Fall Tapas, Gather Your People
Holiday season is fast approaching! Noooooo!!! It isn’t like I don’t have a great time and, let’s face it, after this summer (and the heat that is still lingering in San Diego) we are all ready for some slightly chillier weather. But, for me this means that I only have a few more months to get my New Year’s resolutions resolved, it starts to get dark earlier; and every store in the country suddenly turns into the Christmas consumer-recruiter. I feel like time runs away from me more, one holiday leads to the next, and there are so many events scheduled on the calendar. Luckily my friends and family decided a long time ago to bail on the obligatory Christmas gift giving; and just figure out more times for us to gather together and really celebrate our love and soulful connections.
With all of the chaotic schedules in the family, we also learned that having a gathering doesn’t have to be stressful or perfect. Sometimes you just have to throw together a couple of munchies and put the word out for the family and friends to bring something to contribute to the table. So, what I like to do is turn the gathering into a Tapas Party. Everyone makes a couple of tasty appetizers, I make a big batch of sangria and we put on some great music. Never any pressure to dress up, in fact often times I request people show up in comfy pajamas. We spend an evening treasuring the real blessings in life: love, laughter and each other.
Seasonal, Nutrient Rich, Budget Friendly….and Delicious?
Super Foods So Easy and Tasty To Use!
I am always trying to experiment with ingredients that are in season, nutrient rich, budget friendly; and can be used in recipes that allow me to make most of the components ahead of time. This way I can do some prep the night before, or even a couple days in advance. My upcoming Tapas Party will include two recipes I created that are festive and tasty, and follow all of the criteria above. Sweet Potato Medallions with Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese and Parsley Pesto are perfect served warm or chilled, and give us a boost of beta carotene and powerful antioxidants. My Ancho Turkey Tostadas with Radish and Cabbage Slaw include walnuts, chilies, onions and the cruciferous super star: cabbage.
The day before the party, I can toss almost everything in the oven: the garlic for the goat cheese, the sliced sweet potatoes, the tortillas for the tostadas. I then saute a base of onions, garlic and peppers so I can add slices of turkey cutlets (or even better yet make use of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving) and braise it low and slow with some ancho chili and organic free range chicken broth, until it is super tender. The evening of the party, I can assemble my tapas by mashing the roasted garlic with goat cheese as a topping for the roasted sweet potatoes and drizzling with parsley pesto. The braised ancho turkey tops my baked tostadas and is finished with the fresh slaw. And finally my Spiced Cider Sangria is a refreshing and festive way to wash it all down…perfect for the season but cooling at the same time.
So, with all of this easy and fun deliciousness happening, fill up your belly and your soul. Gather your people for a fun Fall Tapas party! Check out my recipes for both tapas, plus my favorite bonus holiday cocktail, Spiced Cider Sangria.
- • 1 red bell pepper, small diced
- • 2 tsp. ground ancho chili powder
- • 1 pound turkey breast cutlets*
- • 1 tsp. kosher salt
- • 1 tsp. cumin
- • 1 c. small diced onion
- • 1 serrano chili, minced
- • 6 cloves garlic, minced
- • ½ c. toasted walnuts, chopped
- • 2 TB lime juice
- • 1 diced tomato
- • 3 c. chicken broth
- • 10 corn tortillas
- • Vegetable oil
- • Kosher salt
- • 2 c. chiffonade cabbage
- • handful of cilantro, minced
- • 4 radishes, finely julienne
- • the juice of 1 lime
- • ½ tsp. each kosher salt and dry oregano
- Heat a small amount of oil in a sauce pot. Sautee the onion until caramelized. Add turkey, garlic, serrano, bell pepper, ancho powder, cumin and salt. When turkey is browned, stir in lime and chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook uncovered for 40 minutes, or until turkey is shreddable tender. Using a slotted spoon, pull turkey pieces out and shred it. My trick to shredding meat easily is to use two forks. Keep the shredded meat in a bowl and turn the heat up on the remaining juices in the pot. Let it cook uncovered until the liquid has reduced to about 2 cups. This concentrates the flavor and makes the turkey saucy. Stir the turkey and toasted nuts into the juices.
- Meanwhile, brush tortillas lightly with oil. You can either cut them in fourths, or use a 3” round cookie cutter to cut them. Transfer them to a sheet pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes, then flip the pieces over and continue baking approximately 6-8 minutes longer; until crispy all the way through.
- Serve the little tostadas with turkey and top them with the slaw. Serve with cilantro and a slice of lime. Optionally, to make this a more substantial tostada, you can also spread some re-fried beans on each one before topping with the turkey.
- Substitute chicken by using 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs in place of turkey.
- Make use of all of that leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, by adding your already shredded and cooked turkey with the broth. You would reduce the braising time to about 20 minutes.
- It probably goes without saying, but this would be equally delicious, but a smidgeon more evil, if you wanted to use pork butt (just cut it into 2 inch chunks and braise it for about an hour.
- • 2 large enlongated * sweet potatoes
- • 3 cloves garlic, minced to a paste
- • ¼ c. olive oil
- • 2 TB minced fresh thyme
- • Kosher salt and chili flakes
- • 3 ounces goat cheese seasoned with salt and pepper
- • 10 cloves garlic, peeled
- • 1 TB each water and olive oil
- • 1 cup parsley roughly chopped, stems and leaves
- • Olive oil
- • 1 clove garlic, minced
- • ½ tsp. kosher salt
- Cut sweet potatoes into medallion slices, approximately ¼ inch thick. For a more uniform shape, you can use a 1 ½” cookie cutter to cut each slice. Toss with thyme, minced garlic and olive oil. Transfer to a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and chili flakes and roast in a 425 degree oven for 25-35 minutes or until browned on the outside and fork tender on the inside.
- For goat cheese: Place garlic in a small baking dish with olive oil and water. Cover with foil. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the garlic is tender and caramelized. It should easily be mashed with a fork. Mash the roasted garlic with the seasoned goat cheese.
- For pesto: Place parsley and 1 clove of minced garlic in a blender with a few fat pinches of salt. Add about ½ c. of olive oil. Turn the blender on and then drizzle in more olive oil if needed to make sure that parsley is pureed. The pesto should be a bit oily, which allows it to be drizzled and then leftovers can be frozen for future use.
- To assemble:Serve medallions of sweet potato spread with a small amount of goat cheese and a drizzle of pesto.
- When putting something like goat cheese on a tapa, you can use a couple of different techniques to make them look more uniform and make sure you have the same amount of goat cheese on each serving: Make quenelles, which are little football shaped blobs, using two small spoons to shape them. OR add the cheese to a sandwich bag and snip one of the ends and squeeze out even little "kisses" of goat cheese.
- • 2 quarts apple cider
- • 2 cinnamon sticks
- • 1 tsp. whole cloves
- • 1 TB fresh ginger root
- • 16 oz. ginger beer (my favorite is Reeds Extra Ginger Brew)
- • 16 oz. hard cider
- • 1 bottle champagne
- • 8 oz. bourbon
- • 3 apples sliced thin
- • 2 oranges, sliced thin
- • 1 lime, sliced thin
- Heat apple cider with cloves, orange slices, cinnamon and fresh ginger until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let it “steep” as it cools to room temperature.
- Combine with all remaining ingredients and serve over ice, garnished with extra slices of apple and orange.