Taking a Break From Politics & Serving Up An Appetizer!

Michelle Obama's Mirror ^ | 12-17-2012 | MOTUS

[NOBO2012]

Like many of you,MOTUS has many Christmas duties to discharge in 3 different cities, so I’m going to be very busy. Because of that, and perhaps a certain degree of war-weariness, I need to restrain my posting time this week.

I will be posting an open thread topic, along with a recipe of the day. Here’s your assignment:

So let’s start with appetizers today and work our way through the buffet line as the week progresses.

Here’s one of my favorite, easy-peasy (although no peas were actually harmed in the making of this dish) pre-prandial snacks: Smoked trout or whitefish pate. If you can’t score any smoked fish at your local grocery, fish market, Sam’s or Costco there’s always the intertoobz.

Smoked Trout or Whitefish Pate

1 smoked lake trout, brook trout or whitefish filet, approx. 6-8 oz., skinned and boned

8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1-2 tablespoons (or to taste, MOTUS likes lots) prepared, well drained horseradish (should be fresh, as horseradish loses it’s “kick” after being opened for long)

1 Tbs. lemon juice

Fresh parsley, finely minced

Skin and bone smoked fish (MOTUS also scrapes off any of the gray flesh which she knows is filled with omega 3 oils, butt also has a tendency to taste fishy), break into pieces and …(snip)

Or if you’re really feeling flush, (and who is?) you can even turn it into an elegant starter by wrapping it in some cold smoked salmon and serving it on greens…Continued

[NOBO2012]

I'm getting my wife to make that tonight! Thanks for the break MOTUS!

[pugmama]

Cranberry Feta Pinwheels

Ingredients

1 carton (8 ounces) whipped cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 package (5 ounces) dried cranberries
4 flour tortillas (10 inches)

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, feta cheese and onions. Stir in cranberries. Spread about 1/2 cup mixture over each tortilla and roll up tightly. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cut each roll-up into 10 slices. Yield: 40 appetizers.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (two pinwheels prepared with reduced-fat cream cheese) equals 97 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 12 mg cholesterol, 183 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fat.
Originally published in Taste of Home December/January 2004, p60

[NEMDF]

Someone brought this to an office food day recently, could not be easier, was delicious (maybe a bit lame for those who fancy themselves as “real cooks”): Take an 8 oz brick of cream cheese, a jar of Dickinson’s Sweet N Hot Pepper And Onion Relish (available at WalMart), and set out with a box of little crackers (she used some vegetable-flavored ones that were similar to wheat thins). Let the cream cheese sit until it is softer, pour the relish over, provide a knife for spreading.