Sur La Table Demo: Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers

I haven't taken a cooking class recently, but when I saw that Sur La Table was doing a demo, I figured that it might be beneficial. This demo was for easy Thanksgiving appetizers. The menu started off with a quinoa fritter topped with a lime mayo and smoked salmon. This is a much more creative option than doing crackers and cheese. The fritter was made with eggs, flour, shallots, spices and quinoa. You could also make these into patties for a different alternative to a burger if you don't want to do bite sized fritters. The key is to make sure that the edge is golden brown before you turn them. To make the mayo, it was mayo, lime zest and lime juice. I would use plain nonfat greek yogurt instead of the mayo. It was simple and fresh but brought out the flavors in the smoked salmon. The chef mentioned to read the recipe all the way through because sometimes will list the juice before the zest and once you juice something, you can't really get the zest. The crunchy outside kept the quinoa tender and the creaminess of the mayo with the smoked savory created a wonderful array of flavors.

Next on the menu was honey mustard palmiers. A palmier is a pastry that has been rolled into the shape of an elephant ear. You might be a bit scared of a making a pastry because I know I was a bit leery of it. However, you use a piece of store bought puff pastry and roll it out to makes the pastry a bit thinner. (Much more manageable than making your own!) This uses a combination of honey and Dijon mustard to make your own honey mustard. The chef also said that you could use grainy mustard which I think would be even better. Than you brush on the honey mustard, top with prosciutto and parmesan cheese. Roll each side to the middle and then slice and refrigerate. The best part is you can store them like this so all you have to do is brush with an egg wash and then back. Another kitchen tip I learned what that milk can also be used in place of an egg wash. These palmiers had a touch of sweetness and some salt from the cheese and prosciutto. The crust was nice and flaky and these seemed to be much easier then I thought. The only thing is that there is some waiting time for the dough to chill. If you are serving these, I would say make these in the morning and get them all ready to bake while other things are in the oven.

The last appetizer that we tasted were spiced nuts...and yes, these nuts had a good bit of kick to them but thy were a little bit addicting.  If you have never made coated nuts before, they are actually quite simple to make. All you need is an airy egg white, nuts and a spice mix. Toss it all together in a bowl and then bake. The most difficult thing is to make sure that you don't let the sugar over caramelize. If you begin to smell the nuts and the sugar than then, they are done. Baking them on a Silipat is helpful because it will prevent the nuts from sticking to the pan. These demo class was really great and though you don't get to do any of the cooking, sometimes it's helpful to get new ideas (that have been tested) and of course getting to taste is always fun!