A Trio of Holiday Party Appetizers

Mushroom Pâté from The PlantPure Nation Cookbook

Yields: 4-6 Servings | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 ounces extra-firm tofu
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Steps

  1. In a skillet, sauté the mushrooms, onion, and garlic over medium heat in the white wine until tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Place the mushroom mixture into a food processor and add the tofu, nuts, and seasonings. Process until smooth.
  3. Chill the mixture before serving

Kim’s Hint: I place the pâté mixture in a pretty bowl or dish lined with parchment paper. After it chills, simply place it upside down on a bed of greens and pull off the parchment paper. It makes a beautiful appetizer.

Spinach Artichoke Dip from Better Than Vegan

Serves 6

This unusual twist on a popular party food is delicious and filling, made here with beans instead of the usual sour cream. The beans make it hearty enough to be a filling for wraps and yet creamy enough to be a dip for vegetables or crackers.

Ingredients
1 15-ounce can navy or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and wrung dry
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 / 4 cup nutritional yeast
Sea salt to taste
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Steps

  1. Purée the beans in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse-chop to mix well.

Crab-Less Cakes from Dining at The Ravens

4 Serving | 2 Cakes Per Person

A few years ago, we entered these crab cakes into a crab-cake contest. We were disqualified because they didn’t contain crab! However, one of the judges was staying at the inn and told us that before they were disqualified, our cakes were selected as having the best flavor.

Here’s the secret: use Old Bay Seasoning, which is available in most stores. We use organic spices and have worked hard to approximate the taste. Below you’ll find our spice mix. If you want the authentic taste, just buy Old Bay Seasoning; it is a very small component of the total dish.

This recipe was principally developed by Barry Horton, who came to The Ravens as an intern from Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute in Portland, Oregon. Barry moved from intern, to employee, to cook, and eventually to chef. You can find Barry and his wife at their restaurant, Sanctuary Bistro, in Berkeley, California. It’s well worth a visit. For more information, check out www.sanctuarybistro.com.

FOR THE CRAB-LESS CAKE SEASONING
2 tablespoons celery seed
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons red pepper
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger

FOR THE CRAB-LESS CAKES
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
1 cup organic bread crumbs
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced celery
1 tablespoon Crab-less Cake Seasoning (see above)
½ cup Standard Sour Crème (page 262) or Remoulade plus more for serving if desired
2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Spray oil

For the Crab-less Cake Seasoning

  1. Add all spices to a small bowl and mix thoroughly

For the Crab-less Cakes

  1. Place all ingredients in bowl and mix thoroughly. Let set for 5 minutes.
  2. Heat a sauté pan and spray with oil. Form 2-ounce patties of mixture and brown 2 minutes on each side.
  3. Serve immediately with Standard Sour Crème or Remoulade.

More from Kim and PlantPure Nation: Website | Facebook |Twitter | Instagram

More from Del: Website | Facebook |Twitter | Instagram

More from Jeff and Joan: Website | Facebook |Twitter | Instagram

3 Comments

  1. Yvonne said on

    I’m in the process of making the Crab-Less Cakes. What do you mean by red pepper? Is there a substitute?

    Thanks.

    Yvonne

  2. Yvonne said on

    One more question.
    Re the Crab-Less Crab Cakes.

    Are the bread crumbs, fresh, soft crumbs or dried crumbs.

    Thanks

    Yvonne

    • Heather Butterfield said on

      Hi Yvonne,

      Red pepper refers to ground red pepper, a spice you should be able to find in your grocery store. You could maybe try substituting red pepper flakes, though I’m not sure how much that would change the texture/level of spiciness. The bread crumbs should be dried.

      Let us know how it goes!

Leave a Reply

Connect with us

Calendar

March 2024
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Subscribe to our Newsletter