It's no longer fashionable and not interesting at allserve cold appetizers such as boiled eggs with mayonnaise, homemade pickles, regular sausage, cheese, and the like on the festive table. Agree, this is pretty boring, especially since it is the 21st century. If your imagination refuses to work, if you do not know how to surprise your guests, then any source - be it a cookbook or an online publication - will suggest a variety of recipes. We, in turn, will also share our experience with you. Using these tips and preparing the appetizers below, you will be known as the most hospitable and original hostess.
Sweet onions
There are many different types of onion appetizers:pickled, fried, sweet. We suggest trying the last option. This side dish is ideal for meat or fish dishes. It can be prepared for any occasion: for a New Year's holiday or a birthday, a romantic evening with your loved one, or just for a friendly dinner. The above products will make two small bowls that you can place at the edges of the table. Keep in mind that preparing this dish will take you about 25 minutes. Ingredients:
- two large white bulbs
- one and a half tablespoons of sugar
- two pinches of salt
- 75 milliliters of refined oil
- dark vinegar (balsamic) - five small spoons
Method of preparation:Onion appetizer recipes often call for regular onions. But we recommend buying the white variety — it’s juicier and more tender. So, peel two onions and cut them into thin rings, separating them with your fingers. Then put them in a saucepan with the oil already poured in and fry for six minutes. Turn the product regularly with a spatula so that it doesn’t burn. When the vegetable turns slightly golden, pour in the balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with salt and granulated sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, for about fifteen more minutes until the mixture thickens and darkens. Cold onion appetizers will decorate any festive table. Serve them with homemade shashlik or a juicy steak, steamed or fried fish. And if you just decided to get together with friends and drink beer, then this dish will be the best way to diversify the usual “unhealthy” appetizers, which often consist of chips and nuts.
An unusual snack from beets
When choosing the recipes you plan to maketo use to prepare appetizers, be sure to consider not only the number of guests you invite, but also their age, gender and, of course, food preferences. Even religion plays an important role, because representatives of some religions do not eat meat. Therefore, if the company consists only of opponents of this product, then, naturally, it should not be served on the table. Women like simpler and lighter food: vegetable salads, cold cheese appetizers, canapes and the like. The male population of the planet has always preferred hearty dishes, so to whet their appetite, a small sandwich with caviar will not do. So choose recipes very carefully and plan the menu of the festive table in advance. We suggest making pickled beets, but keep in mind that it must be prepared in advance - one day in advance. Ingredients:
- 500 grams of sweet beets
- two Crimean bulbs
For the marinade:
- 30 grams of fresh ginger
- some fragrant pepper
- cloves - seven pieces
- salt - two small spoons
- 7 grams of peppercorns
- two laurel leaves
- 350 milliliters of boiled but not hot water
- 150 milliliters of plain vinegar
- 100 grams of fragrant honey
Method of preparation:Remember that all recipes are different, that the same dish can be prepared in different ways. Also, do not blindly follow the given advice - rely on your experience and culinary intuition. So, for pickled beets, choose spices at your own discretion, because the taste of the future dish will depend on them. We used two types of pepper (allspice and peas), cloves, ginger, and bay leaves. You can add your own ingredients. So, put the pre-washed beets in a saucepan and fill with plain water. Put on very low heat and cook until done - it should be soft. Then, to peel the vegetable well, pour ice water over it and remove the skin with a knife. Cut the beets, as well as the onions, into thin half rings. To make the marinade, boil the water and throw in all the above spices, do not forget about honey and ginger. As for the last product, just cut it into thin slices. After fifteen minutes, remove the dishes from the heat and add table vinegar to the marinade, then let it cool. After that, put the beets and onions in a separate dish in layers and pour everything with the prepared aromatic liquid. Do not put the pan anywhere - the mixture should stand for about an hour in a warm place, and only then should it be put in the refrigerator. Beetroot appetizers are very colorful and decorate the table. They go well with potato dishes, meat, and vegetables, so look for the necessary recipes and surprise your guests with your culinary skills.
