Thanksgiving Treats

It's Thanksgiving week at Mystery Lovers Kitchen!

Welcome into "our" house.

Today, I'm sharing...

Appetizers.

What's not to like about appetizers? For a Thanksgiving feast, you've got to have

a lot of them, right? You've got family and/or friends...or just

yourself...milling about.

You must eat. And enjoy!

I remember Thanksgivings where all I ate were appetizers. I adore turkey, but by the time the meal came around, I'd had so many delicious treats before, I couldn't even consider a taste of turkey (my favorite) and mashed potatoes (my second favorite) and cranberry sauce (okay, this might be my first favorite) and pumpkin pie (all right, truth? I never pass up pumpkin pie)...but you know what I mean.

Appetizers. You've got to have good, great, tasty appetizers. They set the mood. They let the

family and friends mingle. They stir the palate.

Yes, of course, a cheese platter is always a wonderful appetizer.

But here are a couple of appetizers that are just downright tasty!

And easy.

Easy is important!!!

PANCETTA CRISPS WITH GOAT CHEESE

Ingredients:

12 thin (but not too thin) pancetta slices

12 arugula leaves

12 slices fresh goat cheese

3-4 teaspoons peach preserves

4 figs, sliced thinly

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place pancetta in single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. [Can be put on foil.]

Bake until crisps, 12-15 minutes. [*A thicker piece of pancetta will take longer to cook and not be as brittle. I recommend.]

Cool pancetta and transfer to a platter.

Top each pancetta with 1 arugula leaf, 1 slice of goat cheese, ¼ teaspoon of jam, and 1 small slice of fig.

If desired, sprinkle with ground pepper.

CHEESEY ARTICHOKE-OLIVE DIP

Ingredients:

1 cup artichoke hearts (canned, in water)

½ cup basil leaves, diced

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

16-18 green pimento-stuffed olives (diced)

1 5.2-ounce garlic-herb cheese (like Boursin)

Crusty breads, crackers, breadsticks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop artichoke hearts, basil, and olives. Pour into mixing bowl. Add cheeses. Stir well.

Pour mixture into 4-cup baking dish.

Bake about 15 minutes.

Garnish with diced basil.

Serve with breads and crackers.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

... for my gluten-free friends, I wanted to share a gluten-free stuffing recipe. That's right, stuffing! Made with GF bread. It's so delicious and so easy, it's scary. This was inspired by a new Twitter friend @glutenfreegirl. She has an ongoing romance with a chef and they put together a little video on stuffing. I tweaked their recipe to make it my own.

Most importantly, start with a really good gluten-free bread. Don't skimp. It can be homemade or store-bought, but make sure it's a bread you normally like. [I start with mine frozen so it won't absorb too much moisture too quickly.]

AVERY'S GLUTEN-FREE STUFFING

Ingredients:

12 slices gluten-free bread

2 cups GF broth

1 cup chopped celery

¼ cup chopped water chestnuts

½ cup chopped yellow onion

4 tablespoons butter

3 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

1 egg plus enough water to equal ½ cup liquid

Parsley flakes

[If desired, 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese]

Directions:

Set oven to 300 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine butter, broth, celery, onion, chestnuts, and spices. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

In a bowl, combine egg and water.

Slice bread into thick cubes. (I like to use frozen bread so it won’t absorb the moisture too fast.)

Put the bread into a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour the egg/water combination over the bread. Pour the hot broth combination over the bread. DO NOT STIR YET.

Bake in oven 30 minutes. If desired, broil the stuffing for about 5 minutes until crisp brown.

Remove from oven and stir, chopping up the bread to moisten entirely. [If you do not like your stuffing so moist, do not chop and stir. Simply serve...]

Garnish with parsley flakes and serve.

If desired, this may be served with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!!!

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Remember to enter Krista's Christmas Cookie Contest!

Krista's Christmas
Cookie Contest!

Krista Davis is celebrating the upcoming release
of her new holiday mystery, The Diva Cooks a Goose.
She's holding a delicious contest! Send Krista your favorite cookie recipe
at Krista at KristaDavis dot com and you might win!
Find out more by clicking here

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Finally...if you'd like to know more about A Cheese Shop Mystery series and want to download a few other recipes from me (on recipe cards), click on this link to my website: Avery Aames. I've posted recipes in the "morsels" section. There's lots of other fun stuff, as well. And sign up for the mailing list to get in on the next contest...coming soon.