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!

Culinary Tour - Market Street Sweets

The next stop on the tour was to Market Street Sweets, which is famous for their pralines. They originated in Savannah, started by a mother and daughter who wanted to open a gift shop that turned into a candy store. If you aren't from the South, you probably haven't heard of a praline. This is usually pecans that are coated with a sugar syrup. I have never had a praline before and for some reason thought that they were soft, but they are a somewhat hard candy. These are very sweet and the coating seemed to have a touch of maple to it. The nuts were still crunchy and I am glad that I got to try my first praline, but it was honestly a bit too sweet for me and I wanted to the coating to be a bit softer. However, if you never had one before you should definitely try it because you might really enjoy it, but at least you can say that you tried it.

They are also known for their fudge and melt-in-your-mouth caramels. The open kitchen at the back of the store beckons you in with the intoxicating aroma of chocolate and caramel, but more importantly it is where all the magic happens. The copper pot in the photo is very old and is used to make the sugar syrup for the pralines. Here we got to sample, the caramel, chocolate fudge, cheese zingers, sweet and spicy pecans, and bear claws. The cheese zingers were like a spicy Cheez-It, but had a much better cheese flavor.

The sweet and spicy glazed pecans had a touch of smokiness to them, but the powdered sugar coating helped balance out the flavors. The last thing that was on the sampler platter was a bear claw. When I think of bear claws, I think of a pastry, however that's not traditionally what it is. It is a cluster of pecans and caramel topped with chocolate. I am actually quite a fan of this type of bear claw and it's probably good I didn't figure out what the real thing was sooner. In case you want to make a purchase, you can order something online so you don't have to worry about it melting or if you want to try it and aren't near one of their locations. It is a great place to get some really decadent, homemade treats. Next stop on the tour - barbecue!

Sugar and Spice

Everyone loves a great snack mix, but most of the time I find that they are usually way too salty. I was thinking about what I could eat for a snack because I wanted something slightly sweet, but also savory and somewhat healthy. I decided it was time to visit my favorite search engine, Pinterest. A quick search took me to this recipe for a sweet and spicy nut mix from myrecipes.com. What was even better was that it's totally easy and you can pretty much throw whatever you want in it. I would probably add some pretzels to it, but I have a non pretzel lover in my life, so I left them out.

There are basically four simple steps to this. First, mix all the spices together to create the most amazing smelling spice mixture you will ever encounter. As a side note...this might also be a fantastic dry rub, so maybe I'll try it out and let you know how it goes. Second, whisk an egg white until foamy. Toss nuts in the egg white and sprinkle with the spices. Toss and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet. It's amazing how the egg white creates this delicious coating on the nuts that cover them in a little bit of sugar, but provides the spicy kick that everyone craves. It's hard to tell in the picture, but I promise these aren't hum drum nuts!

There will be this very tempting aroma drifting through your house when you take them out of the oven. But...make sure you resist just long enough until it has cooled down, and then dig in! This is the perfect snack to have at your next get together, as it is sophisticated and full of flavor. Don't bother putting it in a bowl because it probably won't last long. This super simple recipe is almost like a neutral piece of clothing that can be dressed up or down to match whatever mood you are in. You can control the flavor profile so that you don't end up with just a salty taste. Try it out and let me know what you use and how you make it your own!

Munching on Menchie's

I am a huge fan of dessert, especially ones that are on the healthier side. Frozen yogurt seems to be the hot new treat, so I am always up to comparing the available options. My most recent frozen yogurt outing took me and a friend to a place called Menchie's. How can you not love a really fun, brightly colored yogurt scoop as the mascot? This concept is unique because they have lots of rotating flavors. They also have two different topping bars. One has healthy options like fruits and nuts and the other has less healthy, but just as yummy treats, like sprinkles and gummy bears. Plus, they have sauces like hot fudge and marshmallow, which are not available at the other places I have been to. One other really unique thing is that they have waffles bowls available. As a bonus they have waffle bowl Wednesday where you can get a free waffle bowl. What's not to love about that?! They have a great rewards program where you earn smiles which count towards coupons, making everything sweeter. Stop by Menchie's to beat the heat and customize your own frozen yogurt concoction.