Banana-Walnut Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Banana-Walnut Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

This super easy dish tastes great with a slightly bitter cocktail like an Aperol® Spritz or a Campari® Spritz.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-4 peeled bananas sliced in half.

-1 cup sour cream

-1 cup chopped walnuts

Steps:

1-Spread sour cream on banana halves.

2-Sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the sour cream.

3-Cut the bananas into 2-inch slices and place on a serving tray.

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

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Homemade Nachos Hors d'oeuvres Recipe by Ruth Paget

Homemade Nachos Hors d’oeuvres Recipe by Ruth Paget

Homemade nachos are fun to make.  You can control how spicy they are, because you choose the salsa you use.  This version is vegetarian.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 (16-ounce) bag unsalted tortilla chips

-1 (15.5-ounce) can of rinsed and drained black beans

-1 (15.5 ounce) can drained corn

-1 (15.5-ounce) jar salsa

-1/2 pound shredded Monterey Jack cheese

-1 (4-ounce) can drained and sliced black olives

-1 sliced Serrano pepper (optional)

-1 cup sour cream (optional)

Steps:

1-Spread tortillas out on two plates.  Spread black beans out on tortilla chips.

2-Spread corn over black beans. 

3-Spread salsa over beans, corn, and tortilla chips.

4-Sprinkled Monterey Jack cheese and olives over nachos. 

5-Microwave nachos for 2 minutes.

6-Sprinkle on Serrano peppers, if using, and serve sour cream on the side.

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

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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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