Proud Italian Cook

20 Ideas, Inspiration and Tips for Antipasto and Small Bites

July 17, 2019 by Marie 7 Comments

This post is meant to inspire you, give you ideas with some tips along the way on creating antipasto platters and small bites for easy entertaining, last minute get togethers, holidays, weekend lunch and Sunday afternoon noshing.

These platters and boards will help you visualize all the different components that you can use in creating them because there is no exact recipe for this kind of eating, the sky is the limit!

This is easy no fuss entertaining, small portions of cured meats, cheese, nuts, crackers, fruit, berries, olives, store bought or homemade spreads and that’s just to name a few.

Small bites can consist of various different crostini, grilled veggies, stuffed mini peppers, honestly there’s no limit, the list can go on and on and the best thing is that it’s always welcome no matter what season of the year it is.

Sometimes you just need a few quality ingredients to make the most perfect and delicious bites, like fresh figs on top of prosciutto with burrata and toasted ciabatta bread.

Here’s a little bit of everything with some of my favorites like soppressata, provolone and black pepper taralli, oh and I can’t leave out my castelvetrano olives.

You can prepare this in advance or arrange it last minute, just serve up your favorite beverage to pair with this and you’re good to go!

You’ve seen those colorful mini peppers, well they make the perfect small bites. The above are filled with goat cheese and herbs, roasted and then drizzled with olive oil, all you need is some crusty bread.

Leftover focaccia bread rounds out this whole board with the other components.

I like using things that are in season, like summer tomatoes and fresh zucchini. I prepared the zucchini carpaccio style, raw with shaved parmesan and dressed with lemon and olive oil.

Grilled artichokes with lemon aioli, these will disappear in a hot minute! We have a love of artichokes in my family.

Your meats should be thinly sliced, sometimes I just order a quarter pound of everything and I can usually make a nice big board, with all the other things added like marinated artichokes, bocconcini and various olives and things to fill it up even more.

Many times just good crusty bread dipped into a simple mix of quality olive oil, a little spice, with a drizzle of balsamic is all you need to satisfy your senses, low effort with unbelievable results and everyone loves it, especially if they have their own individual dish.

Spreads are good too, here I used a spicy Nduja, which basically is a spreadable pork salumi. I also purchased an olive spread and I made a creamy goat cheese spread with pecans, noshing at it’s best!

Roasted eggplant dip, so good and so simple. Prick an eggplant and roast on a foil lined sheet pan until it’s soft, let it cool down then mash in a bowl with garlic, lemon and olive oil. Place into a serving dish and garnish with herbs, olive oil and here I used a swipe of jarred roasted red pepper sauce with a few olives, of course toast up some crusty bread for dipping.

Toasted crostini slathered with smashed peas and burrata was the star of the show here, but just think of the different variations you can make.

Quick lunch? Grab a friselle, ( a hard pre-toasted bread available at Italian markets) and top with a juicy cherry tomato salad with olive oil, fresh hand tied mozzarella, optional!

I always keep a couple of bags of friselle in my pantry, they keep for a long time and when company drops in I can whip something together really fast and top them with different things I might have in my fridge.

Melon wrapped in prosciutto with mixed greens, feta and a rich balsamic dressing, who wouldn’t love this?

Or this?

Or this? I told you I love sopressata, artichokes and those beautiful hand tied fresh bocconcini, if you can find some, grab a big container for sure!

How about some good old store bought fig spread, swipe on some crusty bread with a bit of cheese and an apple slice, the perfect bite!

Thin grilled slices of eggplant topped off with a caprese salad, grab a hunk of bread and a glass of wine, need I say more?

There’s no limit to creating the perfect bite, they’re always crowd pleasing with something for everyone to enjoy. Simple, easy and impressive, fun to make like creating art on a board, the perfect nibble for everyone!

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7 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers, Party Foods Tagged: charcuterie board, crostini bar, eggplant dip, fig, foccacia bread, frisele, prosciutto and melon, small bites

Classic Dutch Baby with Cherries and Amaretto

July 1, 2019 by Marie 6 Comments

Cherry season is upon us and I can’t get enough, I’ve been buying bags of them weekly, mainly just for eating but cherries can be used both in sweet and savory dishes as well and cherries just scream summer to me!

Recently I made this delicious Dutch baby pancake filled with plump fresh cherries, the batter flavored with Amaretto and topped off with toasted almonds.

A Dutch baby pancake is excellent to serve for a special breakfast or even a dessert, and it’s quite simple to put together, it uses basic ingredients and the result is a showstopper presentation. I’m thinking this might be nice to serve for a casual breakfast on the 4th of July.

I have to admit I never owned a cherry pitter before, I thought it was too time consuming and messy to use.

Yes, it could get a little messy, but I found pitting them into a bowl with deep sides minimized the juice from squirting everywhere. It was a little trial and error before I figured that out, but once I did the process went really fast.

Pull the stem out, place the cherry in the little cup holder, plunge the handle down and out pops the pit it’s that easy, and by the way the cherries stay fairly intact.

