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Scenario No. 1: It’s 4 p.m. on a Saturday.
You’re standing in an incredibly long checkout line with your
contribution to the Secret Santa gift exchange at tonight’s Christmas
party, and you’ve just remembered that you’re supposed to bring
an appetizer as well. You’re already running behind: You still have
to battle the holiday traffic to get home, change clothes, get the darn
present wrapped, and get to the party by 6. There’s really not even
enough time to go to the grocery story — where the lines will also be
long — much less to get something made. Scenario No. 2: It’s 5 p.m. Old high-school
friends you haven’t seen in years just called. They’re home for
the holidays and want to stop by to visit. You’ve got nice wine to
open and want to serve something to eat with it, but the house is a mess
and you have to get it straightened before they show up. Scenario No. 3: It’s 6 p.m. Your children have
just received last-minute invitations to spend the night at friends’
houses, and you realize that you and your spouse will be home alone for the
first time in weeks. You could go out for dinner, but you’ve been on
the run all week, the weather is lousy, and nothing sounds quite so good as
curling up in front of the fireplace together with a good video or DVD. What to do? You could cut up some tired cheese cubes
or grab some chips and dip. They fill the bill but are oh so boring. Or you
could drive yourself into a frenzy trying to concoct something at the last
minute. However, if you’ve had the forethought to stock your freezer
with premade treats, things just got a whole lot easier — and more
delicious. The appetizers don’t have to be difficult, but
they do, as I said, require some planning. Of course, a variety of premade
heat-and-eat appetizers are on sale these days. Some of them are quite good
— I’ve had some excellent miniature quiches — and some
are absolutely dreadful, such as tiny taquitos featuring dried-out bland
meat surrounded by tough neither-crunchy-nor-pliable tortillas and rubbery,
tasteless meatballs made only marginally edible by the sea of
sweet-and-sour or barbecue sauce in which they’re swimming. The problem with purchased appetizers — good or
bad — is that they tend to show up a lot. You can just about count on
egg rolls, those miniature quiches, and a host of other standards on party
tables. Even the good ones get boring after a while. I’m always on the lookout for interesting and
delicious appetizers that can be made ahead of time, frozen in individual
portions, and then baked, fried, or simply thawed at the last minute.
They’re a must for me when I’m planning a party, allowing me to
concentrate on other dishes that require last-minute preparation and keep
kitchen mess to a minimum. Most important, they let me relax and enjoy
myself at my own party. I always make extras — I figure that I might as
well while I’m at it. Occasionally I’ve run low during a party
and needed more, but mainly I make extras because they’re
indispensable for emergency entertaining. If you’re planning a party,
make more than you need and keep them on hand in the freezer; or prepare a
batch just in case you find yourself in one of those last-minute scenarios.
They’ll give you the flexibility to entertain spontaneously —
even if you’re just entertaining yourself!
Contact Julianne at realcuisine@insightbb.com.
This is one of my favorite freezer appetizers. The
pastry is a snap to make and lends itself to numerous tasty variations.
Cheddar Pastry
1/2 pound sharp or extra-sharp yellow Cheddar cheese, finely grated 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
In a mixer or food processor, combine all of the
ingredients. Mix until a smooth dough is formed. Use immediately or
refrigerate or freeze until needed, either by itself or made up as
described below. In all forms the pastry is baked at 400 degrees. For Cheddar-nut crisps: Mix 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans or other nuts such as hazelnuts,
almonds, walnuts, or sesame seeds into the dough. Form into a log
approximately 2 inches in diameter, wrap, and refrigerate or freeze until
firm. If you have frozen the dough, thaw it just enough to be able to slice it. Cut the dough into 1/2-inch
slices and place the slices on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until
lightly browned, eight to 10 minutes.
For miniature tart shells: Press tablespoons of the
soft dough into miniature (1 1/4-inch) tart pans and press evenly around
the bottom and sides with your fingers. Bake for eight to 10 minutes or
until lightly browned. While still warm, press the bottoms down gently with
your thumb. Fill with applesauce, apple butter, ham salad, turkey salad, or
whatever appeals to you.
For Cheddar-wrapped miniature sausages and/or olives: Use queen-size pimiento-stuffed olives, roughly one large
jar for one recipe’s worth of pastry. Drain the olives well and pat
them dry. Put a tablespoon of the soft dough in the palm of one hand and
flatten it into a rough circle. Put an olive in the center of the circle
and enclose it completely in the dough. Use the same method for (fully
cooked) miniature sausages, but flatten the dough into an oval before
placing the sausage in the center. Place the enclosed sausages and olives
on a parchment- or waxed-paper-lined tray or baking sheet in a single layer
and freeze until hard, then put them into another container or bag for
storage. Bake from the frozen state until lightly browned, eight to 12
minutes. For Cheddar-and-sausage slices: Use six fully cooked bratwurst-size sausages. Chicken and apple
sausages are especially good; so are Polish and garlic sausages. Divide the
dough into six equal portions. Using your hands, flatten one of the
portions of dough into a flat disc roughly the same length as the sausages,
then wrap a sausage in it. The dough will be soft and pliable, so you
should easily be able to press the dough into an even layer all the way
around the sausage, leaving the ends of the sausage exposed. Roll the
pastry-wrapped sausage on a flat surface (e.g., a countertop or table) to
smooth out the dough. Repeat with the remaining sausages, then freeze in
the same manner described above for the olives and miniature sausages. Let
thaw for about 15 minutes, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the
pastry is lightly browned. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then carefully cut
the sausages at an angle into 1/2- to 3/4-inch slices. Serve warm or at
room temperature.
This article appears in Nov 22-28, 2007.
