Tag: appetizers & snacks
Tomato Toasts with Ricotta and Anchovies
Warm bread, creamy ricotta, ripe tomatoes, and a quick garnish of anchovies and fennel seed is a quintessential summer dish.
It is not only beautiful and tasty but is literally perfect at any time of the day. It’s a great breakfast, a perfect quick lunch, or a great start to dinner.
This isn’t quite a “recipe” but more a list of items to put on bread. Make 1, make 10, and adjust accordingly.
It is highly recommended to eat this as many times as possible during tomato season.
Tomato Toasts with Ricotta and Anchovies
Ingredients
- Slices of crusty bread – highly recommend F&F Levain
- Bellweather Farms whole basket ricotta – sheep or cow
- Ripe tomatoes – cut into slices or chunks
- Ortiz anchovies
- Crushed whole fennel seeds
- Herbs, greens, or microgreens
- Olive oil
- Crunchy saly and fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Drizzle bread slices with olive oil and lightly toast in the oven or in a skillet.
- Spread with a thick layer of ricotta.
- Arrange tomatoes on top.
- Lay anchovies on top of the tomatoes.
- Sprinkle with fennel seeds, crunchy salt, and black pepper.
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- Garnish with greens and serve.
Bijou with Pickled Strawberries
Summer produce is a thing of magic. And pairing with cheese is even more magical.
Many versions of goat cheese are perfect options to pair with fruit, but Vermont Creamery’s Bijou is a great option. These cute little buttons are creamy, sweet, and a touch earthy. They can be kept whole or cut into quarters to plate and serve.
Quickling (a new verb sweeping the nation) the strawberries does not take away from their natural sweetness but adds some tangy depth that pairs perfectly with cheese.
Bijou with Pickled Strawberries
Ingredients
- ½ pint strawberries
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- Pinch of sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Fresh cracked pepper
- 1 container Vermont Creamery Bijou
- fresh chopped herbs or micro greens
Instructions
- Trim leaves off strawberries. Cut larger ones in half or quarters, leave smaller strawberries whole. Place in a small bowl.
- Add one tablespoon of sherry vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt, and a few cracks of black pepper. Add a splash of water and toss to coat strawberries. Let quickle for 5-10 minutes.
- Arrange Bijou on a plate. Top with strawberries and top with herbs or micro greens. Drizzle with strawberry liquid.
Danish with Havarti
Inspiration comes from anywhere these days – the internet, TV shows, overhearing someone misinterpret a menu item.
While shopping at the cheese counter recently, a pair of patrons misunderstood the Danish Havarti on the meltdown as a Cheese Danish with Havarti.
Sadly, they were informed that there were no Havariti danishes behind the counter. But it sparked a thought. Why not make a traditional style cheese Danish, but use Havarti.
That idea spiraled into incorporating some Fra’mani Rosemary Ham and Beau Bien Herbed Red Onion Marmalade. Grabbed some puff pastry on the way home, and ta da! A Danish with Havarti.
Danish with Havarti
Ingredients
- 0.25 – 0.5 lbs piece Danish Havarti
- 0.25 lbs Fra’mani Rosemary Ham, thinly sliced from the counter
- ¼ cup Beau Bien Herbed Red Onion Marmalade
- 1 package all-butter puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp of water
- fresh rosemary or thyme, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Grate the Havarti on the large holes on a box grater.
- Coarsely chop the sliced ham.
- In a small bowl, mix together the shredded Havarti and chopped ham.
- Unfold out the sheets of puff pastry and cut each one into 8 squares. You may need to gently stretch the pastry to get a square shape.
- To make a "kite" shape, start with the corners at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock postitions. Fold the 6 o'clock corner up to the 12 o'clock corner to make a triangle. Cut two slits up from the folded line, towards the 12 o'clock corner, leaving a small section still attached. Unfold the square.
- With the attached corners at the 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock position, grab the 9 o’clock corner and fold it across to the 3 o’clock corner. Reach your fingers through the middle square and grab the 3 o’clock corner and pull it underneath the piece over the top, returning it to the 9 o’clock position. Flatten to create a little pocket in the middle. (See photos below.)
