Every
year I invite a small group of close friends over to watch the Oscars. We
start with cocktails and watch the red carpet arrivals. Each year I add
some silly things to make it fresh. This year I had a ballot for
"Best Appetizer at an Oscar Party", so in addition to voting for the
actual awards everyone voted on their favorite appetizer that I served. I
have attached the recipes.
And the
winner was... the Sweet Potato Raviolis!!!! I had these are the bar at
the Bernards Inn last fall and got the recipe. I first served a variation
of them as the first course for Thanksgiving dinner. I had 22 people, so
I made them in my grandma's manicotti crepes. Also, delicious but the
raviolis are the best if you have the time.
2013 Best Appetizer at an
OSCAR Party
In
Accordance with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science
Eligibility Rule Three, each of the featured appetizers had its qualifying run
between January 1, 2012 and midnight December, 31, 2012.Listed are the film and
the appetizer it inspired.
Argo’s Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta
Silver Linings Playbook – Asparagus Rolls with Prosciutto
Les Miserables Mushroom Tart
Django Unchained – Sweet Potato Ravioli
Beast of the Southern Wild’s Cosmic Crab Salad
Zero Dark Thirty – Tandoori Lamb Meatballs
And the
recipes...
Tomato
Crostini with Whipped Feta
2012,
Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, All Rights Reserved
Prep
Time: 30 min
Inactive
Prep Time: 10 min
Level:
Easy
Serves: 6
to 8 servings
Ingredients
6 ounces good feta, crumbled
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup good olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced shallots (2 shallots) -- Or red onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves) -- I used garlic paste
2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
2 pounds ripe heirloom or cherry tomatoes, 1/2-inch-diced -- I included yellow cherry
tomatoes
3 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves, plus extra for serving
20 to 25 (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal baguette slices, toasted -- I used a loaf of ciabatta
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts -- I omitted
Directions
For the
whipped feta, place the feta and cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor
fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until the cheeses are mixed. Add 1/3 cup of
the olive oil, the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and
process until smooth.
For the
tomatoes, up to an hour before you're serving, combine the shallots, garlic,
and vinegar in a medium bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining
1/3 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the tomatoes,
stir gently, and set aside for 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and taste for
seasonings.
To
assemble the crostini, spread each slice of bread with a generous amount of
whipped feta. With a slotted spoon, place the tomatoes on top. Put the crostini
on plates and scatter with the pine nuts. Sprinkle with extra basil and serve.
Asparagus Rolls with
Prosciutto and Basil Ricotta Cheese
The
creamy basil ricotta spread makes a great dip on its own.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole basil
leaves
- 1/2 cup lowfat ricotta
cheese -- I always use Part Skim
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and black pepper to
taste
- 1 pound medium asparagus
spears, about 16 pieces
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 8 slices thinly sliced
prosciutto
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
cheese
Directions
Trim two inches from ends of asparagus. Have a medium size bowl of
ice water ready for chilling basil and asparagus. Bring 2 quarts water to a
boil with salt. Add basil leaves to water and blanch until leaves brighten,
about 20 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon and plunge into ice water. Remove
and squeeze out excess water. Add asparagus to boiling water and cook 5 to 7
minutes, until ends are soft when pinched. Remove from water and chill in ice
water to stop cooking. I roasted the asparagus with a touch of salt, pepper and olive oil
in the oven for 10 minutes.
Place blanched basil leaves into blender or food processor. Add
ricotta cheese, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Lay out
slices of prosciutto on a cutting board. Place dollop of ricotta mixture on one
end of the prosciutto slice. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Arrange two
asparagus spears at the edge of each prosciutto slice and begin rolling around
the asparagus until the end of the prosciutto is reached. Arrange on platter
and serve.
Mushroom Tart
Created
by Patty Cookson
Sauté
variety of any mushrooms that you like with thinly sliced onions, garlic,
scallions and fresh thyme in olive oil and butter. Season the mushroom
mixture with salt and pepper.
Easy
Trick – use Dufour Pastry Kitchen Classic Puff Pastry – can be found at Kings
in the freezer section.
Layout
the puff pastry on a greased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, lightly
sprinkle with olive oil and spread mushroom mixture evenly over pastry.
Spread
arugula and shredded gruyere over the top.
Egg-wash
the edges of the pastry -- optional
Bake at
350 degrees until golden
Sweet Potato
Ravioli
Pumpkin
seeds, black truffle, sage brown butter sauce
SERVES 6
APPETIZER SIZE PORTIONS
For the
Ravioli:
1 lb Sweet
Potatoes
1 TSP
Olive Oil
1 TBSP
Sweet Unsalted Butter
1 TBSP
Honey
½ TSP
Nutmeg, freshly grated
Fine Sea
Salt, to taste
1
Package Wonton Skins, approximately 60 pieces
1 Spray
Bottle filled with water
Procedure:
Preheat
a convection oven to 375F. Coat the
sweet potatoes with the 1 TBSP of olive oil and 1 TSP of fine sea salt. Roast the sweet potatoes on a sheet pan for
approximately 40 minutes or until they are fork tender. Allow the sweet potatoes to cool to the
touch, but keep warm. Remove the skins
and place the sweet potatoes, butter, honey, nutmeg, and salt (to taste) in a
blender. Puree to a creamy consistency. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
Lay half
of the wonton skins on a clean table.
Place a small amount (approximately 2TSP) of sweet potato puree in the
center of each wonton skin. Using the
spray bottle, spray the wonton skins with just enough water to moisten
them. Lay the other half of wonton skins
over the puree and press around the perimeter to connect and seal the wonton
skins together. Gently place the
raviolis on a parchment paper lined sheet tray and freeze until ready to
cook. There should be approximately 30
raviolis.
Raviolis are much easier than they seem.
For the
Sauce:
6 TBSP
Sweet Unsalted Butter
1 TBSP
Black Truffle Oil
1 TBSP
Water
½ TSP
Fresh Lemon Juice
Fine Sea
Salt, to taste
Procedure:
In a
small sauté pan, over medium heat, melt 3 TBSP of butter until it begins to
brown. Pour the butter into a small
stainless steel bowl and cool completely.
In a small sauce pot, over medium-low heat, add the TBSP of water. As soon as bubbles form in the water add 1
TBSP of butter and whisk gently until meted.
Repeat this step with the other 2 TBSP of butter, making sure the pan
does not get too hot. When the butter is
completely melted it should be a smooth consistency, not separated. At this point add the brown butter and whisk
until incorporated. Finish the sauce by
whisking in the TBSP of black truffle oil and seasoning to taste with the salt.
Keep Warm.
For quicker sauce, do not brown the butter, just melt add truffle oil, water and lemon juice whisk and serve.
Garnish:
6 Sage
Leaves, chiffonade
2 TBSP
Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 TBSP
Black Truffle, rough chopped (if available)
6 TBSP
Green Pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
To
Serve:
Bring an
8-quart pot of water to a rolling boil and season with 2 TBSP of salt. Place raviolis in water and cook for 2-3
minutes. Carefully remove the raviolis
from the water and divide them among 6 plates.
Add the chopped truffles (if available) and sage to the sauce and
drizzle over the plated raviolis.
Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and grated cheese over the raviolis and serve
immediately.
For a simpler presentation, omit sage and truffles.
Cosmic Crab Salad
with Corn Chips
Ingredients
·
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
·
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
·
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
·
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
·
2 tablespoons sliced green onions
·
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
·
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
·
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
·
1 3/4 cups lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed (about 6
ounces)
·
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
·
Cilantro leaves (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Brush 1 side of each tortilla with oil; cut each tortilla into 8
wedges. Place the wedges on a large baking sheet; sprinkle with salt. Bake at
400° for 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
Combine the cream
cheese and next 4 ingredients (cream cheese through seasoning) in a bowl. Add
crab and corn; stir gently. Cover and chill for up to 4 hours. Serve with corn
chips; garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired.
The homemade corn
chips can be made several days in advance; store them in a zip-top plastic bag
to keep them crisp. It's best to make the crab salad the afternoon of the
party. I serve with Scoops!
Cooking Light JULY 2000
Tandoori Lamb Balls
React
Read more
total prep
Recipe courtesy of The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen/Ballantine Books, 2011.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (including stems)
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup tandoori spice mix (recipe follows)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- TANDOORI SPICE MIX
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- I made extra Tandoori Spice Mix and have used in other recipes
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the olive oil into a 9x13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
- Combine the ground lamb, bread crumbs, eggs, cilantro, lemon juice, tandoori spice mix, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
- Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165F.
- Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.
First Posted: 12/15/2011 1:32 pm Updated: 08/31/2012 10:48 am