Well Traveled Finger Food

Spoiler Alert: concert buddies read at your own risk! 

I went crazy this weekend trying recipes for an up-coming concert-in-the-park evening with friends.  I was looking for recipes that could be eaten cold or at room temperature straight off the skewer.   While these recipes came from my own cookbook collection – all can be found online proving once again that COOKBOOKS ARE OBSOLETE and a great recipe can come from any source!  Chances are, even your favorite family recipe can be found online.  If not, it’s time to share it with the world!  I hit 3 out of 4 in this marathon culinary event.

Shrimp with Green Chili Pesto

 

There are a million ways to make pesto this one calls for green chilies in place of the basil.  They add a great tanginess perfect for shrimp.  The finished shrimp are fabulous hot but great even cold the next day.  My photo shows them cold since the theme is finger food that travels.  I put these on small bamboo skewers but you could use toothpicks or place 2-3 on a longer skewer as a single serving.

Spanish Meatballs with Almond Sauce 

These need to be made either right before your picnic or reheated before traveling so they can be served warm or at room temperature.  The almond sauce is creamy goodness so serve these with crusty bread.  

Recipe Riffs:

Meat – the recipe calls for beef or lamb but I used ground pork which worked equally well

Bread – I used 3 slices of a medium sized French loaf.  I toasted them lightly and only dunked them in water instead of soaking for 5 min.  Rip the bread into tiny pieces with your fingers

Spanish olive oil can be replaced by any good olive oil

Dry white wine can be replaced by 2/3 cup additional vegetable broth and another squeeze of lemon juice while cooking

Freshly grated nutmeg is the best but you can use the bottled version

Salmon in Mojo Sauce

I’m not done yet!  The mojo sauce in this recipe is just charmoula in disguise (see July).  I had run out of cumin so I used Mexican chili powder which contains a little cumin.  The sauce turned very RED and mixed with oil this can be a deadly combination!  Provide long skewers and watch your clothing…

Recipe Riffs:

Ground Cumin – I used Mexican chili powder in a pinch and it turned out great