- Spoon a small amount of jam in each cavity. Top with a scoop of the cheese and ham mixture.
- Brush the exposed pastry with egg wash and place in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to firm up.
- Set in the 400F oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle with chooped rosemary or thyme.
- Let cool and enjoy.
The R.O.B. Dip
This weekend marks one of the biggest food holidays of the year – the Super Bowl.
Whether you could care less about the game, or have been personally victimized by Tom Brady for the last two decades, snacking during the Super Bowl is no doubt, one of the great American pastimes.
You may be wondering, who is ROB and why is this dip named after him. Well, there is no Rob. (besides the lovable Gronk) R.O.B. stands for Ranch, Onion, and Blue Cheese.
This combines all the flavors of Ranch dip, caramelized onion dip, and blue cheese dip. All the best Super Bowl Dips, mixed together into one, glorious spread. Go Team!
We love all the products from Bellwether Farms, and the crème fraîche is no exception. Creamy, tangy, and luscious, it is the perfect upgrade from sour cream.
Gorgonzola Dolce is a very mild and creamy blue cheese from Italy. If your crowd is looking for a more pungent and flavorful blue, feel free to go with something stronger. Opt for a cheese that’s more creamy than dry. The lovely mongers behind the counter will be more than happy to find a great fit for you.
This dip is a bit thick. So if you are looking for a more loose and creamy dip, add some buttermilk to thin out.
Happy dipping and Yay Sports!
The R.O.B. Dip
Ingredients
- 4-8 shallots
- 2 tbsp EVOO
- 5 oz. Bellwether Farms crème fraîche
- .25-.35 lbs Gorgonzola Dolce, room temperature
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Veggies, chips, crackers, wings, or your other favorite dippers
Instructions
- Thinly slice the shallots on a mandolin or by hand.
- Heat EVOO in a medium pan and heat on low. Add the sliced shallots, season with salt and pepper and slowly caramelize, 45 minutes – 1 hour. Remove from heat and let cool. Shallots can be caramelized 3 days in advance.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the crème fraîche, mayo, and cooled shallots. Crumble the blue cheese with your fingers and add to the bowl. Add the garlic and onion powder, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper, and mix together. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Serve alongside veggies, crackers, or wings, and enjoy!
Mt. Alice Stuffed Dates
We’ve been fans of the von Trapp family and their cheese making since Aperitivo opened its doors. Their washed rind cheese, Oma, has become a menu and cheese case staple. So we were very excited when we heard about a new cheese coming from the family-owned creamery in Vermont.
Mt. Alice is a camembert-style cheese, made with organic jersey cow’s milk. It’s a wonderful bloomy rind cheese with notes of butter, crème fraîche, lemon, and earthy mushroom.
It is always nice to have a simple and easy snack or appetizer in your back pocket when you get a last minute cookout or party invite. Or just to have in the fridge when you need a quick pick-me-up.
You can make them ahead of time and store in the fridge. Just pull them out and roast before serving.
These dates are a great contrast of flavors and textures – chewy dates with some crispy blackened pieces, stuffed with earthy and creamy cheese, drizzled with sweet honey and crunchy salt. Mt. Alice is a great option, but any soft-ripened cheese will work here.
Mt. Alice Stuffed Dates
Ingredients
- 10 Medjool or Turkish dates
- .25 lbs piece Mt. Alice
- Crunchy salt
- Honey
Instructions
- Remove the pits from the dates.
- Slice the cheese into ¼ in. strips, then again into ¼ in. wide pieces, roughly the same size as the date’s pit.
- Stuff the piece of cheese in the cavity where the pit was and squeeze the sides together to partially close.
- Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Place dates in the pan and cook until they start to blister and the cheese begins to melt, 5-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Drizzle with honey and crunchy salt.
Razor Clam Spring Rolls
Break out of the sandwich and salad lunch rut with these fresh and crunchy spring rolls. Filled with cucumbers, lettuce, herbs, and a briney razor clam salad, these are a great way to use up random veggies that have lived too long in the crisper drawer.
While razor clams are a delicious option when it comes to tinned fish, their appearance might… eh… weird you out. Razor clam purists might shudder at the thought of chopping them up, but those people are most likely not your lunch guest. Razor clams are still just as delicious chopped in smaller pieces. And who can resist such a cute box?
If you haven’t worked with spring roll wrappers before, don’t get frustrated if the first one or two break on you. After spending 15 seconds in warm water, you’ll notice when the wrapper softens just a bit. At this point, carefully transfer it to a cutting board, trying not to let it fold over on itself. If it soaks too long, it will be hard to keep from tearing. It’s better to under-soak them JUST a bit, then blot them dry with a paper towel to redistribute the moisture throughout the wrapper. If wrapping in spring roll wrappers is too much work, toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and Ta Da!! A regular salad!
Once a jar of Divina Calabrian Chiles is open, it’s hard not to add them to every dish. But if the Italian/Asian fusion isn’t your thing, use Sriracha or Sambal Oelek instead to spice up the clam salad.
Feel free to swap out a different tinned fish and use other veggies in these spring rolls. Peppers, snap peas, kohlrabi, fennel, radishes would all work great.
Razor Clam Spring Rolls
Ingredients
Razor Clam Salad
- 1 tin razor clams
- 1 small radish
- 1 Divina Calabrian Pepper
- ¼ cup cilantro
- Zest and juice from half a lime
- salt, to taste
Spring Rolls
- ½ cucumber
- 4 pieces lettuce
- 4 basil leaves
- 4 spring roll wrappers
Dipping Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- Splash fish sauce
- Juice from the other half of the lime
- 1 tsp honey
Instructions
For the Razor Clam Salad
- Remove the clams from the tin and bring. Coarsely chop and add to a small mixing bowl.
- Finely chop the radish, Calabrian pepper, and cilantro. Add to the bowl with the clams.
- Add the lime juice, zest, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and taste. Add more salt or lime juice if needed.
For the Spring Rolls
- Remove the seeds from the cucumber and cut into 4-inch spears.
- Prepare a sheet tray or a shallow bowl with hot water. Working one at a time, dip the rice paper in the water until pliable, but not floopy, about 15 seconds. Transfer to a cutting board and blot with a paper towel.
- Arrange the lettuce and cucumbers on the bottom third of the wrapper. Spread out a quarter of the razor clam salad and top with basil leaves.
- Fold the left and right sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper away from you. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
For the Dipping Sauce
- Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust with more honey or lime juice as needed.
- To serve, cut spring rolls in half and arrange on a plate. Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy.
Onion Dip
Springtime means lots of things – rain, flowers, warmer temperatures. But most of all, fresh Michigan produce! And one of the first crops to pop up are onions.
Spring onions, leeks, and ramps are all beautiful vegetables that signal that spring has sprung. If you find yourself having a few too many on hand, make some onion dip! Any combination and variety of onions will work, even if it’s not springtime – all colors of onions, shallots, leeks, spring onions, ramps, etc.
The most important part of the recipe is the slow caramelization. Trim the tender green parts of the ramps and scallions and add those in towards the end of the cooking time, to not burn them to a crisp.
Some new yogurts from Bellwether Farms have been added to the case. Pick up a tub and try some in this dip.
Our favorite Salt & Vinegar Sal de Ibiza chips make a great dipper for this dip. But don’t limit yourself to just chips. This dip can be spread on pizza dough for an oniony flatbread, or used as a spread on sandwiches.
Onion Dip
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 4 cups assorted onions, thinly sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 anchovey filet (optional, but oooh so good)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream, crème fraîche or plain yogurt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh herbs – dill, parsely, chives, chopped
- Piparra peppers or pepperoncini peppers, chopped
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil to cover the surface of a wide and shallow pan. Add the sliced onions, reserving tender green leaves. Saute over low heat, stirring frequently, until onions reduce in size and become brown and caramel-y, about two hours. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the anchovy filet (if using,) smash the garlic cloves, and add the reserved tender leaves and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and let cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the mayo, sour cream/crème fraîche/yogurt, and onion powder. Add the caramelized onion mixture and stir to combine. Add more creamy ingredients as needed until the desired consistency is achieved. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to a serving dish and top with fresh herbs and chopped peppers. Dip can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
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Fried Feta with Basque Pepper Honey
If you’ve been to a Greek restaurant in America, you’ve probably had saganaki – a flaming cheese appetizer that is fried, then flambéed at the table. This is the Aperitivo spin on this fried cheese dish, with a little Spanish flair.
