Creamed Spinach Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Creamed Spinach Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

A pound of spinach shrinks down to about ¼ of its original size when it is cooked.  It is packed with iron and is easy to blend with cream with an immersion blender.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 pound fresh and washed spinach – a little water clinging to the leaves helps it to reduce when sautéed

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-3/4 cup heavy cream

-8 slices toast

Steps:

1-Sauté spinach leaves in olive oil until reduced to ¼ their original size.

2-Add ¾ cup cream to the spinach.

3-Insert immersion blender and purée to a smooth consistency.

4-Cover toast slices with creamy spinach.  Cut toast slices into fourths and serve.

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

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Ham-Orange Slice Hors d'oeuvres Created by Ruth Paget

Ham-Orange Slice Hors d’oeuvres Created by Ruth Paget 

This toothpick hors d’oeuvres tastes like a burst of sunshine with a piece of salty, sandwich ham to match a sweet orange segment.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-8 orange slices

-8 slices sandwich ham

-8 toothpicks

Steps:

1-Wrap ham around the orange slices.

2-Place toothpick through the center of the ham and orange to secure the ham and make the hors d’oeuvres easy to pick up.

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

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Apple-Monterey Jack Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Apple-Monterey Jack Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

This toothpick hors d’oeuvres tastes great with rosé or chardonnay musqué.  You can add pitted cherries or a raisin to sweeten it up even more.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-2 large, cored, and sliced apples

-1/2 pound sliced Monterey Jack cheese

Steps:

1-Place toothpicks through the apple slices to form the base for the hors d’oeuvres.

2-Place rectangles of Monterey Jack cheese on top of the apple.

3-Place another slice of apple on top of the Monterey Jack cheese.

Place on a serving tray with a colorful background.

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

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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

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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