Dec. - Let's Talk About Finger Foods

[Sharon]

December, the month for entertaining. During December let's share our finger foods and appetizers ideas.

I personally take appetizers with me every Christmas eve to friends, so I'm really looking forward to some new ideas. Last year I took Harvarti cheese chips and dip and of course no one could believe this was "diet food".

As always don't forget to include detailed instructions as well as the nutritional counts.

[Sharon]

Canadian Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Approximately 15-20 mushrooms
Butter
4 oz. cream cheese
6 slices of bacon cooked and cut into bits
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Grated cheddar cheese

Remove stems from mushrooms and set aaside the caps. Chop stems and saute them in butter with garlic and onion powder.
Soften cream cheese (I used microwave for 20 sec), and add the sauted stems and bacon bits and mix well. Turn mushroom caps upside down (I use a pie plate), and stuff mixture into caps. Top with a little grated cheedar cheese. Bake 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

Total recipe approx. 26 carbs

I make this recipe every year for my Christmas Brunch, but I also make it for an appetizer for evening guests.

[shelley]

Feels like your cheating when you eat them, yum.
I had some that were stuffed with blue cheese, ham and a little red pepper. They were really decadent!!! :D

[alto]

Sharon, thank you for starting this thread. I won't be bringing appetizers to many parties, but finger foods are good for lunches and snacks, too :)


I have two variants on stuffed mushrooms, though I can't give quantities. I'm sorry.

The first is a cream cheese one, similar to yours (and I think it's an old NYTimes one):

sautee the mushroom stems in butter, stir them into cream cheese and stir in a bit of sherry!


The second is sausage and very finely grated parmesan cheese. Brown the sausage, mix with the parmesan and stuff.

[debbiedobson]

pork rinds and blue cheese dips! i bring it for me and it's always one of the first things gone! everyone loves them!

[Karen]

This is a great dip as well as being delicious as a “sauce” for steak or vegetables.

Mushroom Tapenade
Makes about 1½ cups

1½ lbs. mixed, fresh mushrooms, button, portabello, shiitake, oyster, etc.
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 anchovy filets
1 Tbsp. drained capers
2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary or thyme
½ - ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Remove any tough stems from the mushrooms. Toss with the 3 Tbsp. olive oil and salt. Spread out in a single layer onto a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Some will be shriveled and this is fine. Let cool.

Place in a food processor with the garlic, anchovies and capers, rosemary or thyme. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil to form a juicy paste. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Calories: 2148
Fat: 221 grams
Carbs: 30 grams
Fiber: 8 grams
Protein: 28

[shelley]

this is my favorite recipe.
1 can waterchestnuts drained
3 tbsp soy sauce
strips of bacon cut in 1/2

marinate chestnuts in soy sauce for 1 hour.
wrap in bacon and secure with toothpicks
broil until crisp.
yummy...........:wiggle:

[Sharon]

Hi Shelley, these are good. I have never made them, but have had them visiting.

Do you happen to have the carb counts for those who would be interested. (Save everyone working them out).

Thanks for posting this.

[engineergirl]

i looked up water chestnuts on the carb counter because i was planning on making these throughout the holidays - i love them too :)

they're more carby than i thought - 4 water chestnuts have 3.48 grams of carbs (!) i could eat these like nuts (ie. way too many), so i'm not so sure i'll make them now. (i cannot eat these in moderation)

[Karen]

4 water chestnuts have 3.48 grams of carbs (!)

Why dontcha use jicama or daikon instead? Twice the fun for much less carbs!

Karen

[engineergirl]

just tonight i was thinking about using daikon instead :)

could use a melon baller to keep them round

i think i'll make some tomorrow :thup:

[shelley]

I can't post! sorry it took so long to answer.
Anyway, I checked out waterchestnuts on my mastercooks and I got a count of 1 - 2 for each. I guess it depends on the size of the nuts. The cans I buy have 20-25 in a 10 ounce can.
I don't care for daikon, but jicama would be good. Do you know the count on jicama?

[Karen]

I think you could probably find it in the carb counter at the top of this page. Water chestnuts are probably there too so you can make an accurate comparison.

Karen

[engineergirl]

i looked up jicama on the carb counter, & it's 10.58 grams per 1 cup sliced, minus 5.88 grams fibre = 4.7 grams per cup. :)

[cogin]

Hi! I haven't posted for a long time but I am still lc'ing. The loss has been very slow, but that's better than a gain. With Christmas season approaching I am wondering if anyone has somthing fancier than cheese, meat slices and deviled eggs to take to a finger-food Christmas Party.Any ideas would be appreciated. :idea:

[Babs]

I will be taking a raw veggie platter with a herbed sour cream dip to one, and a blue cheese, walbut and black olive cheese ball to another (and hope someone brings a raw veggie platter to that one so I have veggies to eat with the cheese ball!)

I often make a cheese mixture with finely grated sharp cheddar, swiss, parmesan, mayonaisse, tabasco, and a bit of whatever fresh herb is handy, mix it into a paste and lay it into the celery cove, then cut into about two-inch pieces. It is very tasty!

[virginia]

For Thanksgiving my husband and I went over a girlfriend's house and she served a low-carb feast including a whole array of finger foods for appetizers--it was such a treat! Since it's fresh in my mind I thought I'd share--not many recipes, but some ideas for lovely things to put out for finger foods. Here's what we had:

Pepperoni chips (microwave thick sliced pepperoni until crisped [3 minutes in my microwave])
Sugar Free Plain Good Crackers (From Low Carb Chef--these are amazing!)
Celery
Cheese ball (cream cheese and blue cheese to taste, mix until blended, entire mixture should hold together, roll in crushed macadamia nuts and form into ball shape, place in refrigerator until hardened)
Smoked Cheese
Olives
Pickles
Pork Rinds
Ruffles Onion Dip (only 3 cards in 2 Tbsp--I haven't found a way to make my own with less!)

