Geri's Food - Canapés

Roasted Pepper Sandwiches

Geri — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 08:18:45 +0000

Not only are tea sandwiches fun to eat, but they are also fun to create, with a variety of flavours that can be put together. With different kinds served all together on one plate, they are truly a feast for the eyes.

Roast peppers from a jar have become my favourite summer time ingredient. I like to serve them as antipasti, add them to salads and in this case delicious cream cheese, roast peppers tea sandwiches.

Cream cheese is great with almost everything because of its moderate taste. In this sandwich, it goes so well together with the ready-made smoky roasted peppers and fresh parsley. Delicious!

Ingredients

3 slices giabata bread
3 tbsp cream cheese Philadelphia
1/3 cup roasted yellow & red peppers, coarsely chopped
Parsley, finely chopped

Method

1. Toast the bread in a toaster, and then, using a round food cutter, cut 3 circles.

2. Cut the marinated roasted yellow and red peppers into small pieces.

3. Spread the cream cheese on top of the toast, arrange the roasted peppers and sprinkle with parsley.

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Chicken Nuggets

Geri — Sun, 06 Jun 2021 08:26:40 +0000

The ultimate oven-baked chicken nuggets, served with sweet-sour sauce and mayo. Perfect for serving to a company of friends. Football game and beer, anyone? Well, I am sure you can choose any occasion to be happy and have some fun. And these little gorgeous chicken nuggets could be your friend.

I am usually shying away from similar type of foods. Yes, they are fun, but healthy? Luckily this is a recipe for an oven-baked chicken nuggets – not compromising on taste but making all the difference in terms of health (ok, lets just say healthier) requirements. Call your family or friends and simply enjoy!

Ingredients

For the chicken nuggets

1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons pickle juice
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt, garlic powder and parsley mixture
extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

To serve

Mayonnaise
Sweet-sour sauce
Lettuce salad

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 225C. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and pickle juice. Add the chicken cubes and toss to coat. Combine the Panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, garlic and parsley mixture, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl.

3. Dredge the chicken cubes through the crumbs, pressing to adhere. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the chicken nuggets around and bake for 10-15 minute more or until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown.

4. Serve with sweet-sour sauce, mayonnaise and green lettuce salad.

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New Year’s Eve Canapés

Geri — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 18:34:44 +0000

Before the clock strikes twelve… anything could happen. Music, dance and cheers. Family meals or party with friends. Time for retrospect and being alone or time to launch yourself into the New Year with fierce determination and absolutely no regrets. Whatever the mood and however the entry, every New Year’s Eve deserves sparkling start.

We like to start the party, decorating the table with all kinds of canapés and small bites. These puff pastry muffin tin baked gorgeous creations are so extremely easy to make. A disk cookie cutter, muffin tin, ready made puff pastry, red pesto, and store bought salami. The rest is just a kitchen play until the tins are filled and set to bake. What a better way to start the party than a glass of champaign and a flaky mouth watering bite?

Ingredients

1 puff pastry roll
50g dried red tomato pesto (Bertolli Pesto Rosso)
12 thinly sliced salami disks

Method

1. Roll out the puff pastry.
2. Using a round disk cookie cutter, cut the pastry into disks.
3. Grease the muffin tins. To make the canapés spread one tea spoon of red pesto over a puff pastry disk and top with a salami. Roll the disks into a tube. Once you have made three tubes, hold them tightly next to one another and cut in the middle forming two pasty canapés. Place the canapés in the muffin tins and repeat until all tins are filled.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 200C and bake the canapés for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold, as desired.

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Cottage Cheese Canapés

Geri — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 13:15:29 +0000

It is a late summer afternoon and just like that we feel like having something. Not too much, so we do not spoil our dinner, not too sweet so we keep a healthy lifestyle… Something tasty, something light, something to keep the little hunger away while still delighting all the senses. Something closely resembling the famous English high-teas with freshly baked scones and cucumber sandwiches. Yes, I admit, I am watching too much Pinterest. But there is hardly too much of a good thing, and when it comes to things bringing joy and happiness it is usually a good thing to indulge.

Too lazy to make scones, all my attention goes to the cucumber sandwiches – little toasts of cottage cheese, topped with perfect round circles of cucumber, cherry tomato and radish slices, sprinkled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds and garnished with fresh oregano. This is our high-tea English heaven!

The cottage cheese is something special, grainy and soft, it usually does not have much taste on its own and goes well both with savoury and sweet. It resembles very much crème fraîche, but is a way more healthy option. It is the perfect accompaniment to a toast and the star ingredient of our canapés today – something little, something light, tasting sublimely great!

