« | Home | »

Five items: Finger foods

By Ann | December 19, 2007

 

Mark Bittman had a great article in today’s NYT Dining section on 101 simple appetizers in 20 minutes or less. He has lots of good finger food ideas — I particularly like #15 beef tartare, #19 white bean bruschetta, and #38 marinated mushrooms. A few feel like a stretch, particularly #76 hummus (I think we all know the secret to hummus in zero minutes or less), and #101, broiled hot dogs rolled in tortillas (why not just go for the pre-made pigs in blankets?).

The article inspired me to share my own favorite canape, smoked salmon sandwiches, which were adapted from my friend Andrea, who is Scottish (and thus knows a lot about smoked salmon) and also one of my favorite cooking partners. I realize that this recipe borders on Barefoot-Contessa-like assemblage. But if you’re cooking a big meal, or throwing a cocktail party, who wants to mess around? These smoked salmon canapes are easy, prettily pink and festive.

  1. Brown bread (a wholemeal, multi-grain variety)
  2. 1 packet smoked salmon
  3. Butter
  4. Fresh dill
  5. Lemon

Slice the bread thinly. Lightly butter the bread and arrange smoked salmon slices on top. Cut each slice into quarters and arrange on a pretty platter. With kitchen scissors, snip sprigs of dill over each square (the fresh dill is essential — it pairs beautifully with the salmon and makes a lovely green contrast to the pink). Immediately before serving, spritz with a squeeze of the lemon. I also grind the pepper mill a few times over the top, though that makes six items.

The above photo was taken at cocktail hour in Moscow. That’s Russian champagne! (*Not really recommended.)

Topics: Five items | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Five items: Finger foods”

  1. Chris Says:
    December 19th, 2007 at 12:44 pm

    Sometimes I feel I could survive on finger foods, particularly the nuts and olives medley you get at the King Cole bar in New York’s St. Regis hotel. Meanwhile, I’ve been to two parties in the last four days where pigs in blankets have figured prominently, so they must be making a comeback (it’d been years since my previous bite of snug pork). I hereby rank my top five finger foods:

    1. Ann’s smoked salmon sandwiches, as listed above, especially with a frigid scoop of vodka
    2. hummus with wheat pita
    3. Ann’s guacamole
    4. shrimp cocktail with very spicy cocktail sauce
    5. hunks of aged parm with thinly sliced prosciutto, with prosecco accompaniment

    Last point: Great picutre. Is it Moscow?

  2. Bob Says:
    December 21st, 2007 at 1:01 pm

    Speaking of salmon appetizers … for a big party, there’s nothing as easy to make (though it takes a few days of maturing) as Scandinavian gravalox, which I learned one year from a Danish post-doc. Make a 50:50 mixture of sugar:salt. Rub freely (I mean freely) on the flesh and skin side of both halves of a whole fileted salmon. Sprinkle with snipped (or dried) dill. Place salmon on foil-lined cookie sheet. Cover loosely with foil, place another cookie sheet on top and stack heavy canned goods on top to weigh it down. Refrigerate for two to four days. That’s it … except for turning the fish once a day. Drain out all the liquid and slice it thinly …
    I’ve never tried it on a small piece of salmon but it should still work.

Comments

« | Home | »