice to a smooth, spreadable consistency, mix the dill to taste and chill to meld flavors for several hours. Spread on prepared bread and cover each slice completely with thinly sliced salmon. If bread is about 4 inches in width, cut in triangles, if larger cut width in thirds then halve into 6 pieces each. Garnish with dill.
Mushroom Roll-Ups: Serves 8-10 – From Tea-Time Journeys by Gail Greco
1 Tbs. butter
(1) ½ inch slice of Vidalia onion
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms-preferably assorted verities
1 tsp. flour
3 Tbs. heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ -3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 loaf sliced white or wheat bread-crusts removed
1cup chopped fresh parsley
Sauté the vegetables in the butter until soft. Reduce heat to low, add the flour and stir to mix, add the cream and stir until thickened. Cool. Roll bread sliced to about ¼ inch thickness. Spread with the mushroom mix, sprinkle with cheese and roll up, wrapping each slice in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 3 hrs. then cut each roll into ½ inch slices. Put the parsley on a plate and press each slice into the parsley on both sides. The slices will be moist and the parsley will stick to them. Lay them out flat and allow to dry for at least 30 min. then plate and serve at room temperature. Store leftovers chilled, and toast to serve.
Stuffed Canapes: Vegetables, spring rolls and commercially available mini phyllo cups make quite impressive, delicious bite-sized party food. The most frequently stuffed vegetables for appetizers are hollowed cherry tomatoes, pieces of celery (stringed please), and mushrooms. The simplest stuffings are finely minced or blended meat salads: ham, chicken, liver, tuna, crab, fish, etc. or cream cheese based dips or spreads-see post for April 18, 2023.
Stuffed Pickled Mushrooms: Makes 36
36 Button or Baby Bella medium-large mushroom caps-wiped clean
4-5 oz. liver pate* or deli liverwurst
Dijon mustard to taste
1small onion finely chopped
½ cup cider vinegar
3 Tbs. oil
Chopped fresh dill or parsley
Place the mushrooms in a pot with the vinegar and oil, add enough water to just cover, bring to a boil, cook for 3 min. Turn off heat, cool and store mushrooms in cooking liquid for at least 24 hrs. Mix liver pate with the next 2 ingredients. Drain the mushrooms on a towel, and stuff with the liver mix. Sprinkle with herbs to garnish and chill until ready to serve—up to 8 hrs. Store leftovers chilled.
*I usually use Underwood’s Liver Pate in the 4 ½ oz. can.
Stuffed Spring Rolls: Yield 25-35 or 1 per wrapper in package. Divide recipe for fewer wrappers. Large wrappers can be cut in half for serving. Adapted from: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/fresh-spring-rolls/
1 package rice spring roll wrappers, found in the market’s Asian foods section
1 package bean sprouts
2 mangos- peeled and sliced into thin strips
1 large carrot – peeled and shredded or sliced into thin strips
1 large cucumber – peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound cooked salad shrimp- deveined, tails removed-or chicken, crab or fish
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
1 bunch fresh cilantro
Peanut Spread
1/3 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1 teaspoon soy sauce
About ¾ cup chili sauce-or enough to give an easily spreadable consistency.
Have topping ingredients in separate piles, including chopped veggies, herbs, cooked meat.
Add about 1 inch of water to a large, deep dish, or pie pan. Place one rice wrapper into the water and let soak for just 10-15 seconds. It should still feel pretty firm as you remove it and lay it on your counter or plate. (It will soften up as you add the filling ingredients, but If you let it soak for too long it will get too soft and will tear when you roll it up.) Lightly cover top side with peanut spread.
Layer 1-2 slices of each veggie, a few shrimp, a few leaves of each herb and a pinch of bean sprouts on the ⅓ of the spring roll that is closest to you. Fold the sides of the spring roll in over the ingredients. Then pull the side closest to you up and over the ingredients, sealing everything together tightly, and rolling it up like a burrito.
Optionally add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Use to stuff other vegetables o as a spread and simply roll wrappers around it and cut them in slices.
Notes
Other filling ingredient ideas:
Sliced avocado
Cooked, chopped chicken
Romaine lettuce leaf
Sliced bell peppers
Storing: The rolls taste best the day they are made, but they can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Wrap each roll individually in plastic wrap (to keep the wrapper soft and to keep them from sticking together) and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
There’s also a wide selection of cooked canapes which stand up well to being cooled and served at room (or patio) temperature. A few suggestions are:
Asparagus Roll-Ups: Yield 16 canapes
16 asparagus spears-trimmed and braised to crisp tender
16 slices white bread-crusts off
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese-softened
2 Tbs. minced chives
¼ cup butter-melted
3 Tb. Parmesan cheese-grated
Flatten bread with a rolling pin. Combine the cream cheese and chives; spread 1 tablespoonful on each slice of bread. Top with an asparagus spear. Roll up tightly; place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Brush with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Parmesan Pinwheels: Makes 20-24
9 oz. puff pastry = 1 sheet
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh herbs of choice
1 egg beaten
Mix the cheese and herbs in a bowl. Roll the pastry out to an 8 inch square and sprinkle with half the cheese mix. Roll it again to a 10 inch square, brush with ¾ of the egg, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese mix and carefully roll it into a log. Seal the seam with the rest of the egg. Cut the log into ½ inch slices and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 425 deg. oven for 10 min. until golden and crisp. Cool on a rack. Store in an airtight tin.
Spinach Balls: Yield 16 canapes
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach-thawed and well drained
1 egg
½ cup finely minced onion
2 Tbs.+2 tsp. margarine or butter –melted
1/3 cup+ tsp. dried bread crumbs-plain
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
¼ tsp. EACH garlic powder, dried thyme and sage
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients mixing well. Using a teaspoon, shape into 16 balls. Place on a greased baking sheet and cook in a 350 deg. oven 18-20 min. until lightly browned. Serve on toothpicks.
Bacon-Cheese Bow-Ties: 2 per slice
1 loaf white or light wheat bread-crusts off
1 lb. bacon
1 jar cheese spread*
Wooden toothpicks
Soak the toothpicks in water for at least 1 hr. Cut the bacon in half crosswise, then each piece in half lengthwise. Spread the bread slices with the cheese, roll up and secure each half with a strip of bacon fastened with a toothpick and divide the roll in two. Bake on a lightly greased sheet in a preheated 400 deg. oven for 10 -12 min. until bacon is crisp, bread is browned and items have puffed into a bow shape. Serve hot or at room temperature.
*The original recipe suggests Cheez Whiz, but I prefer Old English sharp. Any spread will do though.
