Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

Easy Party Hors D’oeuvre

For June 2012

When the weather turns warm, it’s time to relax, not fuss over food. But if you entertain you’ll need some hors d’oeuvre for that summer cocktail or pool party or to nibble on with drinks before you put the burgers on the grill for your guests.

A caterer can be expensive and those open bin salad bar items –olives, marinated artichokes and mozzarella balls – served plain, are beginning to be a tired choice by now. Ditto cheese and crackers.

So if you’d like to be a little more creative, keep costs down and not spend endless time cooking, consider these tips that will make things easier. You might even have much of what’s needed in your fridge or cabinets; the other ingredients involve a quick trip to the supermarket. Although some recipes are provided, most of the suggestions here don’t give amounts, freeing you from specific quantities. Mix and adapt the ingredients to your liking.

Use versatile ingredients effectively.

Smoked salmon, for example. You don’t have to buy the gorgeous slices at $30-ish dollars a pound. Get the much less expensive scraps some stores sell in the little plastic containers (ask at the deli counter). Mince the fish into tartare and place it on Melba rounds, sliced baguette bread or thin cucumber or zucchini slices. Or place the scraps in a food processor with cream cheese, scallions, lemon juice and dill to make a creamy spread for crudités or crackers.

The same goes for boiled shrimp, which are fine as is, and shrimp are frequently on sale somewhere. If you cook the fish yourself it’s a lot cheaper, and although you can often ask the fishmonger to remove the shells and veins, it’s not that difficult to do at home and saves you a lot of money.

One size of shrimp is as good as another, so you don’t have to spend the extra cash on the largest ones. Boil up some water with a slice of lemon, add the shelled, deveined shrimp, turn off the heat, cover the pan and let the fish cook until firm and pink (about 5 minutes for size 20-24/pound). Rinse under cold water and refrigerate them until you’re ready to use them.

Almost everyone loves boiled shrimp with classic red sauce but try a different dip: mix mayonnaise, grated lemon peel, a few squirts of lemon juice and chopped chives or dill. Or mayo plus non-fat yogurt with some Harissa or Sriracha sauce. Or make a dip with guacamole plus chopped tomatoes and a bit of horseradish. An herbal vinaigrette will also do for shrimp: coat the fish, add a grape tomato and skewer both to make a kebab (add a mozzarella cheese ball, cucumber slice or avocado chunk if you wish).

Roasted red peppers can also be dressed up quickly and easily. Chop them into tiny pieces and place on top of a crisp cracker slathered with goat cheese garnished with a caper or tiny, pitted Nicoise olive. Or wrap strips of roasted pepper around pepperoni slices, secure with a toothpick or place on a skewer as a kebab.

Make some quick “wraps”

Thin slices of Genoa salami can be put to good use here. Smear them with gorgonzola cheese (optional: add a sliver of roasted red pepper, chopped olive, chopped toasted almonds or chopped hard-cooked egg) and roll them up. Place all the rolls, seam side down on a platter. Or process sun dried tomatoes or marinated artichoke hearts with cream cheese and grated Parmesan cheese and spread this mixture on the salami before rolling.

Wrap cooked asparagus spears with thinly sliced ham or prosciutto (add a bit of Dijon mustard).

Use large arugula leaves to wrap roasted pepper or a slice of prosciutto, add a thin sliver of Parmesan cheese or some crumbled blue cheese, sprinkle with Balsamic vinegar and roll. Or do the reverse: use slices of prosciutto or plain boiled ham or even slices of smoked salmon to wrap arugula leaves and cheese.

Wrap crumbled blue cheese (or feta or goat cheese) inside large Medjool dates; garnish the top with crumbled toasted almonds or coconut.

Make a variety of bruschetta toppings

A do-it-yourself “bruschetta bar” makes it easy for you and fun for your guests. Place sliced, toasted baguette bread and crackers in a bowl alongside one or more bruschetta toppings. Guests spoon the mixture onto the bread or crackers themselves. The added bonus is that this keeps the bottoms from becoming soggy. Some quick and easy toppings include: canned beans mixed with crumbled cheese (blue, feta, goat) and a sprinkle of olive oil, wine vinegar and fresh herbs; chopped tuna, sardines or salmon plus olives and chopped tomatoes, drizzled with vinaigrette; chopped tomato, grated provolone cheese, olive and fresh basil mixed with some olive oil; chopped olives (use different colors), chopped peppers, capers and chopped parsley (sprinkle with lemon juice).

Kebabs can be handy

Kebabs can be as simple as skewered fresh cut up fruit on fancy toothpicks. There’s no need to cook. You don’t need special skewers either, although you can buy them cheaply and they are easier to use than toothpicks. Here are some simple foods you can line up for kebabs: chorizo chunks with cut up melon, peaches or nectarine (serve as is or brush with vegetable oil and fresh herbs and grill them quickly for hot hors d’oeuvre); mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes and basil leaves (sprinkle with vinaigrette); Prosciutto (or smoked salmon) wrapped mozzarella cheese; semi-soft cheese (such as Fontina) plus cut up fruit (if you wish, you can brush these with a film of vegetable oil and sprinkle with a hint of nutmeg and cayenne pepper); cooked mussels or clams served with mayo dip (add chopped fresh chives and lemon juice to mayonnaise); cooked beef chunks with hoisin dip (mix hoisin sauce with some chopped ginger and garlic, add water to achieve dip consistency); cooked chicken chunks with yogurt dip (mix plain yogurt with lemon juice, cumin and garlic).

Don’t forget the dips

Dips are musts for parties. Not only can you make them ahead, but also, when placed strategically around a room or outdoor deck, a dip spreads the people out too, making the place feel less crowded. In addition, with a dip, a lot goes a long way. You can make your own hummus, guacamole, salsa, tzadiki, pesto and so on. But for a change of pace, consider Parsley Pesto (which you can make in bulk and also use as a marinade for grilling beef, fish or chicken) or a chutney cheese dip (mix cream cheese, crumbled blue cheese, plain yogurt, mango chutney and some cumin) or a fruit salsa (mix finely chopped mango, pineapple and papaya with red onion or scallion, chili pepper, olive oil and lime juice).

Don’t forget the time honored standbys

The reason that foods like devilled eggs and marinated mushrooms continue to please is that they are pleasing, not just easy. You can jazz up devilled eggs by adding any number of flavor enhancers to the yolk-based filling: chutney, crumbled bacon, cooked crab, caramelized onions, Balsamic vinegar or chopped smoked salmon and capers. As for those mushrooms, instead of sticking to the plain old white button mushrooms, use more flavorful Portobellos or shiitakes.