Take a day, pit the cherries then refrigerate them so they’re ready to go, I even tossed them into a salad the other evening but for something on the sweet side you have to make this dutch baby!

The cherries get swirled around with melted butter spiked with Amaretto liqueur, the smell is intoxicating!

Then the prepared batter gets poured in all around the cherries and then into the oven the pan goes, as it cooks the pancake will puff up really high and then when taken out it settles down and leaves you with this bejeweled looking pancake.

Sprinkle with toasted almonds and powdered sugar.

You can drizzle syrup or honey on top, add whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream.

Either way it’s all amazing!

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5.0 from 2 reviews

Classic Dutch Baby with Cherries and Amaretto

Recipe adapted from Sunset Magazine

Author: Marie

Ingredients

2 cups, pitted fresh bing cherries
¼ cup of butter
1 Tablespoon Amaretto liqueur, or (1/4 to ½ teaspoon of almond extract)
½ cup of toasted, sliced almonds
¾ cup of flour
¾ cup of whole milk
3 large eggs
2 Tablespoons, sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or vanilla
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Heat oven to 425F.
For The Batter:
Whisk together, eggs, flour, milk, salt, sugar and vanilla bean paste until nice and smooth, or you can whizz it in a blender.
In a heavy, 10 to 12 inch oven proof pan like a cast iron, melt the butter on stove top.
When butter is melted add the cherries and the Amaretto liqueur. (or almond extract).
Saute the cherries in the butter and Amaretto for around 2 minutes, stirring them gently.
Pour the batter into the pan with the cherries, then place the pan into the preheated oven.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.
Remove pan from oven and sprinkle with the toasted almonds, the pancake will sink down and settle into the pan.
Slice and serve with syrup, honey, whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

6 Comments Filed Under: Fruit Tagged: amaretto, bing cherries, dutch baby, puff pancake

Perfect Potato Salads for Summer Entertaining

June 26, 2019 by Marie 8 Comments

Way back in 2007 when I started this blog I posted an Italian potato salad, fast forward almost twelve years later ( still can’t believe it’s been that long!) and I still continue to make it.

Italian potato salad is such a classic dish, it’s the perfect side so it’s great for parties, picnic’s and celebrations. There’s no mayo involved so no need to worry about anything spoiling as it sits out at your party.

The photo above is a crowd size amount that I made for a family cookout that I was having. Don’t get caught up on amounts and exact measurements when making this, it’s a simple process it’s all about visual balance and your taste preference as far as seasonings go.

I used those teeny red, white and blue potatoes, I like the different colors, but you can certainly use all red which is more a traditional Italian potato salad.

Since 2007 I’ve changed up my recipe a bit. I always use to boil my potatoes but now I roast them. Don’t get me wrong, boiling is fine but I much prefer the taste of a roasted potato, plus I don’t like the texture of a some what mushy potato, but again, that’s just my preference, but I would encourage you to try it this way by roasting the potatoes, plus I think the presentation looks much nicer.

1. The ingredients in my Italian potato salad are: Roasted potatoes, some sliced, some whole depending on how big they are, roasted at 425F until fork tender.

2. Steamed green beans, I prefer haricort verts, red onion rings, kalamata olives and sliced cherry tomatoes.

3. Place everything into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper, granulated garlic and oregano, taste as you go to your liking.

4. The dressing is: 3 parts olive oil, 1 part red wine vinegar, 1 t. dijon, 1 garlic clove, 1 t.oregano, salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Whisk it up, drizzle and toss. Place the salad onto a nice platter.

Next is my Red, White and Blue potato salad, perfect for the 4th of July! Again I used those teeny colored potatoes and when you cut them in half the vibrant color really shows through.

1.These are roasted as well in a 425F oven, drizzled with olive oil along with chunks of sweet red bell pepper, finished when fork tender.

2. When they become fork tender, which doesn’t take long, toss them into a bowl and add chopped red onion or shallots, snipped chives, sliced scallions, fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste with lots of grated strands of lemon

3.Whisk up fresh squeezed lemon and olive oil for your dressing and pour it all over and toss, as it sits it just gets better and better as all the flavors start to absorb.

Next up is this Grilled Sweet Potato Salad, If you never grilled sweet a potato you’re missing out. Cooking sweet potatoes this way gives them a crisp charred edge and a slight smokiness that contrasts well with the sweetness of the potatoes, it’s delicious and a nice change.

Preheat grill to medium. Peel sweet potatoes and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Place on a grill that has been sprayed with olive oil spray.
Also on the grill add some colored mini peppers and a couple of ears of corn because these will all be added to the salad along with the sweet potatoes. Remove when tender and slightly charred.
When everything cools down, shuck the corn, slice the mini peppers and toss them into a large bowl with some chopped parsley, green onion and arugula.
Arrange everything onto a pretty platter and drizzle with the dressing.
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette: 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 T. apple cider vinegar, 2 T. Dijon, 1 T. honey, 1 garlic clove, whisk all together. Feel free to double or triple the recipe.

All of these potato salads are a nice addition to your summer buffet table, they can sit out safely and they all taste delicious at room temperature, so enjoy!

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