There are a few different types of feta that you may find in the Aperitivo case – French, Israeli, Bulgarian, or Greek. These cheeses will be made primarily with sheep’s milk, sometimes with goat’s milk as well. Unlike the dry and sour-tasting cow’s milk feta that is available in the grocery stores, each of these varieties will be rich, creamy, and have varying levels of saltiness.
Any type of honey can be used in this dish. But if you use plain honey, try adding a touch of heat with ground pepper – Aleppo, cayenne, red pepper flakes, harissa, etc.
You can serve this with soft pita bread, naan, pita chips, or just simply eat it with a fork.
Fried Feta with Basque Pepper Honey
Ingredients
- 1 lemon, zested
- ¼ cup Marcona almonds
- ½ cup AP flour
- 1 large egg
- Basque pepper honey, or plain honey with a pinch of hot pepper flakes
- Fresh thyme leaves
- EVOO
- Salt and pepper
- Pita bread or chips, for serving
Instructions
- In a shallow frying pan or cast iron skillet, add a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and set over medium heat. Drop the Marcona almonds in and fry until they start to get golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add in the lemon zest (save a small pinch to garnish at the end) and cook just until fragrant, only a few seconds. Remove almonds from the pan with a slotted spoon, keeping as much oil in the pan as you can, and set the almonds and lemon zest aside to cool. Take the pan off the heat until you are ready to fry the feta.
- In a shallow bowl, add the flour and season with salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, add the egg with a splash of the brine water from the feta container and beat with a fork until mostly homogeneous.
- Slice the feta block into 1-in thick slabs. Take a slab and dredge it in the flour to coat the entire piece. Dip it into the egg wash to hydrate the flour and allow the excess to drip off. Return the feta back to the flour bowl and dredge until the egg is coated with flour. Repeat with the remaining slabs of feta.
- Return the frying pan with the lemon and almond oil to a medium heat. Add extra oil to cover the surface if needed. Carefully place the coated feta in the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Flip over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set on a paper towel-lined plate and fry the remaining feta slabs.
- To plate, lay the fried feta on a platter. Drizzle a few over-generous drizzles of the Basque pepper honey and sprinkle on the marcona almonds, leftover lemon zest and thyme leaves. Serve with pita bread or chips.
Notes
*Tip: Zest the lemon zest with the concave part of the zester facing upwards, and zest like you are playing a violin. This allows you to ensure you aren’t zesting too deep, but also collects the zests and allows you to set it down until ready to add to the recipe.
Grilled Pear Crostini with Bonrus
Even though most of us are amidst a stay-at-home quarantine, it doesn’t mean we can’t still have fancy snacks. And luckily, Aperitivo is still open and able to satisfy all your cheese, charcuterie, beer, and wine needs during this odd time.
A newer cheese in the case, Bonrus is a soft-ripened sheep and cow’s milk cheese from Piedmont. It comes from one of our favorite Italian creameries, Caseificio dell’Alta Langa, who make some favorites like La Tur, Langherino, and Blu di Langa.
Bonrus has a soft and doughy texture, with a sweet and straw-like aroma. Its unique oval shape helps its maturation process, and like most soft cheeses, is best enjoyed at room temperature.
In this time of sheltering-at-home, you gotta take what you can get. So any soft, spreadable cheese would work in Bonrus’s place for this recipe.
Feel free to slather this delicious cheese, grilled pears, honey and smoked salt on any carb-y vessel you have on hand – toasted baguette slices, grilled flatbread, naan, English muffins, whatever you can find in your house. Or in this particular case, sliced hot dog buns. 🌭
Grilled Pear Crostini with Bonrus
Ingredients
- 1 firm pear
- ½ piece Bonrus – room temperature
- 2 Tbsp honey
- Smoked flake salt, or regular flake salt
- Toasted baguette slices
- Neutral oil
Instructions
- Heat a grill over medium heat.
