Vegetarian party foods

Bookmarking this handy Canadian Living page full of delicious appetizers for future experimentation.

Apple streusel coffee cake

Canadian Living, December 2010, p. 179. Online here.

Now I know what streusel is! Could probably have used more apples. Used vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream with no ill effects.

Squash and chickpea curry

From Canadian Living, December 2006, p. 139. Online here.

Used "all peanut" peanut butter instead of cashew butter, which I wasn't sure where to find. Used VH tandoori sauce as the curry paste. Also left out the peas, because bleah, why. Was skeptical about the swiss chard but damn it was a tasty addition. In the end it needed rather a lot of salt but otherwise pretty good.

Chili-Rubbed Chicken With Avocado-Mango Salsa

From Fine Cooking Quick and Delicious p. Online here.

Unbelievably delicious and reasonably quick. Lee Kum Kee chili-garlic sauce for the spicy, as always. Also I rarely bother with the cilantro - it's nice, but you have to buy it in such ginormous bunches that I always end up with a pile of it going bad in the fridge. The lime juice mostly does the flavour trick for this one anyway.

Pepper and sausage pasta

From Canadian Living, December 2011, p. Online here.

Used Lee Kum Kee for the spicy, as always. Accidentally put all the sauce on the pasta instead of half, but worked out well anyway. Surprisingly flavourful considering how few seasonings went into it. Not sure what the difference is between Mozzarella and Provolone? They taste pretty much the same to me, is that cheese blasphemy?

Double-chocolate sandwich cookies

From Canadian Living, December 2009, p. Online here.

Makes way less than advertised; supposed to make 42, got 16 - try a smaller cutter next time. Tasty enough, but as it stands not quite worth the effort invested.

Chocolate raspberry curl cake

From Canadian Living; online here.

I was a little nervous making this one, since I do not have a very good track record making cakes from scratch, but it turned out scrumptious despite my misgivings. I ran out of time to make the chocolate curls, so just grated some semi-sweet chocolate and pressed it by handfuls to the sides of the cake - worked fine, but the curls would have been SERIOUSLY swanky. Piled fresh raspberries on top and served with ice cream and frozen raspberries in syrup.

Thai mango salad

From Canadian Living; online here.

I forgot the peanuts with no ill effects. Making this for a crowd gets a little labour-intensive, what with all the chopping of mangoes.

Ruby salad with feta cheese and spicy pepitas

From Fine Cooking; online here.

I didn't bother with the pepitas and this was still pretty awesome. Leaving out the pepitas has the added advantage of removing most of the fuss factor from the recipe.

Prosciutto-wrapped figs

Canadian Living; online here.

The tips for antipasto platters attached to the recipe are also helpful. Suggested mango substitution reportedly very tasty (they disappeared so fast I never got to taste any!)

Red wine braised short ribs

From Fine Cooking - online here.

Labour-intensive but amazing; also helpful in that they can be made ahead. May need to cook longer than advertised to achieve true fall-apart deliciousness. Also not for the (literally) faint of heart; you would not beLIEVE how much grease I had to skim off. Helps to cool it down completely before attempting that step - the recipe advises that these are best cooked in advance and reheated anyway. Would go really well with mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce.

Butternut squash risotto with bacon and sage

Fine Cooking One Pot Meals, p. 80. Online here.

Surprisingly filling. Need another use for the rest of the squash afterwards.

Turkey with black beans and orange sauce

From Fine Cooking One Pot Meals, p. 36. Online here.

Its actual name is much fancier. Insanely delicious, quick, and cheap. Used Lee Kum Kee chili-garlic sauce in place of the habaneros.

Edited a couple years later to add: About $3.95 per serving. Hmm, not as cheap as I thought at the time. Additional savings could probably be gained from economizing on the oranges or chopping cutlets from a turkey breast instead of buying them pre-cut.

Salmon spinach salad

Canadian Living Eat Right p. 16. Online here.

I substituted baby spinach. Not super-filling, hence the "lunch" tag, but still satisfying.

Tomato sausage bean soup

From Canadian Living Eat Right, p. 96. Online here.

Hearty and delicious. Substituted diced tomatoes and 6-bean mix.

Pomegranate orange chicken

From Fine Cooking One Pot Meals p. 102.

Bland - meh. Disappointing. Veggies were good though.

Pork and asparagus stir-fry

From Canadian Living Eat Right p. 35. Online here.

Lightning-fast, so start the rice first! Very flavourful. Not kind to Corey, though, for some reason.

Black bean and ground pork stirfry

From Canadian Living Eat Right p. 42. Online here. About $2.16 per serving for perishables, pantry staples extra.

Nice and savoury, lightning-fast - start the rice first.

Chicken in roasted red pepper sauce

From Fine Cooking One Pot Recipes p. 106.

Surprisingly refined. Recipe's claim of spanish flavour is actually borne out by the finished product. Needs veggie side dishes to round it out.

Butternut squash and apple soup with bacon

From Fine Cooking online here.

Add a generous dollop of goat cheese for true NOM. Delicious.

Lime-grilled chicken with avocado

Canadian Living Eat Right p. 70. Online here.

Insanely delicious and flavourful. Works well as grilled kabobs, too.