I rarely do appetizers until we're having company. But there are a couple I really like when we do a themed meal (Chinese or Mexican) for company.
CRAB RANGOON
Source: Gourmet magazine
Filling
½ lb crabmeat, drained and chopped
½ lb cream cheese, room temperature
½ tsp A-1® Steak Sauce
¼ tsp garlic powder
Wrappers
30 won-ton wrappers
1 egg yolk, well beaten
Oil for deep frying*
Combine crabmeat with cream cheese and seasonings in a medium bowl and
blend to a paste. Place heaping teaspoonful on each wonton. Moisten edges of wontons with egg yolk. Gather the four corners of the wontons together at the top and pinch the edges together to seal. Heat oil to 375ºF. Add wontons in batches and fry until golden brown; about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with Chinese mustard and red sauce for dipping.(opt) Yields 30.
[*Note: I don't deep fry them. I either spray with oil & bake at 375 until golden or just put a small amount of oil in the bottom of a pan & turn them to cook. We don't do anything deep-fried so that's not even an option.]
= = = = = = = = = = =
Apple salsa and cinnamon chips
Cinnamon Chips
4 flour tortillas 7 size
1 Tbl granulated sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Salsa
2 granny smith apples, medium
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 kiwi, peeled and chopped
1 orange, small
2 Tbl packed brown sugar
2 Tbl apple jelly
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray tortillas with water. Combine sugar & cinnamon; sprinkle over tortillas. Cut tortillas into 8 wedges & place in single layer on pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown & crisp. Set on cooling rack. [NOTE: Do not spray both sides of tortilla or you wont be able to get them off the pan.]
Peel, core & chop apples. Slice strawberries & chop kiwi. Place all in small bowl. Zest and juice orange. Add zest, orange juice, brown sugar & apple jelly to fruit mixture. Mix gently. Spoon into bowl & serve with chips.
I have substituted freely in this recipe with great results. Ive replaced the apple jelly with orange marmalade, replaced the kiwi with ½ cup raspberries, replaced both kiwi & strawberries with raspberries, skipped the brown sugar & used canned mandarin oranges with OJ & dried orange zest. Tart apples work best.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
This is a dip that I make when the kids have company & serve with tortilla chips. They really like it - well, the name says it all!
Face First Dip
2 pkg cream cheese or neufchatel
1 c sour cream
1 c salsa, medium
Soften cream cheese. Combine with sour cream. Chop salsa with hand blender. Add to cheese mixture. Blend well.