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appetizers

Appetizers Inspired by Travel!

June 27, 2022 By kimwheeler 12 Comments

Say summer and I think of travel! Even though we haven’t gone far this summer, I’ve so enjoyed seeing people’s travel posts again after the past two years of quarantine. They are bringing back wonderful memories of sweet places in the world I hope to get back to someday- like England, Italy and France, and the Netherlands- and others that are still on my bucket list!

Last Friday I met my ‘Weekend Meanderings’ pal Juliet for a working lunch up in adorable Danville and she made us reservations at the most authentic and charming restaurant for lunch, Locanda Ravello. They describe themselves as ‘a slice of the Amalfi Coast in the heart of Danville’. Are you already enchanted? I had the caprese salad and it came with heirloom tomatoes and a heavenly burrata topped with pesto. I don’t think I have enjoyed a meal so much ever and could not stop talking about it to my husband.

Then Saturday we went to the new Eataly Silicon Valley, a three story Italian food extravaganza which was mind blowing. Coincidentally at the same time, I’ve also been enjoying the fun, ‘How to be Italian,’ book that I wrote about on last weekend’s blog.

So when Annie asked me to join this group, you could say that Italy was top of mind. My first thought was how to recreate that fabulous lunch in an appetizer size?

Caprese Bites

For my mini version, simply slice a medium or smaller size baguette diagonally, rub each with the cut side of a garlic clove, layer in a baking tray, drizzle with a fair amount of olive oil, malden sea salt, and toss with your hands to coat the slices. Lay out flat and toast in the a 400 degree oven until slightly golden on edges, but still a bit chewy, about 8 minutes. The key is to take them out while they are a bit crunchy yet with a chewiness, not crisp hard.

When cooled, top each slice with a slice of tomato, (garden or farmer’s market variations are the best tasting), a slice of fresh mozzarella, and a small dollop of pesto. I used Trader Joe’s Kale, Cashew, Basil Vegan Pesto, which was a first and it’s pretty good. You could also make your own, or in a pinch just add a fresh basil leaf. I tucked basil leaves around the dish. To recreate the look from wonderful Locando Ravello, you could add green olives and arugula.

It would be beautiful on one of those hand-painted Italian platters. Since I don’t have that, I opted for this long oval Torino Platter I love from Hudson-Grace.

I just happened to take these out when Max finished work and Griffin’s friends came by. The feedback was positive, so that made me happy! Obviously the better your tomatoes are, so will these bites be. I have been loving the darker red/green Kumato tomatoes from Trader Joes and those seemed to make the best versions of the bites. Highly recommend them!

Some things you may need..

Now please go see what delicious appetizers my friends are sharing on these blogs…


Most Lovely Things

My Sweet Savannah

Sheri Silver

Thanks for being here!

Kim

If you still have travel on the brain, you may enjoy this post with my travel essentials..This is one of my most read posts, A Guide to Traveling Abroad with Kids and my most popular post, What to Pack for Carmel and Monterey, that I update frequently.

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Filed Under: appetizers, Uncategorized Tagged With: #appetizers, #californialiving, #caprese, #hudsongrace, #italianfood, #italy, #travel, #travelinspired

Labor Day Dishes to Share- Asian Noodles & Appetizers

August 31, 2013 By kimwheeler No Comments

Happy Labor Day Weekend! The official end of the American summer is here. It seems everyone has deserted town for that last three day getaway before fall.  We love staying in town on those weekends and enjoying the extra time for gatherings with friends and family.

Thank you Jen for this fab plate!
I’m not a big entertainer, but I have found having a small repetoire of go to dishes takes the stress out of it. If I am hosting here or bringing a dish to a party I usually do an appetizer plate with olives, herbed salami, honeyed goat cheese, rosemary crackers, and grapes or figs, depending on what’s in season. I’m all about it being pretty and I have a beautiful plate from my friend Jen that I love to use for this. I also like tiny ramekins to hold the items and cute cheese knives.
 One of my best go to side dishes for get togethers is an Asian noodle salad. I have been meaning to share this for a while per a few requests. This is my Aunt Wendy’s recipe and she and my grandmother love entertaining big groups. Some of her and grandmother’s recipes serve 100! No one goes away hungry from a Fleming gathering! Everyone loves this and even my friends call this Aunt Wendy’s noodles.
The great thing about this salad is it’s easily doubled and tripled. I keep the ingredients on hand most of the time. The only thing fresh it needs is cilantro. In it’s basic form it feeds up to 10. Wonderful to bring to a big gathering if you double it.  I thought this would be a good one for Labor Day should you need a dish to bring along…

Asian Noodle Salad

1/2 C cooking oil (I use canola or any basic oil.)

6 T sesame oil  (Try to get toasted if you can.)

1/2- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Stir these 3 items over medium heat for a minute or so. Off the heat and add:

6 T honey

1/4 C soy sauce

2 tsp. salt

Put mixture aside. Cook 1 pound angel hair pasta, drain, toss with oil mixture. Ideally, let refrigerate overnight or cool for a while then add just before serving:

1/2 C chopped peanuts

1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 T toasted sesame seeds

This dish can be changed to your tastes. My aunt also adds green onions and about a teaspoon more of pepper than I do which makes it a lot spicier.
I guarantee you will have a lot of fans for this dish!

 Wherever you are, I wish you a beautiful last summer weekend!

Thanks for reading!

Kim

Thanks Aunt Wendy for the recipe! xxoo

Filed Under: appetizers, Asian Noodle Salad for a crowd, entertaining, food

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