Party 1.2.3. - Make-Ahead Nibbles To Get Festive

Devils on Horseback, Photo: NK

What makes a dinner party memorable? For me, lots of little tastes (and a great cocktail!) followed by one satisfyingly simple main does the trick. In the case of our last little get-together,  we made my mom's really fantastic (and make ahead) recipe for Sausage and Peppers as our entree. We served it alongside a simple and very delicious Vegetarian Pasta Salad from Food and Wine.

When you're devoting your energy to a main course and sides, you've go to keep the hors d'oeuvres simple - and ideally, make-ahead. Today, I'd like to remind you of two of our fave party bites. Both can be prepped ahead of your guests arrival and put into the oven just before you'd like to serve them and both are always, always, crowd pleasers.

1. Devils on Horseback are a classic party snack - they consist of Sweet Dates (sometimes Prunes) stuffed with Bleu Cheese and wrapped in thick-cut Bacon. What could go wrong??? Exactly. Nothing at all. Our favorite recipe for Devils is Martha Stewart's uber simple interperation of the classic. Click HERE for the recipe. Prep the Dates ahead and pop in the oven 25 minutes before you'd like to serve.

Mini Crab Cakes with Mustard Sauce, Photo: NK

2. Next up, one of our other hors d'oeuvre favorites, and a very popular hit here on Neurotic Kitchen, my Mini Crab Cakes in a Muffin Tin. Prepping these little tasty bites in a mini-muffin tin and baking them in the oven eliminates the usual muss and fuss that frying little crab cakes can create. With just a bit of prep, you can turn out 24 hors d'oeuvres in as long as these babies take to bake and transform into their golden brown delicious glory. Make the Mustard Topping and pour all the Crab Cake ingredients into the muffin tin. Start about 35 minutes before you'd like to serve. Click HERE for the recipe.

Curious about that Pasta Salad? Here's how it came out:

Simple and Delicious Pasta Salad, Photo: NK

Now just add your main dish and simple as that, you've got a great menu. You'll never cure me of my love for hors d'oeuvres. I often think I could just eat them and skip the main course. And I have! Add these two easy nibbles to your dinner party repertoire and your guests won't soon forget your effort. The fact that it wasn't all that much effort at all can be our little secret.

Life's Better With Bacon - Steamed Bacon Buns With Hoisin

Steamed Bacon Buns, Photo: NK

In keeping with the premise of this blog, when I can't take the heat, I get into the kitchen. 

Cooking is my favorite therapy, so that's just what I did when an exhausting and oddly emotional week peppered with endless snafus crescendoed to an impressive finale. 

Just when we thought we could relish the remainder of a blessedly quiet Sunday, we figured out the pipes in our apartment had frozen, leaving us with no water for hours. Sigh... 


When life gets a bit zany, I always check my moon calendar. Sure enough, it was a full one! Thankfully, the situation finally corrected itself, leaving us free to explore the universally restorative power of carbs and salt-cured meats. 

Grace Parisi's shortcut version of one of our favorite Chinese street food - Steamed Pork Buns - is brilliant. 

Delicious Steamed Bacon Buns with Hoisin, Photo: NK 

With my creative powers sapped from exhaustion, I didn't even attempt adapting this already clever and surprisingly easy recipe. Today, I'll just take you though it step by step and suggest some pointers along the way. Parisi's version simplifies your life by using packaged biscuit dough for the buns, and thick-cut bacon to sub in for harder to find pork belly. Add some zesty garnishes like Radish, Scallion, Sriracha and Hoisin sauce, and you've got a bursting-with-flavor tender steamed Bun filled with smoky-sweet Bacon. 
Trust me, you'll impress yourself. 

Steamed Bacon Buns with Hoisin

Photo: NK 

Recipe by Grace Parisi of Food and Wine
Serves 4 

Ingredients:
1/2 Pound Thick-Cut Smoked Bacon, cut into 2 inch pieces 
16 1/8-inch thick rounds of fresh peeled Ginger
1 Cup Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1/4 Cup Mirin
1/4 Cup Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
One 16 Ounce Tube Buttermilk Biscuits (Pillsbury Grands - 8 Biscuits per tube)
Hoisin Sauce
Sriracha Sauce
Sliced Radishes
Bread and Butter Pickles 
Scallions, roughly chopped 
Special Equipment: 
Heavy-Duty or Regular Aluminum Foil
A Large Broiler Pan  
A 9x13 inch Baking Pan 

Method:

Sizzling Bacon and Ginger, Photo: NK 

In a large and deep skillet, cook the Bacon and the Ginger Coins over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. 

Turn the Bacon over once midway through. The Bacon should become lightly golden brown. Spoon off some of the fat from the pan and discard. Next, add the Chicken Broth, Mirin, Rice Vinegar, Sugar, and Soy Sauce. Turn the heat down low and simmer, turning the Bacon occasionally until the liquid is reduced to a syrup-like glaze - about 10 minutes. Cover the skillet and keep warm.

Meanwhile, fill up a large roasting pan with 2 inches of water. Set 4 ramekins in each corner or the pan. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment and spray it down with Vegetable Oil or other non-stick spray. Arrange the Biscuits in the baking pan and set the pan on top of the ramekins in the roasting pan. You are basically creating a makeshift steamer basket. (You could certainly use a traditional metal steamer basket over a pot of boiling water but it would likely only hold 3 to 4 Biscuits at a time.)

Homemade Steamer, Photo: NK 

Now, Cover the roasting pan tightly with foil, heavy duty foil if you have it. The goal is to trap the steam that will rise from the bottom roasting pan so it will flow into the baking pan that's atop it. Set your makeshift steamer over a burner on the top of your stove and turn the flame to medium high. As the water in the pan boils, your buns will begin to steam. Check them at around 8 minutes, being careful of the escaping steam that will flow out (neurotic danger!). The original recipe says the bun steaming should take 8 minutes. My Buns took about 12 ( I think my foil wasn't sealed tightly enough). Just keep an eye on them. When they are finished they will be fluffy rather than doughy and cooked through. 

Remove buns and let them cool for a minute. Carefully split them in half and lay on a cutting board. Spread the bottoms with Hoisin and the tops with Sriracha. Portion out even amounts of Bacon on each Bun, and pour some of the pan glaze on top. Finish with sliced Scallions, Radishes, and Pickles. Close the buns and serve right away. 

I hope you swoon over these the way we did! Wishing a calm and happy week to all! 

Photo: NK