Tasty, Fast and Fabulous Appetizers

VEW

Here are a couple really good, really easy appetizers that look nice as well.

Jacques Pepin’s Tortilla Pizza
Truly you won’t believe a pizza made on a flour tortilla could be this good and certainly not elegant. But you would be wrong, like I was. Were it not for Monsieur Pepin touting these as something he loves I never would’ve tried them.

Lightly coat both sides of a couple flour tortillas with olive oil, then sprinkle with 1 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese (each), sea or kosher salt and pepper. Top with thinly sliced tomato and grated fresh mozzarella. Drizzle with 1 T olive oil and bake at 500 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let rest for a minute and then add freshly chopped basil. Slice and serve.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp with Herbed Goat Cheese
These take about 4 minutes to cook and a few minutes to assemble. If you want to make it even faster, buy goat cheese that already has herbs mixed in it.

Find the recipe here.

Smoked Salmon Crostini with Cilantro-Lime Sauce
Slice a baguette and brush with olive oil, toast in the oven. Let the toasts cool, then spread each with a bit of the cilantro-lime sauce (below). Top with a small piece of smoked salmon.
For a slightly different presentation, plate the salmon pieces and toasts separately on a platter with the sauce in a pretty bowl on the side.

Cilantro-lime sauce (from epicurious.com, but perhaps under a different name as I couldn’t find it on the site.)
1C pakced fresh cilantro leaves
3 T fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, peeled
1t Dijon mustard
¼ t hot pepper sauce
¾ C mayo
Blend first 5 ingredients in a food processor until cilantro is finely chopped. Add mayo and process just to blend. Transfer to a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. (Can be made 1 day ahead).