In the evening if we're having guests over for supper, or friends drop by unexpectedly, I like to offer something savoury to get the taste buds buzzin'. However I don't want to spend all the time in the kitchen so the food has to be quick and easy to prepare - yet looks as if I've spent hours slaving away creating it! I’m always looking out for new simple ideas as the ubiquitous peanuts and chips get so boring.
My No.1 inspiration last year was using frozen sliced garlic bread as a base for numerous interesting canapés. You can of course make your own garlic bread – leftover French stick is ideal – especially if a little stale.
Make Your Own Garlic Bread and Garlic Butter in Minutes
Just tear off a piece of foil large enough to wrap around the bread, cut - diagonally across the bread, roughly every one inch. Do not cut right through. Liberally butter with the garlic concoction. Wrap the bread in the foil and bake in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes or until the butter melts. Then serve immediately.
Garlic butter can also be bought or whizzed up by adding garlic paste, chopped parsley, a hint of salt and loads of softened butter. Experiment with the ratio as this is a matter of taste. I personally use about 3 tbs finely chopped parsley to 2 tsp garlic paste and 8 oz softened butter. As I'm entertaining I don't want to smell of garlic, so I always use prepared garlic paste – cheating perhaps, but this is meant to be a quick recipe.
I also had a craze in 2011 for Blue Goats Cheese – and creamy Gorgonzola. Both are wonderful for eating: perhaps generously stuffed into small pieces of celery or cherry tomatoes (cut the tops off the tomato, scoop out the seeds, drain well and pile in the cheese). The garlic bread nibble recipe is equally as good with velvety Gorgonzola or a creamy goats cheese, and sheer heaven topped with a few sliced, seedless green grapes. For a more substantial bite, don’t cut the bread slices in half, but top with some cold ham, and then add the cheese, before popping back into the oven.
Blue Cheese Nibbles
Makes 20 pieces
Ingredients:
- 1x10 slices frozen garlic bread
- 200 - 250g soft blue goat’s cheese
Method:
- Cook the garlic bread according to the packet instructions. Remove from oven.
- Cut each slice of bread in half and spread cheese on one side of each slice. Pop back into the oven. Allow the cheese just to start to melt, then serve immediately.
Serving Tip for Garlic bread
This is also great as a lunch snack served with a green salad, sun dried tomatoes, black olives and capers laced with a honey dressing.
Deborah Ratcliffe - An experienced International writer with a passion for the reality of life and its magic moments!
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