FOOD
Page C2 • Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Daily Chronicle / daily-chronicle.com
Oscar entertaining made easy
Citrus bubbly (from left), Spiced Rose-Pomegranate Spritzer and Wild Meadow
Combine bases, spreads, toppings and garnishes for elegant canapes By ALISON LADMAN The Associated Press
C
anapes may sound stuffy, but they actually are the ultimate in ease when it comes to party food. Plus, they look great and can be combined in endless ways to suit any taste. So we created a simple formula for making canapes, dividing them into four components – bases, spreads, toppings and garnishes. For each canape, all you do is select one item from each category, then assemble. And the easiest way to assemble enough for a party is to set out all of your ingredients (clustered by category), then just start selecting and building. If you’re planning on an Oscars viewing party, you might even consider turning the making of the canapes into a preparty. Set out everything on the counter, pour some wine and invite a few guests to come early and help assemble (and sample, of course). And obviously don’t feel locked into the ingredients we’ve included in these categories. Head to the grocer and see what inspires you. For example, we include recipes for mixing your own spreads, but to simplify you could grab prepared tzatziki, hummus, flavored cream cheese or cheese spreads.
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Don’t forget to add fizz Here are three cocktail recipes to add a bit of fizz to your Sunday Oscar soiree.
Spiced Rose-Pomegranate Spritzer Start to finish: 10 minutes Servings: 1
Party Canapes
Pinch of cardamom Pinch of ground star anise 1/2 teaspoon rose water 1 ounce pomegranate liqueur 1/2 ounce Galliano (an Italian liqueur) Seltzer water
Each spread recipe makes enough to top 24 canapes. If you opt to use 24 of each canape base (for a total of 96 canapes), supplement the three spreads below with a purchased choice, such as hummus, tzatziki or flavored cream cheese. Start to finish: 30 minutes To assemble the canapes, arrange the bases on a large serving tray. Top each with a small dollop of one of the spreads. Press one of the topping choices into the spread, then finish each with a garnish.
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine everything but seltzer water. Shake well, then strain into an icefilled highball glass. Top with seltzer water.
BASES • 24 multigrain crackers • 24 thin slices of seedless cucumber • 24 toasted baguette slices • 24 purchased phyllo cups (found in the grocer’s freezer section)
Citrus Bubbly Start to finish: 10 minutes Servings: 1 1 teaspoon lime juice 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 ounce Cointreau or other orange liqueur Sparkling wine, chilled Lemon twist, to garnish
SPREADS Garlic-Herb Cream Cheese 4 ounces softened cream cheese 2 tablespoons milk Pinch of salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and milk until smooth. Stir in the salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and garlic.
Zesty Barbecue Spread 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons spicy red pepper jelly 1/4 cup sour cream Splash of hot sauce
In a Champagne flute, gently stir together the lime juice, lemon juice and orange liqueur. Top with sparkling wine, then garnish with a lemon twist.
In a small bowl, stir together the barbecue sauce, red pepper jelly, sour cream and hot sauce.
Wild Meadow
Orange Sweet Potato Spread
Start to finish: 10 minutes Servings: 1
1 medium sweet potato, microwaved until fork-tender 2 tablespoons orange marmalade 1 tablespoon cider vinegar Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Party Canapes AP photo
TOPPERS Peel the sweet potato, then place it in a medium bowl and mash it. Stir in the orange marmalade and vinegar, then season with salt and pepper.
GARNISHES
• Small cooked and peeled shrimp • Shredded cooked chicken • Halved cherry tomatoes • Crab meat • Small wedges of manchego cheese
• Shaved Parmesan cheese • Sliced green and black olives • Sliced hot peppers (such as piri piri or Peppadew) • Sliced scallions
2 ounces mead (honey wine) 1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur 1 ounce brandy Fresh berries In a cocktail shaker with just 1 ice cube (you should serve the cocktail just cool, not cold), combine the mead, elderflower liqueur and brandy. Strain into a cocktail glass, then garnish with fresh berries.
A healthy take on haute cuisine – blini and caviar Watching the Oscars, like the Super Bowl, has become almost an unofficial holiday, an occasion when tens of millions of us get together for an old-fashioned TV viewing party, complete with abundant food and drink. But the two events require rather different menus. The noshes on Super Bowl Sunday would be a tad too rustic for the refined experience of the Oscars. An Oscar party calls for slightly more elevated fare, and I can think of no hors d’oeuvres more appropriate than blini topped with caviar. Back during the early ‘80s, I worked at a restaurant in New York that served great buckwheat blini (basically, tiny savory pancakes) topped with osetra caviar and creme fraiche. The blini recipe was pretty involved, and not the healthiest choice. The batter called for both yeast (and the time it needed to do its job) and whipped cream. For my Oscars party, I wanted to develop a simpler, leaner version of that pancake, but I had a hard time finding buckwheat flour. Instead, I came up with a flavorful alternative using whole-wheat flour and buttermilk. All I had to do was adapt one of the zillion recipes for buttermilk pancakes made with white flour. Happily (if unsurprisingly), the whole-wheat flour
EVERYDAY DINNERS Sara Moulton made the blini taste subtly like wheat, which I prefer to the blandness of a white flour pancake. I also was happy to swap in buttermilk, which is low in fat, for the heavy cream we used to use. In combination with the baking powder and baking soda, the buttermilk made the little pancakes light and airy. Be forewarned, though, that this batter is thicker than your usual pancake batter. I managed to lighten it up when I was testing it by adding more buttermilk, but decided finally that doing so masked the taste of the wheat. So I kept it as is. By the way, be careful not to over-mix this batter; it’ll turn out tough. Better to take it easy; it’s OK if there are a few lumps in there. As for toppings, I decided more is better. The result is not simply a tasty little pancake, but a tasty little pancake topped with smoked trout (or smoked salmon, if you prefer), plus the caviar of your choice (though I’m partial to the color and pop of salmon roe), plus yogurt flavored with horseradish and lemon, and finally, at the summit, sprigs of fresh dill. You can serve these on a
platter, already assembled, or allow your guests to build their own perfect bites by wrapping the blini in a cloth to keep them warm, and serving them alongside little bowls of the toppings. By the end of the night, you might end up with an Oscar of your own.
Blini With Smoked Trout, Caviar And Horseradish Cream
Blini With Smoked Trout, Caviar And Horseradish Cream Start to finish: 35 minutes Makes 24 blini 3/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon bottled horseradish, drained 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Pinch of salt Pinch of sugar 1 cup buttermilk 1 large egg, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons butter, melted (or vegetable oil) 3/4 cup flaked or chopped smoked trout or salmon 1/4 cup fresh dill sprigs or chopped fresh chives 2 ounces salmon roe (or the caviar of your choice) Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the
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yogurt, horseradish, lemon rind and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. In another medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until barely combined (it is OK to see a few lumps). The batter will be thick. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat the skillet with cooking spray and add the batter by level tablespoon amounts. Do
not crowd the pan. Let the blini cook until the bottoms are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the second side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter. When all of the blini have been cooked and you are ready to serve, arrange them on a serving platter. Top each with some of the smoked trout, horseradish-yogurt blend, a dollop of caviar and fresh dill.
Nutrition information per serv-
ing: 50 calories; 20 calories from fat (40 percent of total calories); 2 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 4 g protein; 140 mg sodium. • Sara Moulton was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years, and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows. She currently stars in public television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” and has written three cookbooks, including “Sara Moulton’s Everyday Family Dinners.”