Call For Recipes – Quick and Easy Hors D’Oeuvres for Holiday Entertaining

In December 2023, TILife’s copy editor, Elspeth Naismith, presented "Call for Recipes!" The article showed a tea towel that hangs proudly in her kitchen and which provides the ingredients for a "Traditional 1000 Islands Shore Dinner," written by the late Les Cook, renowned Canadian fishing guide.  Elspeth suggested that our River communities have many farmers, restaurants, store keepers, and yes, both year round and summer residents who have favourite recipes that all have special River meanings.

Elspeth wrote:  . . . "Thousand Islands Life" is asking our readers to share their favourite River recipe with us. Tell us about the recipe, why it’s special, and why it reminds you of the River. Is it something that you only make at a specific time of the year? Is it a dish that you only make when you’re on the River?"

This month Elspeth provides three of her own favourites at holiday time!

The Christmas season inevitably means some degree of entertaining – whether you’re hosting or you’re a guest who is contributing to the festivities. Here are three of my favourite hors d’oeuvres that are quick, easy, can be made ahead easily, and which will keep for several days. Enjoy!

Crab and Cheese Crostini

Yield: 30 appetizers

I honestly don’t remember where I found this recipe, only that I’ve been making it for years. It is best made in advance – buy the baguette at least a day ahead.  You can make this several days ahead – see the Notes below for other hints and tips.

Ingredients:

• 1 large baguette (good quality)
• 300 g (10 oz) crab meat (flaked or chopped)
• 2 ml (½ tsp) grated lemon rind (I used a generous 1 tsp)
• 15 ml (1 Tbsp) fresh lemon juice
• 60 ml (¼ cup) sour cream
• 30 ml (2 Tbsp) each chopped parsley and chopped chives (or green part of green onions)
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ tsp cayenne (or smoked paprika) or to taste1 tsp dry mustard powder or to taste
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut baguette into 30 (or so) 1 cm (½ inch) slices. Place on a large baking sheet and bake until lightly browned and crisp, ~5 – 7 minutes – watch them closely since they can go from lightly browned to dark brown in seconds. Remove from sheet and let cool.

Combine crab, lemon rind and juice, sour cream, chives, and parsley in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add cayenne (or smoked paprika) and dry mustard, to taste. What you taste is what the mixture will taste like.

To assemble, make sure that you’ve let the cream cheese soften by letting it come to room temp. Spread a spoonful of softened cream cheese on each bread slice, and then top with a spoonful of the crab mixture.

NOTES:

1. Thinly slicing a fresh baguette is a challenge. Buy the baguette the day before, so that it’s slightly stale and therefore easier to slice.
2. Don’t let the bread slices get too brown, but they need to be crispy, so that they don’t get soggy once you’ve added the cream cheese and crab.
3. The crab mixture is fairly bland without something besides salt and pepper. Dry mustard and cayenne or smoked paprika will give it some “zing.” Add a little at a time and taste as you go. Old Bay seasoning would probably work well too. Feel free to adapt the spices and spiciness to your own tastes.
4. You can make this ahead; store the totally cooled toasted bread slices in an airtight container (I use a zip lock bag, since you can get all the air out). Store the crab mixture in a covered container in the fridge, until it’s time to assemble the crostini. I seal the surface of the crab mixture with a piece of plastic wrap, to reduce contact with the air. Remember to let the cream cheese soften at room temperature about 30 minutes in advance of assembly.

Marinated Feta and Olives

Serves:  6 – 8    Active time: 10 mins   Marinating time:  1.5 hrs

This recipe is an adaptation from a number of sources, which I’ve fiddled around with over the years. The beauty of this recipe is that it’s easily adapted to your tastes. Don’t skip adding the fresh oil at the end though – it does give the flavour a fresh boost, after the oil has been heated. Marinated olives and feta can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving. Have toothpicks or little cocktail forks available to make it easier for people to spear the cheese and olives. I often put a spoon or small ladle in the dish, so people can drizzle the oil over their bread.

Ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 1/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh oregano
• 2 – 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 12 oz feta cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups pitted green olives, coarsely chopped or just flattened/lightly crushed
• Crusty bread, for serving

Instructions:

Toast the cumin seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat, shaking the pan, for about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the oil, the oregano, garlic slices, orange zest, and pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and cook until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes.

Place the feta and olives in a medium bowl, pour the warm marinade over top, and toss gently to combine. Cover and let sit until mixture reaches room temp,  about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the last 1/4 cup oil before serving. Serve with crusty bread, either sliced or in chunks, for dunking into the oil.

Notes:

1. I recommend using either sheep or sheep and goat milk feta – it’s creamier and usually less crumbly than cow milk feta, so it holds its shape better. However, use what you can find.
2. I like a combination of green olives – Castelvetrano, Cerignola, or other green olives – along with kalamata olives. Again, a combination is nice, but use what you can find. Just make sure that they’re pitted. I usually just flatten or crush the olives rather than chopping, but you could do both.

Spiced Nuts

Adapted from The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Yield: about 4 cups

Ingredients:
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tablespoon cold water
• 3/4 – 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and mace
• 4 cups mixed nuts – walnut halves, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, pecans, or other nut(s) or seeds of your choice, in roughly equal amounts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250°F.

In a bowl large enough to hold all the nuts, beat the egg white with the cold water. Sift the sugar and spices into the egg mixture, and then toss nuts in the mixture to coat thoroughly.

Spread the nuts onto lightly oiled cookie sheets and bake for at least 1 hour. Cool, then turn onto waxed paper, separating them out to dry completely. Store in glass jars once fully cool and dried.

Notes:

1. Keep an eye on the nuts to ensure that they don’t burn or get too browned, turning the sheet if your oven has hot or cool spots.
2. Instead of using the spices listed, you could just use 1 Tablespoon each fine kosher or sea salt and black pepper. Or make a blend of your favourite herbs and spices, such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, bell pepper, and orange peel. Feel free to experiment!

By Elspeth Naismith

Elspeth Naismith grew up in Gananoque, graduated from McMaster University in Hamilton (B.Sc (Bio)), and then from Centennial College as an RN. She also joined the Naval Reserve (thanks to a high school chum), and after spending time on both east and west coasts, she took a break from nursing and accepted a 3-year posting to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. The "break" turned into 25 years, and included jaunts to East Germany, Wales and the Irish Sea, and Bosnia. She retired from the Navy in 2011 and moved back to Gananoque in 2013.

Today she not only leaves her mark on all TI Life articles, as she is the "Real Editor", "Comma Queen" and "overall lifesaver" but she is also an official recipe tester for America's Test Kitchen.]

Posted in: Volume 19, Issue 12, December 2024, Recipes, Current