One evening my roommates and I were using our new barbecue to grill sausages, and while waiting for the barbecue to heat up and for them to cook, we made a pretty awesome cheese plate using what we had on hand.
Here we have...
Cheeses: mustard black pepper gouda, stinging nettle gouda, dragon's breath blue cheese, chili gouda, smoked salmon cream cheese.
Crackers: multigrain wheat and pita crackers.
Fruit: fresh cherries, raspberry jam, strawberry champagne jam.
Tonight for service in the restaurant (we are not open Sundays) we went kind of Valentine's themed for our menus. I was on the garde-manger station, and part of my responsibilities was to create the amuse-bouche for the night. I definitely wanted to go with something heart-shaped, something red or pink, and something decadent. Here is what I devised:
- Heart Shaped Cranberry Cracker
- Foie Gras Ganache
- Honeyed Bakeapple
- Candied Pistachio
The Full Name: Spiced Nut Cracker with Coconut Herb Crema, Pickled Apricots, Beetroot Chip, Toasted Coconut, Crisp Parsley, and Cayenne Dust.
Yeah, that is a lot going on in one little hors d'oeuvre. This is an idea I came up, combining several different flavors, colors, and textures. They compliment and contrast each other for a pleasing bite on the palate. Here is a closer look at the components:
Spiced Nut Cracker: From yesterday's post, cut out in flower shapes
Coconut Herb Crema: Coconut cream blended with minced herbs
Pickled Apricots: Dried apricots cooking in pickling liquor and halved
Beetroot Chips: Thinly sliced, dried out beets
Toasted Coconut: Oven-toasted coconut
Crisp Parsely: Deep-fried parsley sprigs
Cayenne Dust: Sieved cayenne pepper
Almond Herb Crackers
2 cups almond flour (ground almonds)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch granulated (white) sugar
2 Tablespoons tahini paste
1/4 cup fresh chopped chives
1/4 cup olive oil
up to 2 Tablespoons water
Blend all ingredients together very well. Add more flour or water judging by your dough consistency. It should be like a thick cookie dough. Roll out very thin and cut into shapes. Bake at 350◦F for 15 minutes or so until browned and crisp.
This makes a good savory cracker or savory cookie base for appetizers. I will share my creation tomorrow.
Multigrain Rosemary Crackers
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/3 cup warm water
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 Tablespoons dry rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup cold water
Soak the flax in the warm water for ten minutes or so until the flax absorbs most of the water and swells.
Meanwhile, stir together the flour, rosemary, and salt. Stir the oil into the flax and stir in. Slowly stream the water in, mixing well and using your hands to incorporate all the dry flour into the mixture. You may not need all of the water, or you may need slightly more.
The dough is ready when it is wet enough to hold together without crumbling and roll, but should not be quite as wet as biscuit dough. Roll the dough out as thinly as possible - like for tortillas, without being see-through. I find it easier working with only one quarter of the dough at one time. Cut crackers out into shapes, or simply use a knife to cut squares or rectangles.
Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You don't need to space them apart as they will not spread. Bake at 350◦F for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container. Serve with your favorite dip or spread.
I cut hearts and flowers and got around 150 crackers.
Rosemary Tahini Crackers
2 Tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1-2 Tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon dry rosemary
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Blend all ingredients together well to form a dough that just comes together. Press mixture out as thinly as possible. Now it can either be cut into shapes, or simple baked as one large cracker and broken after baking.
Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400◦F for 8-10 minutes or so until crisp.
Some days you may not feel like cooking, it may be too hot to think about cooking, you may have a bunch of leftovers or random ingredients you would like to use up, or you really aren't sure what you are in the mood for. That's where a cold plate comes in.
A cold plate does not have a specific recipe or even a description of components it must contain. A cold plate is simply a plateful of cold foods, or foods that have not been cooked or reheated. It often contains salad ingredients and the likes, but really it can be any mismatch of things you would like. You could pull a leftover piece of pizza from the refrigerator, consume it cold, and technically consider it to be a cold plate, but typically a cold plate consists of several different items - cold pizza is simply cold pizza. Here is the most recent cold plate I made up.
It consisted of: salad with greens, diced tomato, soft boiled egg, and cheddar cheese sticks; whole grain crackers, hummus, roasted chickpeas, hazelnuts, fresh dates, frozen pineapple, and of course, a few chocolates to round out the meal. This was a cold plate, well actually there are a few dishes there as it did not all fit on one plate, for two. Cold plates can definitely be nutritious, light, and well-rounded meals. This one has vegetables, a little fruit, cheese for dairy, egg, hummus, and nuts for protein, and crackers as a whole grain, with a touch of dessert.
Well-known fact #1: fish/seafood is one of my favorite sources of protein.
Well-known fact #2: I am always looking for different options, different flavors, and different ways of preparing this fish and seafood.
