Caramelized onion and blue cheese mini tarts

With many parties on the horizon, new delicious recipes of finger food are always welcome. Last week, we presented a flavorful and healthy shrimp salad on endive leaves. This week and next week, we are featuring tasty amuse-bouches made with puff pastry. This holiday season, you will either be crown “queen of the hostesses” or at the very least, increase your popularity index. So let’s get cooking!

The featured recipe is a caramelized onion and blue cheese mini tart. The blue cheese and 100% puff pastry make these mini tarts quite irresistible. Always try to find premium ingredients, you will never regret it. This recipe is very easy to make and can be prepared a couples of hours before your event. Just top the mini tarts with the arugula salad before serving, and you will be good to go.

Serving plate from Villeroy & Boch's New Wave collection 

Caramelized onion and blue cheese mini tarts
(Recipe for 16 - 20 mini tarts)

1 tbsp of olive oil
1 brown onion, thickly sliced
1 sheet store-brought, ready-rolled puff pastry
1 ¾ Oz (50g) of soft blue cheese, room temperature
1 ¾ Oz (50g) baby rocket (Arugula) leaves
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven at 425˚F (220˚C) and line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil and onion and cook for 3-5 minutes each side or until golden. Use the back of a 2 ½” (6cm) round cookie cutter to cut 16 – 20 rounds from the pastry and place on the baking sheet.

Spread each round with cheese and top with a slice of onion. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Place the rocket and vinegar in a bowl and toss to coat. Arrange on top of tarts just before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Credits
Original recipe from Donna Hay – Entertaining, Issue 46

Salad on endives: a healthy appetizer

Finger food is always a great option for casual events. Although delicious, the gourmet mini-bites may also come with a high calorie tag. For this reason, it is always a good idea when entertaining with finger food, to mix the richer ones with lighter options. Your best ally: the Belgium endive. With only one calorie per leaf and a high mineral content, Belgian endive is the ideal vessel for a healthy appetizer. Its subtle and fresh flavor always provides a delicious counterpoint to any topping.

The featured recipe is a flavorful shrimp and avocado salad on endive leaves. You can prepare the salad in advance and just spoon into the endive leaves just before serving. This light appetizer will greatly complement richer appetizers and will for sure be appreciated by those watching their calorie intake. Fresh and delightful, this shrimp and avocado salad on endive leaves will become one of your favorite ways to entertain your guests. Follow L’esprit Sud Magazine as we will feature other delicious finger food appetizers in the coming weeks.

Shrimp and avocado salad on endive leaves
(Recipe for 24 appetizers)

10 ounces of medium shrimp (about 20 shrimps)
3 tbsp of fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
2 tbsp of finely chopped scallions, plus more, thinly sliced, for garnish
1 tsp of coarse salt
½ firm, ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
3 small Belgian endives
2 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro
Sesame seeds for garnish

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add shrimp, and cook until opaque, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon and let cool. Cut into ¼-inch pieces.

Transfer the shrimp to a medium bowl. Add the lime juice, chopped scallion and salt. Stir to combine and refrigerate at least 30 minutes up to 2 hours.

Just before serving, cut the avocado into ¼-inch cubes, and fold into the shrimp mixture. Add the chopped cilantro. Separate the endive leaves, and arrange 24 on a platter. Spoon about 1 teaspoon onto each leaf. Garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

Notes
This recipe has been adapted from the Martha Stewart Living – December 2009 edition. The original recipe replaced the cilantro with 1 jalapeno chile (Stem, ribs and seeds removed, and finely chopped)

A romantic holidays wedding

What can best represent a romantic holiday wedding than the use of pink roses? Associated with gentility and feminine grace, pink is a popular choice for the sweet, blushing bride. A holiday theme can be easily achieved thanks to the use of some greenery that embodies the spirit of season. One of them is cedar. Cedar has long been a florist's staple for many reasons: it smells wonderfully, lasts forever without losing its needles, and has a soft texture that works formidable well for body flowers and bouquets. So if you are looking for some fashionably ideas for a romantic holiday theme, I may have some interesting options for you.

In this post, I am presenting a hand tied bouquet made with a dozen pink roses, and complemented with spray roses and cedar. The main attraction of this bouquet is created by the use of the Lomey wire collar that isolates the main central rose, and create a luxurious nest. The result is a bouquet that has some strong Biedermeier influence, a style that originated in Germany and Austria during the period from about 1815 to 1848. The popular style of flower arrangement during that period was similar to that in England - tightly massed, round bouquet, with the specificity of being organized in concentric rings, where each ring typically consisted of only variety or type of materials.

Bridal bouquet
12 stems pink roses
10 stems pink spray roses
Cedar
1 Lomey wire collar
1 1/2 yards (150 cm) accent ribbon

Using cedar is an elegant way to create a natural collar for this bouquet while adding a holiday touch to the design.


The Lomey wire collar is creating the focal point by isolating the central rose.


Wedding dress "Roman 158" from Rosa Clara.

For the design featured in this post, I am suggesting two different centerpieces depending on the wedding venue. For a casual wedding, a topsy turvy design will be a good and modern option. By using a tall container*, the centerpiece ends up with inverse proportions where the flower part is much smaller than the container part. This arrangement is really easy to make and reemphasize the Biedermeier design used in the wedding bouquet. A large metallic orb has been sprayed with glue and cover in moss and gold jute (or bullion wire). Large pink roses are organized around the orb and complemented with some holiday greenery and lily grass loops.

* Make sure the tall is waterproof by filling it with water first. If they happen not to be waterproof, place a plastic liner before inserting the foam. To bring down the physical weight, we recommend to fill the container with sand.


Tall centerpiece (Topsy Turvy design)
Tall container
1 plastic liner
1/3 floral foam
Sand
1 large metallic orb
Moss
Spray glue
Jute or bullion wire, gold
7-8 stems of standard roses
Limonium
Cedar
Feather eucalyptus
Lili grass

This topsy turvy design will look great on a casual rectangular dining table. A special thanks to Miriam Somoano, AIFD that demonstrated this design in the certificate program she teaches at Golden West College.

The second centerpiece I am suggesting is an inverted crescent design on a tall candle holder, that would be appropriate for a more formal venue. The shape of the inverted crescent is first created using holiday greenery, then a dozen of open roses are inserted to create lines and texture. Fill the design with spray roses and button mums or limonium.


Candle Centerpiece (Inverted crescent design)
1 tall candlestick
1 long candle (18”)
1 Oasis O’Dapter Holder
1/3 floral foam
12 stems of pink standard roses
10 stems of pink spray roses
Green button mums or Limonium
Cedar
Fir
Holly

For a more elegant venue, tall candle arrangements are always a fashionable option.