Probably the most challenging part of cooking holiday dinners is deciding what to serve until the roast is carved. You need some kind of diversionary starter for everyone to nibble at while the lumps are being mashed out of the potatoes and whisked out of the gravy, but it can’t be anything really rich or heavy or filling, or no one will ever make it to the mince pie.
And it certainly can’t be anything that takes more than a few ingredients and a couple of steps to assemble on a day when even the best cook feels overwhelmed.
You could just go out and buy a few sneaky convenience foods, but the flavors would seem off before a meal that celebrates real home cooking. A better way to give the appearance of being a generous and caring cook without becoming a galley slave is to choose from some quick, simple and surprisingly different starters based on ideas borrowed from classic hors d’oeuvres.
Only one of these takes more than 15 minutes of work, most of them far less. They are all familiar enough to serve to unadventurous relatives, but each one has a little twist.
For instance, olives marinated in olive oil, garlic and assorted herbs get an extra zing from lemon segments. But the real key is to use an assortment of good olives, preferably those produced in France, Italy, Greece or Spain and sold in bulk. If possible, include some oil-cured olives, which really come to life when marinated. You can marinate the olives up to a week in advance if you like.
Perhaps my favorite is real onion dip, ideally served with potato chips but almost as good with calorie-deficient raw vegetables. Ever since Lipton took over the supermarket aisle, onion dip has been routinely made with powdered onion soup mix. Even in cookbooks you find recipes like, “Stir 3 tablespoons onion soup mix into 1 cup sour cream.” There had to be a way to make it simple without opening up a packet full of mystery ingredients.
It seemed to me that the original idea was to imitate the dominant flavor of onion soup–caramelized onions–so I tried doing exactly that. I minced some onions, cooked them in oil until they were well browned and then stirred them into sour cream. It is a fresh, three-ingredient dip (if you count the oil, which you drain) with clarity, intensity and complexity of flavor. (You can make and serve this right away, but the onion flavor intensifies if you allow it to sit, refrigerated, for about a day.)
REAL SOUR CREAM ONION DIP
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Standing time: Overnight
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: About 1 1/2 cups
1/3 cup canola or grapeseed oil
1 medium onion, minced, about 1/2 cup
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup sour cream
Potato chips or raw vegetables for serving
1. Heat oil on medium-high heat in 8-inch skillet. Add onion, salt and sugar. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until onion browns, about 10 minutes.
2. Pour onion and oil into fine strainer; reserve oil in refrigerator for another use. Stir onion into sour cream. If time allows, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Nutrition information per tablespoon:
Calories …………. 50 Fat ………… 5 g Saturated fat … 1.5 g
% calories from fat .. 90 Cholesterol … 4 mg Sodium ………. 11 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 0.9 g Protein …… 0.4 g Fiber …………. 0 g
COLD SHRIMP WITH COCKTAIL SAUCE
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Chilling/resting time: 30 minutes
Yield: 10 servings
3 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons horseradish or to taste
1. Place shrimp in large saucepan; add cold water to cover. Turn heat to high; heat water to boil. Cover saucepan; remove from heat. Let shrimp sit 10 minutes. Drain shrimp; place in large, shallow bowl. Chill completely, at least 20 minutes.
2. For sauce, combine ketchup, butter and vinegar in small saucepan. Mix well; cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted. Add horseradish. Serve chilled shrimp with warm or cold sauce.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 155 Fat ……….. 4.6 g Saturated fat .. 2.5 g
% calories from fat .. 27 Cholesterol .. 205 mg Sodium …….. 555 mg
Carbohydrates ……. 7 g Protein …….. 21 g Fiber ………. 0.4 g
MARINATED OLIVES
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 1 hour
Yield: 12 servings
1 lemon
6 cups assorted olives
6 cloves garlic, peeled, lightly crushed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried leaves
1. Cut lemon in half. Remove pulp segments as you would from a grapefruit.
2. Toss lemon segments and remaining ingredients in bowl. Marinate at room temperature for at least an hour, or as long as 12 hours in refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator an hour before serving.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …………. 50 Fat ………… 5 g Saturated fat .. 0.6 g
% calories from fat .. 86 Cholesterol … 0 mg Sodium …….. 220 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 1.6 g Protein …… 0.2 g Fiber ………. 0.8 g
FIGS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
2 ounces soft, fresh goat cheese
1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar
12 fresh figs, washed, drained
1. Use fingers to roll goat cheese into 24 small balls, each 1/2 inch or less in diameter. Place cheese balls on plate; drizzle with vinegar. Shake gently to coat evenly.
2. Cut figs in half. Press a cheese ball into center of each fig; as they are stuffed, return them, stuffed side up, to plate where cheese was coated in vinegar. Serve within an hour.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …………. 50 Fat ………. 1.2 g Saturated fat .. 0.7 g
% calories from fat .. 19 Cholesterol … 2 mg Sodium ……… 18 mg
Carbohydrates …… 10 g Protein …… 1.3 g Fiber ………. 1.7 g
FENNEL WITH OLIVE OIL DIPPING SAUCE
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled, lightly crushed
Salt, freshly ground pepper
Minced zest of 1 lemon
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cut into thin strips
1. For dipping sauce, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil and garlic in small saucepan on medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to sizzle. Remove garlic from oil; discard.
2. Add remaining oil, salt, pepper and lemon zest to taste to pan. Stir; pour into bowl. Serve fennel with dipping sauce.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …………. 90 Fat ……….. 9 g Saturated fat .. 1.2 g
% calories from fat .. 89 Cholesterol .. 0 mg Sodium ……… 15 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 2.2 g Protein ….. 0.4 g Fiber ………… 1 g