Well-known fact #3: I have already tried breadcrumbs, multigrain cracker crumbs, and bread.
What did I try this time? Good old classic salted soda cracker crumbs. You can probably find them in most cupboards. They are definitely in every grocery store. They are what you turn to when you are sick and can't stomach much else. They are plain and simple - no flavoring, just a classic flavor good paired with a little butter or cheese or soup or nothing at all. In fact, they are even good for making "apple" pie (see {Mock Apple Pie}). Simply crush them up by hand, with a rolling pin or large pan, or in a food processor and coat the fish with them. Then pan fry until golden and crispy. Once cooked, the crackers don't really taste like crackers anymore, but do have a nice, salty buttery flavor and add a pleasant texture and crunch. This is definitely a comfort food - crackers and pan-fried haddock.
You will not believe this until you try it! It looks just like apple pie, it smells just like apple pie, and it even tastes just like apple pie, but it contains no apples! Instead, the "apple" mixture is soda crackers! I was skeptical too, so I just had to try it. The pie contains the usual apple pie flavors of lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar, and the sugar caramelizes the crackers into a mixture that looks just like apple pie filling, if not a tad runnier and softer. Be sure to keep the cracker pieces fairly large, as in the size of apple slices. This recipe came from a mystery novel, entitled "Key Lime Pie Murder".
Mock Apple Pie
1 two layer, 9-inch pie crust
or one 9-inch pieshell plus enough dough for a crumble topping
FILLING
20 salted soda crackers, lightly buttered on one side
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups granulated (white) sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Place pie dough in the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. For most pie crusts, I recommend pre-baking it so it does not become soggy. I baked mine at 400◦F for 10 minutes, without weighing it.
Place crackers in a medium saucepan, and break them up into fairly large pieces with a spoon. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, then bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, then simmer for exactly two minutes. Pour into prepared pie shell. Top with another pie crust, cutting in vents to allow steam to escape, or crumble pie dough over top. Bake at 425◦F for about 20 minutes, until top crust is golden. Let cool slightly before serving.
I don't care for traditional pie pastry, but a I wanted something that would be close, so I used an oil-based pastry recipe that I have used before. It is similar in taste and texture to traditional pie dough, just a little less flaky. It uses less fat, and is a lot easier to mix up. It doesn't have to be rolled, it can just be patted in the pan. I didn't bother with an entire top crust, just sprinkled on some extra pie dough as a crumble, which was nice and less work.
I made this pie ahead, then baked it when I was ready. I pre-baked the crust to avoid sogginess and made the filling, poured the filling in the hot crust, then let it cool before refrigerating it. The topping was crumbles on just before baking several hours later. This recipe worked well made in advance.
Actually, my mother finished the pie for me, by putting the crumble on and baking it. She also buttered the crackers for me. It seems a bit tedious but just remember that buttering 20 crackers is much less tedious than washing, peeling, coring, and chopping a bunch of apples.
Fluke, Joanne. "Mock Apple Pie." Recipe. Key Lime Pie Murder, New York: Kensington, 2007. 112-113.
These are quick, easy, and conveinent to prepare for a yummy addition to any meal. The majority of the prep work is completed using a food processor, and both the dough and the crackers themselves may be made in advance. These crackers are crisp, very cheesey, and flavourful. The recipe came from a Woman's Day Magazine.
Cheese Crackers
8 ounces (about 1 cup, more or less) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. granulated (white) sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne, if desired (paprika and ground black peper are also good)
1 Tbsp. water
In a large food processor, combine the cheese and the butter until well blended. Add the flour, sugar, salt, and cayenne, pulse several times until well blended. Add water, pulse just until mixture comes together and forms a dough. Knead breifly, just until smooth. Divide dough in half, form each half into an 8 inch log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. (Dough must be refrigerated for at least two hours and up to three days.)
Heat oven to 375◦F. Grease or line baking sheets. With a sharp knife, slice dough logs into 1/4 inch thick slices, arange on baking sheets. Poke a few holes in each cracker using a wooden skewer, to resemble buttons. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until edges are just golden. (Crackers can be baked up to a week in advance, stored in an airtight container, and reheated at 350◦F for 3-5 minutes to crisp, if desired.)
NOTE: I only have a very small mini-chop food processor, and a five-cup blender, so I had to make a few adaptations to the recipe instructions. I combined the cheese and butter in my blender, to form a kind of smooth paste. Then I dumped it into a large bowl and mixed in the dry ingredients by hand, sprinkled it with water, and mixed in again. Even when using the food processor, the mixture must still be kneaded breifly at this point, so I then continued with the recipe.
Cheese Crackers.” http://www.womansday.com/Recipes/Cheese-Crackers-Recipe.html. Woman's Day, n.d. Tuesday, September 6, 2011
