Monterey Jack Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Monterey Jack Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Any cheese will work for this recipe, but in Monterey County California I use our local Monterey Jack for this easy recipe that tastes great with beer.

I use mustard to make it, because it is part of the brassica family of plants, which includes cabbage and broccoli.  I thought Dijon mustard was a hidden French cure for colds for this reason when I lived in Paris, France.  Paprika is made from smoked peppers, which are high in Vitamin C.  So, this simple hors d’oeuvres packs in a lot of cold fighting ingredients.

In any case, I have developed a liking for mustard now that I am older.  (By the way, Mecca Delicatessen in Marina has German mustards that range from sweet to hot that taste great with the Polish kielbasa sausage you can buy there.)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

-1/4 cup Heinz® mustard

-8 slices of your favorite toast

-1 teaspoon Paprika from Szeged, Hungary per slice toast fourth

Steps:

1-Spread mustard on toast.

2-Place grated Monterey Jack on top of toast.

3-Place toast in a microwave and cook for 1 minute

4-Slice toast into fourths.  Place paprika on each toast slice. 

5-Place toast pieces on a tray and serve.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Tomato and Blue Cheese Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Tomato and Blue Cheese Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

When I lived in Detroit (Michigan) as a teenager, I thought canned tomatoes were absolutely sunshine in aluminum during harsh winters. 

You can use any kind of bread for your toast, but it is nice to know that even white bread with tomatoes is a vegetarian protein combination.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 (14.5-ounce) can drained diced tomatoes

-1/4 cup blue cheese dressing

-1/4 cup chipped blue cheese

-8 slices toast

Steps:

1-Mix tomatoes, blue cheese dressing, and blue cheese together.

2-Spread salad dressing on toast and cut in fourths.

Serve with a somewhat sweet chardonnay musqué as a nice starter for a main dish with fish.

Bon Appétit!

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Tunafish and Olives Hors d'Oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Tunafish and Olives Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

This simple hors d’oeuvres is salty and tastes great on hot, humid summer days.  You can use inexpensive tuna fish or ahi tuna to make this dish. 

I would serve this hors d’oeuvres with a somewhat sweet chardonnay musqué in Monterey County California to start a meal.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-2 (5-ounce) cans tuna fish packed in water

-1/4 cup mayonnaise

-1 teaspoon Tabasco™ sauce

-1 (6-ounce) can drained California black olives

Steps:

1-Drain tuna fish of water.  Mix tuna fish with mayonnaise and Tobasco™ sauce

2-Place tuna mix on toast.  Cut toast into fourths.

3-Top tuna fish squares with drained California black olives.

Bon Appétit!

By Ruth Paget, Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Egg and Ham Toothpick Hors d'Oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Egg and Ham Toothpick Hors d’Oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

I read a cookbook called Pintxos by Gerald Hirigoyen, a San Francisco restaurant owner from the Spanish Basque country, who wrote that the Basques like tapas that are more substantial than those from Andalusia and created pintxos. 

Pintxos seem to have a protein and “vegetable” and come delivered on a toothpick.  I created this pintxo and drank it with white Lillet on the rocks when I lived in Stuttgart, Germany.  Lillet is rather sweet.  In Monterey County California, I would drink this with Chardonnay Musqué.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-2 hardboiled eggs into fourths

-8 slices Spanish ham

-8 pitted green olives

-8 toothpicks

Toothpicks:

1-Place toothpicks in the center of a layered piece of salty, Spanish ham to form the bottom of the pintxo.

2-Place egg sections on top of the ham

3-Place pitted green olives on top of the egg sections.

4-Slide food off the toothpick all at once for a savory bite to go with a sweet, white wine.

Bon Appétit!

By Ruth Paget, Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Deviled Eggs Hors d'Oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Deviled Eggs Hors d’Oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

These eggs are sloppy and meant to be that way.  When you refrigerate them, they solidify into a savory bite that tastes great before a main dish of fish and potatoes.

Egg cookers use very little water and give a perfect result every time.  I have listed a traditional method for boiling the eggs below though.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-8 large eggs

-1/4 cup Best® mayonnaise

-1/4 cup Heinz® mustard

-Paprika from Szeged Hungary

Steps:

1-Place 8 cups water in a boiling pan.  Place eggs in cold water and bring water to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, let it boil for 15 minutes.

2-Drain eggs and run cold water over them to stop cooking. 

3-Peel the hard-boiled eggs and cut in half with a wet knife for a smooth cut.

4-Remove yolks and place them in a mixing bowl.  Mix yolks with mayonnaise and mustard.  Place this mixture in the egg halves.

5-Sprinkle the tops of the eggs with the paprika.  Cover the eggs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Bon Appétit!

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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