Prosciutto and Cantaloupe Hors d'oeuvres by Ruth Paget

Prosciutto and Cantaloupe Hors d’oeuvres by Ruth Paget

This recipe is an Italian favorite that I learned about in Giuliano Bugialli’s Foods of Italy many years ago.  You are supposed to wrap the prosciutto around slices of cantaloupe. 

Prosciutto clings to one another in packaging so that is harder than it sounds.  The ham from San Daniele Italy is easier to work with, but is harder to find.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1/2 seeded and sliced cantaloupe

-8 slices prosciutto or San Daniele ham

Steps:

1-Cut ½ cantaloupe in half to obtain two fourths of cantaloupe.  Then, cut the two fourths in half to get 8 slices.

2-Wrap prosciutto around cantaloupe slices.

3-Place a toothpick through the center of the prosciutto to hold the prosciutto in place.

This hors d’oeuvres tastes nice with a sweet white wine.

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

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Mini Turkey Sandwiches Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Mini Turkey Sandwiches Hors d’Oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Getting everyone all around a dinner table all at once is a small feat sometimes, so hors d’oeuvres take the edge off hunger.  A mini turkey sandwich with red onion and a beer is a nice “cocktail hour” before dinner.

You will need toothpicks to make this recipe.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-4 slices toast

-2 tablespoons Sriracha mayonnaise

-red onion slices

-8 slices turkey breast

Steps:

1-Spread Sriracha mayonnaise on one side of the 4 slices of toast.

2-Place onion slices on 2 slices of toast.

3-Lay turkey breast slices on top of the red onion slices.

4-Cover the turkey with the other slices of toast.

4-Press down and cup the toast into fourths.  Place a toothpick in each fourth and serve on a platter.

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

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Breakfast Burrito Dip Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Breakfast Burrito Dip Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

When I was the Youth Services Librarian for Monterey County California, I drove around a region the size of Vermont and New Hampshire to do programs and would usually lunch on breakfast burritos made at gas stations in the rural interior of the County.  Those burritos and strawberry licuados (smoothies) sustained me. 

This “dip” is a nice hors d’oeuvres with a beer.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 teaspoon dry garlic

-4 beaten eggs

-1/2 pound crispy and crumbled Hickory Smoked bacon

-1/2 cup salsa

-1 (32-ounce) bag of unsalted tortilla chips

Steps:

1-Scramble eggs in the olive oil and garlic.

2-Mix eggs with crispy and crumbled fried bacon.  Mix with salsa.

3-Place dip in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

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


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Potato Alfredo Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Potato Alfredo Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

My family used to get snowed in sometimes when we lived in Madison, Wisconsin.  Our daughter Florence loved the “snow days” that kept her out of school and kept me scrambling around the kitchen for lunch.

This recipe is one of my go-to easy pantry snacks.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 package of your favorite instant mashed potatoes made according to the directions

-Half a (7.5-ounce) jar of Alfredo sauce

Steps:

1-Mix the mashed potatoes and the Alfredo sauce.

2-Heat in a microwave oven for 2 minutes and serve.

Sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

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

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Mohawk Radishes Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Mohawk Radishes Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

This hors d’oeuvres takes time to make, but looks cute on a plate with a design.  You can coax children to eat radishes by using a plate with a picture; if you eat the radishes, you can see what picture is hiding beneath the Mohawk radishes.

The French spread butter on their radishes and dip them in loose ocean salt.  They eat the radishes with baguette slices.  You can do that with this radish preparation, too.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-6 radishes per person

-1 stick room temperature butter

-2 tablespoons sea salt

-4 slices toast cut in fourths

Steps:

1-Thoroughly wash radishes so that there is no sand left on them.

2-Trim down the green tops to 1 inch.  (The green tops are the Mohawk.)

3-Cut off the bottoms of the radishes, so they will sit upright on the plate.

Serve with a separate saucer for salt and a dish for the bread and butter.

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

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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