- Slice the pear into ¼-inch slices, similar to the size of bread you are using. Drizzle the oil over the slices and place on a hot grill. Grill for a few seconds on each side, until grill marks appear. Try not to cut the slices too thin, or they will fall apart on the grill.
- Remove the slices and set aside.
- Slice the Bonrus into thin pieces (similar in size to the baguette) and place them on the baguette pieces. Spread the cheese out onto the bread and top with a grilled pear slice. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle the smoked flake salt. Repeat until you've used up all the pear slices. Serve immeditatey.
‘Nduja Tater Tots
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it 1,000 times, WE LOVE ‘NDUJA. It has to be one of the greatest culinary ingredients of all time. Everything gets better when you add a little ‘nduja. Butter? Yup. Pasta? Yup. Grilled ham and cheese sandwich? Yup. And countless other times that haven’t been documented on the internet.
And it should come at no shock that ‘nduja makes the childhood favorite, tater tots, even better.
Homemade tater tots are easier than you may think, but do require a bit of touch and feel to get right. Using frozen, thawed potatoes makes for a more consistent tot, but they can be a little wet. Squeeze out the extra water with a kitchen towel or sturdy paper towel once they are thawed. When mixing, you might need to add a little bit more cornstarch to help them stick together better. And a quick nap in the freezer helps keep them together as well.
While ketchup might be the most traditional tater tot dipping sauce, this tangy yogurt dip with sizzled herbs brings some freshness and creaminess to the crunchy and salty tots. This dip also utilizes an underappreciated ingredient – herb stems! Yes, most of the time you pluck the leaves off and toss the stems. Instead, the flavorful stems get finely chopped and sizzled in oil that gets swirled into the dip.
Any of the ‘nduja brands in the Aperitivo case would work great for this recipe. You just need to let it sit out on the counter for a bit before making the tots.
‘Nduja Tater Tots
Ingredients
For the 'Nduja Tater Tots
- 3 cups thawed shredded potatoes
- 1-2 Tbsp 'Nduja, room temperature
- ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1-2 cups fry oil (canola, vegetable, peanut, corn, etc.)
For the Sizzled Herb Dip
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 4 stalks parsley
- 4 stalks dill
- 2 scallions
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup crème fraîche
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the ‘Nduja Tater Tots
- In a large mixing bowl, add the thawed shredded potatoes. Using a kitchen towel or sturdy paper towel, squeeze out as much water as you can. Pour out excess water and break up the clumps with your hands.
- Add in the ‘nduja, Parm, salt, pepper and cornstarch and mix until well combined.
- Scoop out a tablespoon of the potato mixture and form a “tot” shape with your hands. Make a cylinder shape using the closed, rolled-up fingers of one hand (like you are making a pretend telescope with your fingers and hand,) and the pointer finger and thumb of your opposite hand to form the top and bottom of the tot.
- Set the tots on a plate or small sheet tray and repeat until all the potato mixture has been formed into tots. Place the plate or tray in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.
- While the tots are in the freezer, pour oil into a heavy bottom pot and bring the temperature up to 375°F.
- After 10 minutes, remove the tots from the freeze. Gently drop a few tots in the hot oil and fry until golden brown all over, about 4 minutes. Remove from oil using a slotted spoon and pour onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet or a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all the tots are fried.
- Transfer to a serving platter and serve with Sizzled Herb Dip.
For the Sizzled Herb Dip
- In a medium pan, add oil and heat over medium heat. Remove leaves and fronds from the herb stalks. Chop the leaves and set in a medium mixing bowl. Mince the herb stems and the scallions and add to the hot oil.
- Gently fry the herb stems until fragrant and sizzled, about 5 minutes. Pour oil and herbs into a glass jar or bowl to let cool.
- To the mixing bowl with the chopped herb leaves, add the yogurt, crème fraîche, lemon juice, and chopped herbs. Add a dash of salt and pepper, taste and adjust if needed.
- In a small serving bowl, add the yogurt mixture and swirl fried herb oil over the top.
Notes
Sizzled herb oil and yogurt mixture can be made 3 days ahead of time. Store separated in the fridge.
