The DIVA of TINY FOODS: 1/1/09

Saturday, January 31, 2009

SUPER BOWL FOOD - Appetizers, Tapas, H'ors D'oeuvres, Snacks

Having a Super Bowl Party? Need some new and fun Tiny Foods to feed the ravenous hoards? Here's some links to take you through the whole Super Bowl day - from breakfast to dessert! And all finger foods that will wow the crowd.

TO START OFF YOUR SUPER BOWL MORNING:
Egg Strata Squares
Mini Quiches
Sausage Balls
Potato Latkes

DURING THE GAME:
For when some dumb girl says, "is he shooting for a goal?"
Cold Potato Soup Shooters

For the manly man - beef it up:
Tenderloin Tidbits

A little spice for those dull commercials:
Aye Carumba Oye Vey Roll Ups

If you're Super Bowl food has a Tex-Mex theme:
Pico De Gallo
along with:
Mini Taco Salads
Black Bean Salsa Dip

For the purists at your party:
Mini Corn Dogs
Pigs in a Blanket

And the staples of Super Bowl - Nachos, Wings & Pizza:
Taste of the Island Nachos
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Buffalo Wings

FOR THE FOOTBALL WIDOWS
Some Girly Girl Food:
Salad Caprese Skewers

or if they're getting a tad crabby over all the sports:
Crab Angels

if she's still crabby:
Diva Crab Salad

For that after game glow, some Tiny Food desserts:
The 3-Minute Cupcake
Grilled Chocolate Sandwices
Bird's Coral Island Cookies

Now, click on over to The Martini Diva today and get Martini Recipes to go with these munchies!

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If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

Friday, January 30, 2009

FRUIT BRUSCHETTA - Peach-Mango Bruschetta

This is the third in my fruit brushcetta recipes and a favorite because it involves cinnamon toast baguettes. I've loved cinnamon toast my whole life - and this one kicks it up into the gourmet category by topping it off with a peach-mango salsa and some toasted walnuts. Yum.

Perfect for a brunch or an appetizer or just a snack and it goes great with my Peach Martini from TheMartiniDiva.Com.

Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

FRUIT BRUSCHETTA - Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschetta

When I was a kid you couldn't get me to eat figs for any amount of money and I've never been fond of them as an adult either.

This recipe has changed my mind about figs - big time. Combined with the goat cheese and served up as an appetizer (you know me and Tiny Foods), it rocks!

I love the toasted walnuts as a garnish and I usually spend the extra time toasting them in a little brown sugar to carmelize them - that extra sweet crunch is perfect on this Fig & Goat Cheese Bruschetta recipe.

If you've never liked figs - or goat cheese - try this out. I bet you'll change your mind, I did.

If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

FRUIT BRUSCHETTA - Apple-Onion Bruschetta

I got a hankering for a sweet tidbit the other day and decided to try out some new bruschettas featuring fruit. Today I'm posting the Apple and Onion Bruschetta, a sweet and savory little crunch of a Tiny Food. It also includes dried cherries in the recipe and I love dried cherries!

I'm going to be posting the Figs and Goat Cheese and the Peach and Mango Bruschettas tomorrow and Friday so stay tuned!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

PORK CHOPS with Apple Cabbage - can't beat pig!

Oh, okay you can beat a pig - but why on Earth would you want to??

Anyway, try this recipe out next time you find some good pork loin or chops on sale - it is so good. How good is it? Well, I hate cabbage and I love this recipe!

Again, not Tiny Food, but who cares - it's pork! Gotta eat full meals sometime.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

SHERRY CHICKEN POT PIE - Comfort Food

It's rainy here today and I'm in the mood for comfort food today so I'm making my famous Sherry Chicken Pot Pie tonight. I love pot pies and this Sherry Chicken Pot Pie is my very favorite but, let's face it, this is not a Tiny Food.

But, if you insist, you can turn it into one by making the same filling and spooning it into little mini pastry shells of phyllo dough or tart shells. Cut the veggies much smaller too - remember you're spooning the filling into little bite sized shells. Also, you will have to adjust the baking time - maybe 10 - 15 minutes depending on the type of pastry you're using. I would top them off with some nice Parmesan cheese.