Ingredients

2 slices of square bread (cut diagonally)
125g cottage cheese
cucumber
cherry tomatoes
radishes
sunflower and pumpkin seeds
salt
black pepper
fresh oregano leaves

Method

1. Cut the slices of bread diagonally into even triangles. Toast them for a couple of minutes until golden brown.
2. Spread evenly spoonfuls of cottage cheese on each toast. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the cucumber, tomatoes and radishes into even circles.
4. Arrange on top of the cottage cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves and sprinkle sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

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Smoked Salmon Terrines

Geri — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 16:30:47 +0000

The Christmas holidays are near and considering the composition of a festive menu I am relying on inspiration from the December Christmas edition of the Delicious Magazine. Isn’t it amazing that just for a few Euro one could get the best recommendations of the famous chefs and relax and plan in advance all that is needed for preparing a delicious dinner? I must admit, fully trusting the description of a recipe without a trial test remains a rather risky affair. What if the flavours of the dish are not quite to our taste? What if the recipe seemingly easy requires special skills and demands the execution of advanced culinary techniques way beyond our average capabilities? What if adding dish one and dish two to a three course festive menu simply doesn’t work? Throwing all hesitation away I simply choose to trust my instinct, trust the professional chefs composing every dish and let the culinary magic happen.

For this year’s Christmas Eve, I have selected two of the courses from the Delicious Magazine edition. The starter is a Smoked Salmon Terrine served with thin slices of toasted baguettes. The recipe seems extremely easy to follow and executed 48 hours in advance, this dish really reduces the Christmas cooking stress to a bare minimum. The original recipe is designed to be made as one terrine to serve slices for more then ten people, however I am adapting it to serve in individual small terrines instead. The taste turns out to be amazing, soft smoked salmon with a burst of quick pickled celery to cut through the creamy richness inside. A special recipe that everyone should have in their repertoire.

Ingredients

For the Salmon Terrine

Sunflower oil for greasing
500-600g sliced smoked salmon
200g tub crème fraîche
2 x 280g tubs full fat cream cheese (we like Philadelphia)
Finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
11⁄2 tbsp grated horseradish from a jar
2 fillets (about 200g) hot-smoked salmon
1⁄2 bunch chives, finely chopped
1 small bunch dill, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp pink peppercorns, lightly bashed in a pestle and mortar

For the Pickled Celery

30ml cider vinegar
30g caster sugar
4 large celery sticks, chopped
Redcurrant berries and toasted baguette slices to serve (optional)

Method

1. For the quick-pickled celery, mix the vinegar and sugar in a glass or ceramic bowl, add 2 large pinches of salt and the celery, toss well, then set aside for 1 hour.

2. Grease, then neatly line 3 individual tins with cling film leaving lots of overhang (you may need 2 pieces). Neatly cover the base of the tins with smoked salmon slices. This will be the top when it’s turned out. Line the sides of the tins with more slices of smoked salmon, overlapping slightly, so they overhang the sides – don’t leave gaps. Reserve the rest of the salmon slices for the bottom of the finished terrines.

3. Whizz the crème fraîche and cream cheese in a food processor with the lemon zest and juice, horseradish and one of the hot- smoked salmon fillets. Season well with pepper and a little salt.

4. Add the herbs, spring onions and pink peppercorns to the creamy mixture, then flake in the remaining hot-smoked salmon fillet and mix with a wooden spoon.

5. Spread one third of the cream cheese mix into the tin, then sprinkle over half the pickled celery, drained of the liquid. Spread another third of the mixture over the top, followed by the remaining celery. Top with the remaining mixture.

6. Lay the rest of the salmon slices on the top, then neatly fold over the overhanging salmon.

7. Cover with the overhanging cling film to enclose. Transfer to the fridge overnight.

8. Take the terrines out of the fridge 10 minutes before serving, unwrap the cling film, then carefully invert onto a platter. Serve with redcurrant berries and toasted baguette slices.

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Parma Ham & Mustard Canapés

Geri — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 14:18:38 +0000

I believe I have first seen these delicious Parma Ham & Mustard puff pastry canapés on a TV program presented by Delia Smith. I distinctly recall her mentioning them to be the favourite ones of her husband and that even before she takes them out of the oven tray they are quickly despairing devoured by her family.

Well, now I absolutely believe this may be true. These canapés are simply so delicious that hardly anyone could resist their smell. I have prepared them twice already, last year for our New Year and this year for my birthday anniversary and they turn out to be always a success.

Ingredients

1 puff pastry roll
90g Italian Parma Ham
50g mustard
50g rasped parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk for brushing

Method

1. Unroll the puff pastry and let it rest for 20min in room temperature.

2. Evenly spread a thick layer of mustard on top of the puff pastry

3. Lay a baking tray with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 200C.

4. Cover half of the pastry disk with Parma Ham. Flip over the other half of the disk on top of the Parma Ham half and press to seal the edges. Cut the pastry on one centimetre thick ribbons. Take each ribbon, twist the two ends several times and lay it onto the baking tray.

5. Brush the twisted ribbons with egg yolk and generously sprinkle with rasped parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 min until golden brown. Serve warm.

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