The story below is from our November/December 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Editor's Note: Becky is bringing her recipes to life in our new cooking videos on our YouTube page! Watch her IMPRESSIVE HOLIDAY APPS video below!
These fancy appetizers can be made ahead, leaving you more time to prepare your fabulous holiday meal.
Ashley Cuoco
While waiting for the main course to be served at your holiday soirée — the roasted turkey, baked ham, grilled beef tenderloin — what will you serve your guests? They will be wanting a nosh or a nibble to go with the apéritifs you will be serving before dinner. May I suggest this array of flavorful treats to serve in festive holiday style.
Prosciutto Gruyere Palmiers
Makes 20
- 14-ounce package Dufour frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
- Vegetable spray
- 1 cup finely chopped prosciutto
- 2 cups finely grated gruyere cheese
- 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Ashley Cuoco
Prosciutto Gruyere Palmiers
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray cutting board with vegetable spray, wipe off any excess. Place puff pastry on cutting board. Orient the puff pastry horizontally so that the short sides of the rectangle are by your right and left hands.
Spread Dijon mustard evenly on the puff pastry.
Sprinkle prosciutto evenly on the puff pastry. Press down the prosciutto lightly into the pastry.
Sprinkle gruyere cheese over the prosciutto and press down lightly.
Fold the sides of the puff pastry square halfway towards the center, doing the same on each side.
Fold the sides again so the two folds meet in the middle. Then fold one of the halves over the other half.
Take a sheet of wax paper and place over the folded dough. Use your rolling pin to gently compress the layers together.
Wrap the puff pastry in waxed paper and chill in freezer for 2 hours. Remove puff pastry from freezer and unwrap waxed paper. Place puff pastry roll on a cutting board.
Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into 36 even pieces (approximately ¼” thick).
Place the sliced palmiers onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Crack the egg in a small bowl, add water and gently whisk. Using a pastry brush, gently brush each palmier with the egg wash.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.
Crab Salad in Belgian Endive
Yield: 24 appetizers
- ¾ pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over to remove any pieces of shell
- ½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup very finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon non-pereil capers
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill + dill sprigs for garnish
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning + more for garnish
- 3 heads Belgian endive or Ruffles potato chips
Place crabmeat in a bowl. Add mayonnaise and mix lightly with a spoon (try not to break up the lumps of crabmeat too much). Add celery, capers, dill, Old Bay Seasoning, salt and pepper. Lightly stir to combine all ingredients.
Cut stem end off of Belgian endive. Separate Belgian endive leaves. Wash leaves and gently pat them dry with a paper towel.
Place Belgian endive leaves on a salad plate. Fill leaves with crab salad. Garnish with a sprinkle of Old Bay Seasoning and fresh dill sprigs.
If you’d like a more casual presentation, crab salad is also delicious served with Ruffles potato chips.
Spicy Glazed Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
Makes one dozen
- 8-ounce can whole water chestnuts, drained
- 8 teaspoons Virginia Chutney Company hot peach chutney or red pepper jelly
- 12 pieces precooked bacon
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place bacon strips on a cutting board.
Spread ½ teaspoon hot peach chutney or red pepper jelly on each piece of bacon.
Place 1 whole water chestnut at the end of each piece of bacon. Roll bacon around the water chestnut. Repeat until all water chestnuts are wrapped in bacon.
Place bacon wrapped water chestnuts on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spread a little hot peach chutney or red pepper jelly on top of each bacon wrapped water chestnut.
Bake water chestnuts for 15-20 minutes in a 425-degree Fahrenheit oven. Watch carefully so they do not burn.
Remove from oven and serve with cocktail picks.
Holiday Ruby Sipper
Ashley Cuoco
Holiday Ruby Sipper
Makes one cocktail
Chill champagne flute in freezer for 30 minutes.
- 1 Storied Goods orange zest and cherry sugar cube
- 3 ounces Ocean Spray sparkling cranberry juice, chilled
- 3 ounces champagne, chilled
- Cranberries, ginger beer and sugar for garnish
Place sugar cube in the chilled champagne flute.
Pour sparkling cranberry juice in flute. Stir until sugar cube just begins to dissolve.