I am not a great lover of peas, especially frozen ones, and I always substitute broccoli for peas in my pot pies. I am a lover of cooking sherry and tarragon with chicken though and these ingredients are what makes this pot pie my favorite.
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Don't forget - Valentine's Day is coming up! Check out my latest Valentine Designs at my Easy Greeting Cards Blog and click here for all my print on demand greeting card designs.

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Monday, January 19, 2009

PICO De GALLO - Fresh Tomato-Cucumber Salsa

When I make tacos, fajitas or any other Tex-Mex dish I always make my special Pico De Gallo to go with it as the salsa. I don't like salsas from jars - I love the fresh, crisp Salsa Picada style condiment much better. And it's not hard to make at all!

By the way, some fun food trivia - Pico De Gallo translates into 'rooster's beak':

One of the sources for the name "rooster's beak" could be the beak-like shape and the red color of the chilis used to make it. According to Sharon Tyler Herbst^[1], it is so called because originally it was eaten with the thumb and forefinger, and retrieving and eating the condiment resembled the actions of a pecking rooster. - Wikipedia

You'll see from my recipe card above that I use a good amount of cucumber and cilantro because I love these flavors. You can always play with ingredients in this recipe - salsas are very personal tastes - BUT. . . . .

I developed a new martini (you will love this cocktail!) based on this Pico De Gallo recipe - The Gazpacho Martini, and that recipe really does have to have the cucumber and cilantro! Try it out and serve it with some of this salsa and chips!

VIVA THE ROOSTER'S BEAK!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Carol McManus TABLE TALK COOKBOOK - A Rave Review!

My friend, Carol McManus sent me her new cookbook, TABLE TALK - Food, Family, Love last week and it arrived just in time for me to try out a few recipes on my friends. I immediately started looking at the recipes and chose this one recipe for the entree - the Baked Italian Chicken. On the same page as this recipe was another one for Red Bliss Potatoes and I decided to do these to go with the chicken.

The chicken recipe was so simple and it included some of my favorite things like pesto, parmesan cheese and prosciutto (you know me, anything with pork is good!) Plus the way it's prepared almost guarantees a tender and really moist chicken breast. In fact, I had one extra piece left over and the next day I sliced it up and microwaved it for a minute and it was still running with juices and tender!!! Yeah, seriously - after microwaving!! (Oh quiet down, come on and admit you use a microwave too sometimes!)

I have to tell you this is a dish I'll do over and over again. My friends went nuts over how tender and juicy the chicken breasts were and they loved the crusty, aromatic and yummy finish Carol's recipe gives the chicken. They want the recipe - I'm not giving it to them but I might give them Carol's book as a gift - if they're nice and bring me another bottle of the great chianti they brought for the dinner!

I also loved the Red Bliss Potatoes (though I have to admit I had to substitute Yukon Golds), I love potatoes in almost any form but baked like this with crispy, carmelized skins - yum! And the leftover potatoes (I always cook more than I need) were perfect fried up for breakfast the next day!

Every recipe in this book is one that I'm going to try, the next one will be the Dr. Wheeler's Congo Bars - you should see the photo, it's making me crave chocolate right now!

This book has a recipe for everyone - including the kids - from muffins to meat, breakfast to dinner and there's also cooking tips and food quotes. Not only is this a great addition to anyone's cookbook shelf but it makes a really nice gift!

Take a look at the website - Table Talk Cookbook and grab a copy - if only to get this great Baked Italian Chicken recipe!! No, I'm not going to post the recipe!!! I want Carol to sell a billion books, write another one and send it to me for a review too - I'm selfish that way. Get your own copy!!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Food Presentation, Plating Food - Get Creative!

Food presentation has become an artform of it's own and I thought I would give you some more tips for plating and presenting that you may have not thought of.

