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Quick All Parmesan Crackers

15 Aug

For as infrequently as my husband and I entertain, you’d be faced with quite a difficult task if challenged to find someone who is more prepared to entertain than I am.  We own more cocktail glasses and tiny plates than I think we’ll ever be able to use.  There are at least three types of cheese knives in our silverware drawer, we’re never without an assortment of nuts and crackers for snacking, and we live four blocks away from an absolutely divine wine shop that is more than capable of supplying us with several festive nights’ worth of beverages.

My favorite party trick, however, might just be the one I only recently discovered.  Last week, after finishing off a small, precious package of delicate Parmesan crackers that was gifted to me by my cousin, I began to sniffle a little at the thought of no longer being able to nibble the crackers while enjoying a small splash of white wine as we relaxed in the garden each night.  The crackers were absolutely delightful, you see, very light, pleasantly piquant, and the perfect item to pair with a little nightcap.  Their savory secret lied in the fact that the crackers were made of nothing more than baked Parmesan cheese, a bit of knowledge I was privy to when I first received the crackers, but not really in full realization of until I ran out of them and almost immediately began to yearn for more.

The crackers, allow me to repeat, were made out of nothing but Parmesan cheese, an item I not only had in my refrigerator right then, but always make sure to have in the refrigerator at all times.  The mourning period was over.  The crackers would return.

And, ten minutes later, they did.  Brightened up with a small sprinkling of chopped fresh rosemary (an herb we are able to grow year-round) and a dash of cracked pepper (which, come on, everybody has on hand), I soon found myself in the company of my very own plate of homemade Parmesan crackers that are as easy to make as they are enjoyable to eat.  Made of only two ingredients at most, these crackers are a simple, satisfying treat that are the perfect greeting for any guest.  Or, if you are like me and my husband, they are the perfect small bite to enjoy while engaging very contentedly in a small and cozy party of two.

Quick Parmesan Crackers

These crackers are a totally self-contained treat, meaning they are not the type of cracker one is meant to eat topped with anything.  Trust me, though, you won’t long for any embellishment when eating one of these fine snacks, as they are perfectly fulfilling and satisfying all on their own.

Quick All Parmesan Crackers

½ cup coarsely shredded (not grated) Parmesan cheese

That’s it.  No, seriously.  That’s all.

Optional:

very finely chopped fresh rosemary

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop 1 rounded teaspoon of Parmesan cheese into a little mound on the parchment lined baking sheet.  If you want to add rosemary or black pepper to your crackers, sprinkle a pinch of each one onto as many Parmesan mounds as you wish, and gently mix in with your fingers.

Bake crackers for 5 minutes on the center rack of the oven.  The crackers will be done when they are deeply golden at the edges and just beginning to turn golden in the middle.  Remove sheet pan from the oven, and allow crackers to cool on pan for 2-3 minutes, until they have cooled firm enough to not fall apart when removed with a flexible spatula.

Makes 20-24 crackers.

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Tiny Party Sandwiches

9 Aug

Let’s say you are in charge of providing snacks and treats for a party.  The party is not a dinner affair, nor a lunchtime soiree, but rather something that falls in between.  It’s a casual backyard get together, and you are expecting 30-40 people to join you.  Though those people will certainly not be expecting you to provide them a meal, it is, of course, assumed that you will be laying out a selection of light bites to hold people over until their next meal, which should helpfully supply some sort of absorbent landing pad for the selection of beer and wine that are also very likely to be consumed.

You’ll, of course, want to make something that isn’t terribly time consuming to begin with, but you’ll also help yourself immensely by making something that is capable of being replenished quickly and with minimal fuss.

Do you know what you want to do?  You want to make your lovely guests some sandwiches.

Now, hear me out on this one.  I am not advocating that you bust out the deli ham and mustard (though, to clarify, there is, of course, nothing wrong with serving such a thing to your guests).  What I am talking about in this instance is a selection of spreads and toppings laid atop tiny slices of baguette.  It’s not quite crostini, and not really bruschetta, but more of a cross between an open-faced sandwich and an appetizer.

The components are simple, but pleasing.  Light and creamy ricotta cheese is folded together with a sprinkle of herbs, honey, or spices.  The ricotta is generously spread on top of a small piece of crusty bread, then topped with a vegetable or fruit of your choosing.  One sandwich pictured here features a cool mint and ricotta spread topped with fresh cucumbers.  The other, which happens to be pleasing to both children and adults, is a lightly honey-sweetened ricotta topped with ripe strawberries, then drizzled with just a thread more honey.  That’s it.  You’re done.  Two baguettes later, your guests are pleased, your tummy is pleased, and you’ve discovered the secret to a delicious party snack that is light, fresh, and delicious, but also delightfully uncomplicated.

Leaving you all the more time to actually enjoy your own party while you simultaneously enjoy your sandwiches.

Mint Ricotta and Cucumber Sandwiches

2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 small garlic clove, smashed and finely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

1 large baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, garlic, mint, and olive oil.  Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste.

Top each slice of baguette with 1 tablespoon of ricotta mixture, then top ricotta with thin slices of cucumber.

Honey Ricotta and Strawberry Sandwiches

2 cups ricotta cheese

6 tablespoons honey, divided

pinch of salt

1 pound of ripe strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

1 large baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices

In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese with 4 tablespoons of honey.  Add pinch of salt and mix to combine.

Top each slice of baguette with 1 tablespoon of ricotta mixture, then top ricotta with 3 or 4 thin slices of strawberry.

When you have topped all of the slices of baguette, thinly and lightly drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons of honey over the tops of the assembled sandwiches.

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Spinach Basil Pesto with Lemon and Almonds

23 Jun

Having a child who happens to absolutely love pesto is both a blessing and a curse.  On the one hand, it’s nice to have a child who will stick a toe in the pool of adventure and happily dig into a sauce that is not only bright green, but also more complex in flavor than the average preschooler’s preferred pasta dish of buttered noodles with cheese.  On the other hand, have you ever been driven to eating pesto three times a week because you live with a tiny person who is prone to bouts of tyrant-like behavior when it comes to food?  No matter what the food, if you are forced to eat it enough, its gloss will soon begin to fade.

Maybe it’s just the repeat performances wearing me down, but I’ve long felt that pesto, that much-maligned sauce of the ‘90s, is in dire need of a makeover. Being a sauce of few ingredients, there are as many ways to make pesto shine as there are ways to make it dull and unexciting, and, much to the world’s misfortune, most pesto ends up suffering the latter lot rather than the former.  It’s too oily.  It’s garlicky enough so as to be considered borderline caustic.  It’s bland.  It’s boring.  It’s predictable.

Guess what?  It doesn’t have to be any of those things.  Breaking apart the simple components of pesto and then dressing them up as you put them back together can yield some fantastic results, and the seemingly endless ways one can Frankenstein together a new type of pesto are limited by only what you may or may not have in your refrigerator on a given day.  Starting from a very basic level of pesto-making, just changing up one or two ingredients can provide your standard recipe with a nice bit of change.  Arugula can get swapped for basil.  A handful of fresh mint can join in.  Fresh tomatoes and walnuts can be tossed into the blend.

Though history may have proven that your kid will eschew spinach in its regular form, you can hide a ton of the vitamin and nutrient packed green in your sauce and, so long as you never let loose your secret, no child will ever be able to detect the difference between spinach pesto and regular pesto.  You know that as long as your pesto still looks like pesto, chances are your kid will never be the wiser.  To appease the adult palette, swapping out roasted almonds for pine nuts not only makes your frequent pesto consumption easier on the wallet, but the hearty taste of the almonds plays nicely off of the subtle nuttiness of the parmesan cheese.  Add in lemon zest for brightness, and you’re on your way to something reinvigorated and fantastic.

This is not pesto from a jar, or tired pesto from a restaurant that seemed to run out of menu ideas sometime during the Clinton administration.  This is pesto refreshed, yet still utterly recognizable as an old standby who you will always welcome, albeit now with a tad bit more enthusiasm.

Bonus information!

This pesto freezes extremely well.  I have been known to make several enormous batches of this pesto at the end of our gardening season when I harvest all our greens.  After I make a huge batch (or two) of the sauce, I pour it into individual serving sizes and freeze it.  Though I have absolutely no recollection where it came from, this silicone baking mold is great for portioning out pesto for freezing:

After the pesto has frozen (at least three hours, or up to overnight), I release the pesto from each cup (this process is super easy when using a silicone mold, by the way, because the silicone cups just peel back and pop the pesto right out), then place the pesto servings in a thick Ziploc freezer bag and toss them back into the freezer.

The pesto will last in the freezer for several months.  When you want to use a block of your pesto, just place one in a microwave safe bowl and defrost for about a minute on high heat.  Alternately, if you are good about planning ahead, you can just place one of your blocks in the refrigerator to defrost overnight for the next day’s meal.  The molds I have are able to hold just a smidge more than 2/3 of a cup of pesto each.  2/3 of a cup of pesto will coat a moderately dressed pound of pasta, or you can cook 3/4 of a pound of pasta and enjoy your pasta a bit more heavily dressed.

Spinach Basil Pesto with Lemon and Almonds

¼ cup slivered or sliced almonds

1 tightly packed cup of fresh basil leaves

2 tightly packed cups of fresh spinach leaves

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

zest of 1 large lemon

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

In a dry pan, toast almonds over medium high heat until they are golden brown.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine basil, spinach, garlic, lemon zest, and olive oil.  Process or blend for 15-20 seconds to combine and chop.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add cooled almonds and Parmesan cheese.  Process or blend for another 20-30 seconds, scraping down as needed, until pesto is uniformly combined and no large chunks remain.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour sauce over your favorite pasta and toss to coat.  Taste for seasoning.

If desired, top with chopped tomatoes, more Parmesan cheese, and additional toasted nuts.

Makes 1 cup of pesto, enough for 1 pound of pasta.

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