[wangeci]

I have a Danish meatball recipe that is fairly low carb. I will bring it tomorrow to post here. It calls for bread crumbs, but I use ground up pork Rinds and they are fabulous.
Cindy

[Sharon]

Cogin, I merged the thread you started with the December - Let's Talk About Finger Foods Thread.

Cindy, looking forward to your Danish Meatball Recipe!

[Karen]

I'm putting this link here for a recipe that Liz just posted for Roquefort Mousse (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27374)

It was most delicious!

Karen

[wangeci]

Please don't kill me :bash: I forgot the Danish Meat Ball recipe today.....Ugg, I just made it you think I would remember. I will bring it tomorrow to post. If I don't, you can have at me then.
Thanks
Cindy

[wangeci]

Danish Meatballs


Meat Balls
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb lean ground pork
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tbsp grated onion
1/4 cup 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 cup crushed pork rinds
1/8 tsp ground allspice


Dill Sauce

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour (could use a bit less)
2 cups chicken broth or bouillon
2 tsp dried dill weed
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the meat balls. Shape into 1 inch balls, arrange on cookie sheet and bake 20 to 30 minutes in preheated oven until browned.

Prepare Dill Sauce..

In a small saucepan, melt butter, stir in flour, until thoroughly mixed, add broth, dill weed and cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in Sour Cream, set aside...

Drain cooked meatballs. Arrange in a dish, and pour dill sauce over meatballs. Makes 80-85 appetizer servings. (these are very small)

I put mine in a crock pop and pour the sauce over it and keep it on low, it seems if they are kept like that for a few hours, the taste is even better.

These are very good and low carb as well.

Enjoy

Cindy

[zellie]

I normally take what I call "greek meat balls". Something I tried to copy from the greek restaurants. It's served with mezedes, the starter platter which has a bit of everything. Wonderful stuff!my mouth is watering, thinking about it :)

1lb lean ground beef (also used ground turkey. or a mixture of lamb and beef and a bit of pork)
1/4-1/2c grated onion or chopped up very fine
1T minced garlic
salt and pepper
good sprinkling oregano
sprinkling mint
little sprinkling parsley
1t cumin (can leave it out, if you don't have it)
1t grated lemon zest
1 egg
Mix everything together well. If it's a bit dry i add a dash of dry white wine :) Chill for an hour (optional, they shape better). Make 1 inch balls, saute in hot oil. I get about 18-24 out of this.
Make sure the ground beef is not fatty. I've also broiled these instead of frying.

I serve them either with bought honey-mustard or feta cheese dip. If I'm not rushed :) I've made tzatziki the cucumber/yogurt dip they serve in greek restaurants. I posted tzatziki under the egg thread in breakfasts.

The other thing i've copied from this platter is grilled eggplants slices (thick slices), grilled zucchini slices (cut longways), brushed with olive oil before grilling, both can be eaten with dips. I didn't feel like frying them, it's quicker to slice and grill. :) I sprinkle them with salt, let the water drain from the slices, and then brush them with oil, bit of pepper, garlic (optional) and grill. Don't let them go mushy when you grill them.

I've also made the phyllo cheese pastries but they are not low carb :( The filling is nice as a dip, about 1/2 lb feta cheese, about 4T grated parmesan (or pecorino, or a mixture of both), about 6-8T cream cheese or ricotta (basically, it's a mixture of feta, hard cheese and soft cheese). Add enough cream/sour cream/yogurt/1/2 and1/2 combination (or just one thing, whatever I have at hand, even a bit of mayo) to make it into a dip consistency. Some pepper and cayenne. I do things from memory, never write them down :)
Don't add salt, feta is salty enough.

ooh! if the feta is in brine, drain it, and it must be crumbled/mashed up. It's nice if there are little chunks of feta left.
The other thing i've had served with mezedes is fried squid rings. They are nice too, if you can get them.

I've made imitation dolmades, grape leaf rolls, just used a spiced ground beef mixture (i left out the rice, used ground beef only), and blanched chinese cabbage leaves (the top part only), put a spoonful of beef rolled up into little parcels, put about 2T olive oil in a large flat-bottomed pot, pack in the parcels as you roll them, cover with veggie broth, cover and simmer gently. Takes a while to cook.

Another seasoning mix i've used with ground beef is:
1T coriander seeds
2T cider vinegar
freshly ground pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
just a dash of ground cloves

and this one is spicy!
turmeric
salt
1 large clove garlic, crushed
piece root ginger, grated
coriander seeds
1 hot green chilli, crushed
garam masala (curry spice)

Smoked salmon (lox) is another firm favorite of mine for finger food.
Take a Mousse/pate recipe and substitute with smoked salmon. Or smoked salmon rolls, with cream cheese inside, cream cheese with diced pickle, etc. Just use your imagination and whatever you find interesting in the fridge.

And a crustless quiche cut up into bite size pieces:
This is the one I used to make:
4 large eggs
1c cottage cheese, or cream cheese
1c 1/2 and 1/2
1c grated cheese, cheddar, feta, doesn't matter (sharp hard cheeses)
4 slices cooked bacon, cut into tiny bits
4 slices ham, chopped
1-2 hard boiled eggs chopped
1T minced onion
2 hotdogs chopped up (put them in hot water before)
2-3T finely chopped bell pepper
salt & pepper
Mix everything in a bowl. Pour into a Pam sprayed cheesecake tin.
Bake for about 20-30mins 350' until a knife stuck in the center comes out clean. It must be well set.
cut into bitesize squares.

Hope there are no typos :)

[Sharon]

Great ideas, I'm hungry now just reading your post....must be time to go look for some protein!!