Think outside the box and the plate when planning to serve your food and decorate your serving area. I often use things that are not plates at all - if I can get it clean and sterile I'll use some pretty weird stuff for plates. I have some beautiful huge slices of agate I bought just to serve appetizers on, I've also been known to serve finger foods on sheets of steel and diamond plate that I've had laser cut into plate sized shapes. I'll take collections of these and stack them at different levels however I can to give the table some dimension and height too. If I can put it in the dishwasher and sterilize it with hot water and soap then I'll use it to serve food.

I will serve bite sized h'ors d'oeurvres in a martini glass, chilled soup in shooters and even test tubes at Halloween! I have used hallowed out gourds, fruits and veggies for serving dishes and I often spoon mousses and parfaits into espresso cups - not only do espresso cups come with fancy little spoons but the saucer serves as a wonderful little plate for a small cookie!

To decorate my tables I've used flower petals, seeds, rice, beans, confetti and even sterilized sand (for a sea/beach theme) to cover my table instead of or with a table cloth.

When plating your food, instead of placing your starch next to your protein then next to your veggie, try making your potatoes or rice a nice fluffy bed for that chop or filet. Carefully place your starch slightly off center on the plate in a nice pile, balance your protein on top or lean it against the starch and then add your veggies, relish or salad sprinkled artfully over the top. Don't get ridiculous and stack things like the Cat in the Hat though - remember to keep your balance!

All the items on the plate should be edible so please don't put tough sprigs of fresh herbs or garnishes on the plate. If you can't eat it, don't plate it.

Color is a vital element to food enjoyment - add a touch of color with a garnish or a relish or some fun baby greens.

Your sauce or gravy can be an artistic addition - instead of pouring it over or leaving it in a gravy boat, grab a basting brush and brush a healthy portion on the plate before you add your food or drizzle it around the plate in a decorative pattern.

Go forth and have some fun with your edibles - it's no longer verboten to play with your food these days!

Here's some other tips from my post Garnish or Garish?

Here's some great Garnishing Tips and Food Presentation tips from one of my favorite foodie sites.
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Friday, January 9, 2009

SAVORY CHEESECAKE BITES - Cheesecake Doesn't Have to Be Sweet!

Okay, who's with me here - isn't cheesecake just the best food? Cheesecake is what you want when you need to indulge yourself, good cheesecake is like a like a little piece of heaven in your mouth - more divine bouche than amuse bouche for fans of the fluffy cream cheese dessert.

But wait! Does cheesecake always have to be a desssert? Non, mes amis! Certainement pas! No way, Jose! A savory cheesecake can make a wonderful appetizer - a Finger Food of the Gods - delicate, creamy and delectable on the tongue!

Try this recipe that uses sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts as the flavor base and then experiment with some of your favorite tastes. You'll love being able to have cheesecake for dinner or as an h'ors d'oeuvre!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

DEEP FRIED SAUSAGE STUFFED OLIVES, OH MY!

I admit it, I am a little obsessed with stuffed olives. Maybe it's because I am also The Martini Diva™ as well as the Tiny Food Diva, but I just love olives stuffed with stuff!!!

These are not only stuffed with stuff they are stuffed with sausage! Then you batter them and deep fry them! Wow, pork fat, olives and fried foods all rolled into one! Heaven, just heaven, sigh.

Maybe I should have made some art that said Olives instead of Martinis for my lastest product design below??? Or maybe Martinis AND Olives! If you like the art, stop by The PopArtDiva Boutique to get Martini Meds on apparel, gifts and home decor:

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Monday, January 5, 2009

BACON MUSHROOM TRIANGLES

Let's start the New Year off right - with pig! Bacon to be exact! You just cannot go wrong with pork. I can't remember where I found the recipe for these Bacon Mushroom Triangles but they are one of the most delicious appetizers I make.

I love any finger food in puff pastry. Add bacon and you've got me hooked, add mushrooms and I'll follow you anywhere!

Need a little laugh after all those New Year's Resolutions you just made (and probably wont' keep)? My New Year's Resolution Martini is now up at The Martini Diva - go have a giggle!

If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!
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My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!