Christmas Appetizers!

Very excited about my apps this year.  I'm making an octopus sausage, smoked salmon rolls, and asparagus wrapped in proscuitto.  Better than dinner!

do cocktails count eastshores? i'm working, but later....who knows...me, hubby and a bottle of bubbly...thing about holidays in the restaurant business is that it's every else's holiday, so you kinda have to get it when, where and however you can..it's all good though...

Feliz Navidad y Feliz Ano Neuvo

Paz para el Mundo!!!

joey

you gonna be doin any fiddle playin' today?

KK, tell us more about the octopus sausage; like, a recipe maybe.

Just the two of us here, so I'm not going too crazy. Just made the 18th century equivilent of Scotch eggs: a chicken/ham forcemeat wrapped around hard-cooked quail eggs, dusted in flour and fried. They'll be knapped with a ham gravy.

Having friends over for dinner.  Apps are quick and nothing too fancy.  Smoked trout with chutney and cream cheese and crackers (friends have a trout farm).  Artichoke terrine and baguette.  Assorted cheeses.  Maybe crab cakes if I get around to it.

Dinner is more or less pretty typical Midwest fare:  Pork roast (brined with rosemary threaded through it and coated with olive oil, garlic, pepper, rosemary and grated romano cheese), Portuguese sausage dressing, mashed potatoes, spicy green beans in black bean sauce, homemade apple sauce, pomelo sections and cut up fruit, green salad, cardamom rolls.  Profiteroles filled with homemade ice cream and mocha and caramel sauce for desert.  Assorted wines and a good port (one of the families coming for dinner owns a wine bar and cafe).

I have a turkey in the oven and always use the liver to make small bite size pieces of them simply sauteed in butter and olive oil. Dinner is so heavy and filling I try to keep the hors d oeuvres lighter.

I too want the recipe for the octopus sausage.

Sausage and cheese in Philo cups. 

Pastrami rumaki  (pastrami wrapped around pineapple chunk and doused with terriaki then in oven).

Panchetta and riccotta in puff pastry pockets

Stuffed mushroom cap(seafood dipped in tempura batter and deep fried.)

Marinated Artichokes wrapped in prossuitto or palma ham

The octopus sausage is easy as pie.  Recipe can be found here http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Side/Seafood/recipe.html?dishid=11948  Basically braise the octopus and then separate the legs.  On a piece of plastic lay out the legs length wise all together head to toe.  They'll kind of twist around each other.  Wrap the sausage tightly and leave in the refrigerator overnight.  The octopus naturally coagulates and stays in a sausage-like shape, it's brilliant!  The recipe is from the Cooking channel, from Chuck's Day Off.  I couldn't find a video but it's worth seeing if you can catch it on the tube.

The original recipe is served with a tangy potato salad.  I served it as is, flat on a platter drizzled with olive oil, lemon, balsamic vinegar and some fennel fronds.  It was a big hit needless to say.

pohaku,

spicy green beans in black bean sauce please...if not a recipe per se, maybe you could just hit the high points.... they sound just wondeful...thanks

joey

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangojo 

pohaku,

spicy green beans in black bean sauce please...if not a recipe per se, maybe you could just hit the high points.... they sound just wondeful...thanks

joey

Easy enough.  I use thin, uniform sized green beans and cook them whole.  If you have a Costco near you, they sell them packaged in the reefer section.  Refresh in ice water for 30 minutes.  For 1 pound of beans, stir fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes in a little (very little - 2 tsp) Asian peanut oil (you can use olive oil as well if people have peanut allergy issues).  Turn down heat to med-high and add 2 (tsp) heaping spoonfuls of black bean sauce with garlic (Lee Kum Kee brand is good) and a half (tsp) spoonful of fresh chile paste (Sambal Oelek) or to taste depending on how spicy you want it.  Stir fry for another minute.  Add 1/3 cup of water, stir well, cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Serve.  We like them still crunchy - you can cook them a bit longer if you prefer a softer texture.  You can add minced fresh ginger root to your sauce as well if you like it.  Interestingly, this has turned out to be the single most popular vegetable dish I make.

You can make your own black bean and garlic sauce by mashing salted fermented black beans, sugar and garlic together with a little soy sauce or water. but I usually just keep a bottle of prepared sauce in the refrigerator along with a jar of chile paste for quick meals.

Picture of the Octopus sausage

http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/Koukouvagia1/IMG-20111225-00050.jpg

http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv108/Koukouvagia1/IMG-20111226-00069.jpg

kk,

what sort of condiment do you serve with your 'sausage'?

joey

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangojo 

kk,

what sort of condiment do you serve with your 'sausage'?

joey

There is no condiment, we lay it on a platter and drizzle it with olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar.  Then season with salt and pepper and a few fennel fronds. 

kk, 

just lovely...thank you..just perfect with the olive oil,lemon and s& p...heading to the beach in mexico in a couple of weeks(for a month or two) where there is LOTS of squid available....and inexpensively..i'm so excited to try this, as i love all things seafood.....thanks again...it seems almost more a salami to me...maybe i'll play with it adding peppercorns or fennel or red pepper flakes or chilies, after the first try...again, thanks for the jump start...whoohoo!

joey

one thing...the link you sent doesn't 'link'....so what else you got?

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chuck-hughes/braised-octopus-and-tangy-potato-salad-recipe/index.html

Maybe this link will work?  It really was delicious and a very interesting dish, it's one of those "how did you do that!" dishes.  Next time I will add some spice to the braising liquid as you suggested.  I also would braise it a bit longer than the recipe called for, it could've become a bit more tender.  I was also surprised that it didn't soak up as much of the garlic flavor so maybe next time I can do something with the actual braising liquid, maybe add some tomato, reduce it and make it into a sauce.  The octopus is naturally gelatinous so it becomes a sausage quite easily.  Have fun with it we absolutely loved it.