Episode 451-Simple Holiday Appetizers
In today’s show, I discuss some simple apps you can make for your holiday parties. The first is a simple chicken and mushroom mousse served with crostini and the second is whipped goat cheese with pepper jelly, also very easy to make.
The chicken mushroom mousse is a recipe in the Harvest Eating Cookbook for those that have a copy. I hear there are still some used ones on Amazon if interested.
Refer to the book to make the mousse, or listen to the audio above.
To make the whipped goat cheese on crackers with pepper jelly you’ll need some basic ingredients:
3 bell peppers, a few colors like red green orange, or yellow, seeds ribs removed, cut into small cubes, no bigger than 1/4
1 spicy pepper, habanero or similar, or sub a jalapeno, leave seeds if you like it spicy
2 lbs Granny Smith apples
1-1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
The procedure is simple, roughly chop up the apples and throw them into a saucepot, skins, seeds, all of it. Bring to simmer and let cook like 45 minutes covered over low heat. Once completely mush, pour thru the strainer and reserve the juices, those are a great source of pectin, which will thicken our jelly. You need about 1-1/2 cups of juice. (please do not use bottled apple juice, that won’t work)
In another sauce pot add the apple liquid and the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil then lower to simmer. Stir this mixture often until it starts to thicken up and coats a spoon, which will take at least 45 minutes if not longer.
Please remember to be stirring every few minutes. Once it looks thick place a tablespoon on a plate that has been in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Then try to move the jelly with a spoon, if it looks wrinkled it’s ready, if not, cook longer until lit looks slightly wrinkled using the trick I just described. Be careful NOT to scorch the pot or the whole thing is ruined.
Make the whipped cheese:
2 small logs of goat cheese, fresh chevre-not aged!
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs parmesan cheese
2 tbs minced chives (ok-freeze dried works too!)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Place the first four ingredients into a bowl and use a whisk to whip it up to a mousse-like consistency adding the heavy cream a little at a time until it’s like a mousse, it cannot be runny or rock hard.
you need to pipe or scoop this on the crackers then top with called pepper jelly.
Resources for this episode: