Two easy appetizers
The girls’ fall luncheon started with a trio of easy appetizers. Since it was actually early fall, I was inspired by what was currently ripe in the garden or available at local farmstands. Even though the tableau was to be late fall (for the mid-November release of the winter issue of SCENE magazine) I wanted to stay true to what I really do – serve what I can pick right now. By Murphy’s Law, however, it was blazingly hot that day and we were wearing fall-looking Z.Larris cashmere (generously loaned by my friend, Kathi). We tried our best to stay cool!
Here are two of the three appetizers. The more involved open-faced turkey salad sandwich recipe will be posted tomorrow. Before I begin, I want to give credit where it belongs. The fig appetizer was introduced to me by my dear friend, Debbie, (the leftmost blonde in the photos). I always wanted to love figs (because they are so beautiful and exotic) but I never really cared for them until Debbie made these delicious fig halves at a dinner party we attended. This appetizer couldn’t be easier: just 3 ingredients.
Black Mission figs with chevre and basil leaves:
Cut the ripest figs you can find in half, spread* with your favorite creamy goat cheese and top with a basil leaf straight from the garden. The three flavors come together so perfectly and the presentation is really simple and elegant. As my husband would say… “Voila!”
*I actually piped these from a plastic bag with a hole cut in the corner so the presentation would be as clean as possible.
Feta squares with kalamata spread and preserved lemon:
Cut flat squares of feta**, top with kalamata spread (available at Whole Foods) and a quarter slice of preserved lemon (available at Whole Foods and Middle Eastern markets). Again, the flavor combination is lovely and the white/black/yellow starkness is pure visual poetry.
**After sampling almost every feta available in our immediate area, we have concluded the best may be found at Rose Market in Mountain View (thank you Sharon Lesec for bringing us those delicious pounds of feta a few months ago – we’re now officially addicted to the Greek and French varieties!). We visited Greece this summer and marveled at the quality and diversity we found all over the mainland and islands. Our boys even became mini connoisseurs, which was pretty funny. After returning, we didn’t think we’d find something as nice as what we’d encountered overseas. I am very pleased to be wrong about that!
Before I close for today, I want to say thank you to all the December Giveaway posters to date. I am blown away by your passion for the causes you’ve listed! Thankfully I do not have to choose from my heart because I could never pick just one. They are all so worthwhile. Thank you for sharing so much information about them. I am inspired to check into every one to see what we can do to help. Please remember that you have 6 more days to enter! But be sure to go back to the original post because that is where the winning entry will be selected (no other date’s postings!). Happy Holiday Season!
Kathy