Baked Cheese Balls Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Baked Cheese Balls Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

I used Szeged sweet paprika in this recipe for color and flavor.  Paprika is made from dried red peppers and gives these cheese balls a mild smoky flavor.

Roll out the dough and cut it into ¼-inch sticks that you can roll into a ball.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-3 cups chopped Monterey Jack cheese

-1 cup flour

-1 beaten egg

-2 tablespoons Szeged paprika

-Pam® for spraying the baking sheet

Steps:

1-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2-Mix cheese, flour, egg, and paprika together.

3-Place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and spray it with Pam®.

4-Use two spoons to drop the cheese dough balls on a baking tray.

5-Bake for 30 minutes.

6-Cool on a cooling rack.  A Moretti from Udine, Italy would be a good accompaniment for these cheese balls.

By Ruth Paget, Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Red Onion Spread Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Red Onion Spread Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

This simple hors d’oeuvres makes use of Monterey County California’s bumper crop in celery.  You can use any onion to make this recipe, but I like to use red ones for the color contrast with the celery.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 large, peeled, and chopped red onion

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 cup sour cream

-8 washed celery stalks cut into 2-inch segments

Steps:

1-Sauté the red onion in olive oil for 5 minutes.

2-Add red onion and pan juices to the sour cream and mix.

3-Place the red onion mixture in the cavity of the celery. 

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

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Spicy Carrot Spread Hors d'oeuvres Recipes Created by Ruth Paget

Spicy Carrot Spread Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Celery is a great carrier for spreads like this spicy one.  If you would like a milder spread, mix Szeged paprika from Hungary into the carrot purée.  (Celery is a top ten crop from Monterey County California.)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1/2 pound peeled and chopped carrots

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-1 large peeled and chopped onion

-1 chopped Serrano pepper

-1/4 cup olive oil for the carrots

-4 stalks celery chopped into 2-inch segments

Steps:

1-Steam carrots for 30 minutes.

2-While the carrots are steaming, sauté the onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil.

3-When the carrots are soft, place them in the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment.

4-Add the sautéed onions, Serrano peppers, and olive oil to the carrots to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until you have a smooth purée.

Serve with celery segments.

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

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Berry Cream Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Berry Cream Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Monterey County California grows delicious organic raspberries and strawberries.  This simple hors d’oeuvres tastes great with Prosecco.  Using toothpicks makes it easy to enjoy the berries.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 pint sour cream

-1/4 cup honey

-1/2 pint washed raspberries

-1/2 pint washed strawberries

-toothpicks

Steps:

1-Mix sour cream with the honey and place the mixture in a serving bowl.

2-Place the raspberries and strawberries in separated bowls with toothpicks set out for dipping berries in sour cream.

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

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Salmon-Green Onion Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Salmon-Green Onion Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

If you plant an onion bulb, you can get all the free green onion you want when it starts to grow.  The flavor is strong and a little goes a long way.

California is fortunate in being able to get canned salmon due to our proximity to Alaska.  You can make salmon cakes using the same recipe you do for crab cakes by the way.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 (14.75-ounce) can pink salmon

-1 bunch chopped green onions

-1/4 cup sour cream

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

-4 slices toast

Steps:

1-Mix salmon with their juice with spring onions.

2-Combine salmon-onion mixture with sour cream and mix till homogenous.

3-Place salmon mixture on toast. 

4-Place black olive slices on toast and cut toast into fourths to serve.

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

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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