Kumquat Appetizer

Kumquat, Cheese Cheese and Candied Pecan Appetizer

So my best friend is getting married and at her lingerie shower , they served these YUMMY apps. Kudos go to Mrs. Jennifer Richman and her apparently amazing mother in law for this recipe! :)

If you haven't ever had a kumquat before, it's like a tiny (think cherry tomatoe size), tart orange or tangerine. You eat the entire thing (peel and all) and by itself, is just too tart for me. However, this recipe is SOOOO good! I couldn't stop eating them! First you're hit with the tart and tangy-ness of the kumquat, then the cream cheese acts as a nice smooth buffer and then you get a burst of sweetness and crunch from the pecan. They're easy to make, can be made ahead of time and sure to be a hit at your next summer party.

Ingredients:

Kumquats

Whipped Cream Cheese

Candied Pecans

Directions:

Cut Kumquat lengthwise, put a dallop of cream cheese on it and top it off with a candied pecan. Set out to be enjoyed!

Yup - it's that easy! Enjoy!

Buenos Aires Hearts of Palm Salad

This recipe is from Rachel Ray's magazine "Everyday with Rachel Ray" (Aug 2009, pg 70). For those of you who don't know what hearts of palm is - it's a canned veggie from a certain type of palm tree. The article described it as tasting like artichoke and has the texture of asparargus. It can be found in the canned food section next to canned and jarred artichokes.

This recipe is good and doesn't require a lot of ingredients or prep work. It's great for a BBQ or just a summer night. I did make some changes - so see those below!

Buenos Aires Hearts of Palm Salad
One 14-oz can of hearts of palm - thinly sliced
1 tomatoe - thinly sliced
1 Hass avacado, quartered and thinly sliced
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 Tbl fresh orange juice
1 Tbl fresh lime juice
Salt and Pepper

On a platter, arrange the hearts of palm, tomatoes and avacado in a single overlapping layer. In a small bowl, whisk together EVOO, orange and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle dressing over the salad.
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Ok now for my turn. When I was at the store getting hte hearts of palm, Sprouts only had an organic can for $5! Thinking that was rediculous, and knowing that I already had a can of artichoke hearts in my pantry, I skipped out on the main ingredient in this dish and substituted the palm for artichokes. It still tasted great!

An FYI about the EVOO. Man, 1/4 of a cup is A LOT of oil in my opinion. I didn't need that much at all. Not only did I have TONS leftover after I drizzled the dressing over the salad, but I felt like the oil made the dressing......just too oily. Next time, I'm going to use only 2 Tbls of EVOO and then add more if needed. I also salt and peppered it before I dressed the salad - I like salt and pepper directly on my avacado. It worked out fine. I don't know if it would really matter either way.

Try it out sometime and let me know how you like it. If you don't -- blame Rachel. :)

Happy eating!