Top with champagne.
Garnish with frosted cranberries
Frosted cranberries: Place 16 fresh cranberries in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil and barely cook cranberries (try not to let them burst but if a few burst it is okay). Remove from heat and drain. Cover cranberries with ginger beer and place covered in the refrigerator for an hour. Remove cranberries from ginger beer and roll in sugar. Place on cocktail pick for service.
Hidden Jewel Cheese Balls
Ashley Cuoco
Yield: 20
- 1/3 cup pistachios, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 8 ounces spreadable cream cheese
- 8 ounces soft goat cheese
- 20 seedless grapes (green, red or black or a combination)
- AR’s Hot-Mild Southern Honey
Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Place nuts in a shallow bowl.
Place cream cheese and goat cheese in a small bowl. Mix cheeses with a spoon to combine.
Cut a piece of plastic wrap about 8 inches square. Spoon a tablespoon of the cheese mixture into the middle of the plastic wrap.
Place a grape into the middle of the cheese and wrap it around to coat, shaping into a ball. Drop each ball into the chopped nuts and roll to completely cover the cheese.
Tip from my friend Ashley Cuoco: Instead of using the plastic wrap, use a 1½-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the cream cheese mixture. Press the grape into the cheese filled scoop, then drop the cheese ball from the scoop right into the chopped nuts.
Place cheese balls on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Drizzle cheese balls with AR’s Hot Southern Honey right before serving.
Prosciutto Mozzarella Cherry Pepper Poppers
Ashley Cuoco
Makes 20 pepper poppers
- 1 16-ounce jar pickled cherry peppers, plus brine from the jar
- 1 (4-ounce piece) mozzarella cheese, cut into 20 strips
- 8 thin slices prosciutto, cut into 40 squares
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
Carefully remove the stems and seeds from the peppers, taking care not to split the peppers open.
Wrap each piece of mozzarella in two of the squares of prosciutto. Press the prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella into the cavity of the peppers.
Pack the peppers in a wide mouthed, squat jar or other container that will fit them snugly.
Mix the pepper brine with the Italian seasoning and Italian parsley. Pour the pepper brine over the peppers (to come within an inch of the top of the peppers). Fill jar with enough olive oil to cover the peppers.
Screw the lid on tightly and shake to combine. Marinate overnight (or up to 3 days) in the refrigerator.
To serve, remove peppers from brine and serve with toothpicks.
Tiny Tomato Tarts
Makes 26
Ashley Cuoco
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- ½ sheet Dufour frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1¼ cup finely shredded Asiago cheese
- 3¼ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 7 Sapori sweet cocktail tomatoes or small on-the-vine red ripe tomatoes
- Lemon olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 15 large fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
With a 1½-inch cookie cutter, cut 26 rounds out of the puff pastry. Place the rounds on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Spread approximately 1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard on each of the puff pastry rounds.
Top the puff pastry rounds with approximately 1 ½ teaspoons finely shredded Asiago cheese.
Slice tomatoes into four slices per tomato. If tomato slices are too large for puff pastry rounds, cut into halves or fourths to fit them on puff pastry rounds.
Place a tomato slice on top of cheese on each puff pastry round.
Brush tomato slices with lemon olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Bake tomato tarts for 25–30 minutes in a preheated 375 Fahrenheit oven. Remove tarts from oven and allow to cool.
Place tarts on a serving plate and sprinkle liberally with chiffonade fresh basil. Serve tarts at room temperature.
How to chiffonade basil:
Chiffonade is a culinary technique by which flat, leafy herbs and vegetables are cut into curled strips.
Stack up the basil leaves, with the largest ones at the bottom and the smallest one on the top, and roughly align the stems and tips.
Roll the stacked leaves into a tight cylinder.
Slice the rolled leaves into thin curls using a sharp knife.
*Dufour puff pastry is available in the freezer section of Fresh Market.
*Virginia Chutney Company Hot Peach Chutney is available at Wine Gourmet.
*Storied Goods Sugar Cubes are available at Crystal Spring Grocery and Wine Gourmet.
The story above is from our November/December 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!