Easy Appetizer Trays

Appetizer trays are easy and well loved by snackers the world over.
There are three main types: savory (usually sliced meats and cheeses), vegetable (celery, carrots, broccoli, etc) and fruit (apple, orange, etc).
When doing the shopping for the rest of your ingredients, make sure and grab some extra ingredients for snack trays. Snacks keep guests entertained, lower blood sugar levels and soak up early alcohol ingestion. In short, snack trays keep antsy guests busy, hungry guests sane and help the festivities on into the night.

Spicy Creole Corn (Corn Maque Choux)

Ingredients:

1 can Corn
1 can Tomatoes, diced
1 Habanero Pepper, diced (use less for a milder recipe)
1/4 cup Green Bell Pepper, diced
1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 cup Onion, diced
1/4 cup Celery, diced
3 large cloves of Garlic, chopped OR 2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Salt

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped Green Onions and 1 cup Cream Cheese. Add to the Creole Corn after cooking and stir together well. This makes a great dip for parties.

Quick, No Egg Waffles

 These are a nice, light waffle that can be eaten with or without sweet toppings. They are also made without using eggs! So, if you want a little something more for breakfast but don't have any eggs on hand, this is the recipe for you.

Creamy Rucola/Arugula Ciabatta Pizza



Check out the YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/eaMi1bxM6qc

 This is a really nice snack that is easy to make. The recipe produces a ciabatta pizza that is roughly the size of a normal medium pizza. Serves 2-3 people. 
Ingredients: 
> 400-500 g of rucola (it will reduce down as you cook it, similar to fresh spinach)
> 1 loaf of ciabatta (at least ten inches by 4 inches. It's also possible to use the small 4in buns, but I find that these are more work), sliced longways.
> 4 Tbl cream cheese 
> 1 Tbl butter 
> 1 tsp salt, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil; 1/2 tsp white pepper. This is your pizza seasoning base for the rucola spread.
> 50-100 g sliced salami, ham, pepperoni, etc. This is to your taste. For veggie lovers you can opt out of the lunch meats altogether. 
> 1 sliced sprig of green onions, 2 medium mushrooms, 1/4 bell pepper, etc. Again this can be to your own preference. Meat lovers can throw the veg our completely if they like, although I would recommend the green onions as they complement the rucola nicely. 
> 100 g slice cheese. I like a lighter cheese on mine, but cheddar is always acceptable.

Meats vs Veggies: The Adventure that got it All Started

Check out the original meats vs veggies argument that stirs up so much creativity in the kitchen around here:

http://justlocalmarketfoods.blogspot.de/

Marinades: Italian Salad Dressing

Watch the YouTube video here!

https://youtu.be/bAkwll7eG0E

Yes, that's right. Italian Salad Dressing.

It makes a great emergency dressing when you have under an hour to marinate the meat. The only drawback? It's not all that great on red meats. My best results have been with pork and chicken. Chicken in particular takes to Italian dressing very well, but I have also successfully used this dressing on white fishes and shrimp. Please, don't ruin good crab with a hasty marinade - similar to good beef cuts. Take the time to do them right, or don't do them at all. Stick to favorites like hamburgers and crab cakes and buy the cheaper meats if you don't have time to marinade overnight and then stand in front of a grill all day.