Eggs with herring and red caviar
There are only a few days left until the festive feastdays, and you still haven’t figured out what appetizers you’ll serve to your guests? Have you looked through all the recipes you’ve been carefully collecting for years and still haven’t found anything? Don’t despair, we’ll help you! Remember what your mother used to put on the table. Stuffed eggs were probably one of the dishes. They were usually filled with pate or simply topped with mayonnaise. We suggest making a modern appetizer based on a traditional dish – this time the filling will be salted herring and red caviar. Ingredients:
- six eggs
- 250 grams of salted herring
- 70 grams of delicious mayonnaise
- 10 grams of fresh dill
- 30 grams of red caviar
Method of preparation:Recipes for such egg appetizers are good because their preparation does not take too much time, so many housewives prefer them. In addition, a seemingly ordinary dish, thanks to the filling of red caviar and herring, instantly becomes an original creation that will disappear from the holiday table in a matter of minutes. Put six eggs in a small saucepan, fill them with water and cook for no longer than ten minutes, counting from the moment the liquid begins to boil. Then cool them under cold water, peel, put on the table and cut into two parts. Now separate the whites from the yolks and grate the latter into strips on a grater, then mix with mayonnaise until smooth. In order not to suffer with cleaning the fish, we recommend using herring fillet, which will need to be passed through a meat grinder. When you are done with this procedure, move on to the next one - combine the chopped fish with the yolks, add a little mayonnaise and mix several times. Fill the whites with the resulting mass - they should acquire the shape of a whole egg. Now finely chop the dill, pour mayonnaise over each product and sprinkle with herbs, and put salmon eggs on top. Snack recipes are replete with variety, but this one is one of the easiest to prepare and at the same time original. We hope that your holiday table will be remembered by guests for a long time!
Cold cutlets with aubergines
Preparing for the holiday and receiving guests,Consider the fact that the recipes for the dishes you plan to put on the table should correspond to the format of the event. For example, if it is a small buffet, then you should make meat, cheese and other hearty snacks that are convenient to eat "on the go". Try making cold pseudo-cutlets with eggplant. They are not only very tasty, but also quite economical, since you will need much less meat than for real cutlets. Ingredients:
- one large eggplant
- half a loaf
- egg - one piece
- 350 grams of pork (use only pulp without fat)
- 300 milliliters of olive oil
- a teaspoon of salt
- black pepper (ground)
- one large onion
Method of preparation:Place a piece of pork on the kitchen table and cut it into medium cubes, do the same with the onion. Now mince both ingredients and put them in a separate bowl, do not forget to add salt and pepper. If you have a blender, it is better to use it to prepare the mince. Now beat the egg with a whisk and add it to the onion-meat mixture and mix until smooth. Cut the eggplant into rings no more than one centimeter thick. If you want the product to have perfectly even edges, use a special round mold, applying it to the cut pieces of vegetable. Cut fourteen rings from the eggplant. If you do not have this or that ingredient, the recipes can be “adjusted” to your situation. For example, to prepare this snack you need a loaf, but it can be replaced with regular white bread. Cut it into thick pieces, and then, using the above-mentioned form, cut out circles that should match the size of the eggplant blank. As for the latter, they should be placed in a frying pan, drizzled with olive oil, and fried, adding a little salt, on both sides. Now put the bread on the table and spread it with minced meat, cover it with fried eggplants on top, pressing them lightly with your hands. Now distribute the remaining meat mass over the entire product (do not touch the bottom), thus forming round cutlets. Fry them over medium heat in a large amount of oil, constantly turning so that they do not burn. If you have lettuce leaves, put them on a large plate, and distribute the cutlets on top and serve the dish. In this form, it will look much more impressive!
Onion in batter
Another appetizer that is suitable for a small family celebration is onion rings fried in batter. The dish can be served in any form: hot or cold. Try it! Ingredients:
- two pieces of large white onions
- four large spoons of plain flour
- 40 grams of breadcrumbs
- corn flour - two tablespoons
- two tablespoons of sesame
- a glass of water (it should be warm)
- salt - to taste
- two pinches of ground pepper
- sunflower oil - 400 milliliters
Method of preparation:Pre-peel the onion, cut it into thick rings and separate them into separate parts with your hands. Mix the two types of flour in a bowl, adding black pepper and table salt. Slowly pour the resulting mixture into warm water and knead the dough, similar to what you make for pancakes. Set the batter aside to rise for ten minutes. Now combine the sesame seeds and breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. Dip the onion rings in the batter, and then dip them in the breading so that it covers them on all sides. Place the products in a hot saucepan with vegetable oil, of which there should be a lot. Fry until the onion acquires a light golden crust. Then put it on a plate, which you cover with a paper towel in order to get rid of excess fat. The recipes that you plan to use for preparing holiday snacks do not necessarily have to be complicated. After all, you will have to spend a lot of time on other dishes, so it is better to choose original, but quick snacks that will not leave anyone indifferent. Good luck! We recommend reading:
