Festive Nibbles

What's a holiday party without fun and tasty appetizers? Let's face it, we all stand around the counter or table and pick and dip our way through the night. It's important that those nibbles taste their very best. Here are some of my favorites. Maybe their worth trying this year at your party. I'd love to hear your feedback. 

This first recipe comes from my friend Debbie. No Christmas Eve is complete without this tasty and refreshing dip. 

Cranberry Relish
In a food processor combine:
1 12oz bag fresh cranberries
1/4 cup green onion, about 4-5 stalks
1 bunch of cilantro
1/2 jalapeno (whole if you like a kick)
Pulse until combined and is the consistency of your liking. 
Add 1 cup splenda (adjust for your liking)
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
Combine and Chill
I serve mine alone with crackers and celery sticks. Sometimes I pour it over top a brick of cream cheese. 

My son came home and asked me to cook a bunch of Jewish recipes. He said he had Latkes at school and has learned a couple of Hanukkah songs. I've seen the boxed Latke option in the Jewish section at the grocery store, but I thought I'd just pull them together from scratch. So this is the recipe we will be making on Hanukkah. 

Latkes
6 large russet potatoes, peeled and shredded in a cuisinart. Soak your potatoes in water for about 10 minutes, Do not agitate them while in the water. You want some of the starch to be removed, but not all of it. You will start to see a white mixture in the bottom of the bowl, so when you see that drain the water and mix the remaining ingredients into your potatoes.

*If you don't have the time, buy a bag of shredded prepared potatoes without guilt
1 cup finely diced Vidalia or Texas sweet onions
2 eggs, beaten (use as much as needed, mixture may not require 2 whole eggs)
salt to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons flour or matzo meal (If you're gluten free, use a flour blend like coconut and almond or one of my favorites better batter brand)
vegetable oil for frying
sour cream and chives, or applesauce for topping.

Add onion, eggs, salt, pepper and flour to your potatoes. Mixture should be thick and hold together when pressed.

Meanwhile, pour about 1/2 inch oil into a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Heat slowly until oil reaches approximately 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with multiple layers of paper towels and preheat oven to 250° F.

To check the temperature of the oil, make a test pancake. Be careful not to spatter oil. Place about 2 tablespoons of potato mixture in the palm of your hand and form into a 2-1/2 - to 3-inch-wide and 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick pancake — similar to a hamburger patty — and place carefully into oil. The first side should be golden brown in about 3 minutes. Turn carefully and fry other side. If pancake browns faster than 3 minutes per side, reduce the oil's temperature. If pancake takes more than 3 minutes per side to brown, increase oil's temperature. Repeat with remaining potato mixture.

Place pancakes on paper towels. If not serving immediately.

*I tried two methods for frying my latkes, I started with a nonstick pan with a tiny bit of coconut oil. It worked great, they browned and are tasty, but when I cooked them the traditional way in the oil, they tasted really really good. So you make the decision on how health conscious you want to be. Christmas is only one day ya know! 


I love a good sweet and sour meatball, but when I found out I had celiac I hung my head and cried, but now I can say I'm very happy to announce I found a great recipe that tastes even better. They are lighter and so much better for you than the original recipe so you're not missing anything from the traditional meatball.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs 

Recipes Found Here

2/3 C slices of baby portobello/crimini mushroom
1 small onion, quartered
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp dried oregano
Pinch celery salt
1 lb ground beef (85/15)
1 lb ground buffalo (this sounds funny, but it's easy to get, go to sprouts or wholefoods)
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp grape-seed oil

Sweet and sour sauce
3/4 C Ketchup (check if it's gluten free)
1/3 C apple cider vinegar
1/4 C coconut aminos (sprouts or whole foods, cheaper online) healthier soy alternative
1/4 C apple sauce...seriously
1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard

Method

1. Pulse the mushroom, onion, and dried spices together in a food processor or blender until vegetables are finely minced.

2. Add both beef and buffalo to a large bowl and combine with your hands. Then, add the mushroom and onion mixture as well as the eggs and knead everything together until fully blended with your hands.

3. Roll 1-inch meatballs with your hands and set them on a large plate or platter to rest until all of the meatballs have been rolled.

4. Warm oil over medium heat in a large skillet. In batches, add the meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. The meatballs will be fragile, so we used a long-handled spoon (rather than tongs) to turn them in the pan. Set cooked meatballs aside. Scrape any burnt bits from the skillet, but reserve some of the fat and oil for the sauce.

5. Stir sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Then, pour the sauce to the skillet, add the meatballs, and stir while cooking over medium low heat for 5-7 minutes.

Roasty Toasty Cashews

2 cups cashews
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat a skillet over low heat. Add cashews and olive oil, tossing to coat. Add spices, soy and honey and mix to thoroughly combine. Heat until nuts are warmed through. Remove from pan and let dry.

Garlic Herb Shrimp

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 pound shrimp

Salt to taste

6 cloves garlic, minced fine (I used jarred, I know, heathen)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp cold butter, cut in 4 pieces

3 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp caper brine*

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided

water as needed to thin sauce

 *If you don't have capers or don't want to use them, substitute with a little red wine vinegar like a tiny splash. 

Betty Crocker...those punks!

Okay, so Betty Crocker makes us look like a bunch of schmucks! These little trees are a little labor intensive, well not really, but maybe it just requires a tiny bit for patience. Kids would be good at this. Give them a try, they are very very good. This recipe is not gluten free, I just couldn't find a gluten free tortilla that would work well enough and corn just aint gonna cut it. 

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (you can use the jar variety)

1/4 cup chopped ripe olives, green or black

1/4 cup basil (I used the squeeze bottle from the produce section)

1/4 cup shredded or powdered Parmesan cheese  

4 spinach flavored tortillas...after all it's supposed to be a tree

Ripe whole olives and toothpicks

In medium bowl, mix all ingredients except tortillas and olive pieces. Divide mixture among tortillas, spreading to edges of tortillas. Roll up tightly. Press each tortilla roll into triangle shape, using fingers. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

2 To serve, cut rolls into 1/2-inch slices. Place olive piece at bottom of each triangle to look like tree trunk; secure with toothpick. 





Now that you're feeling ambitious and can do tortilla Christmas trees, why don't you go over to pinterest and try your hand at some fruit trees...pictures I wanna see pictures. HERE

Kinda Fun!