Sausage and Cheese-Stuffed Jalapeños
Shrimp-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Sesame Crab Rolls
In the small Costa Rican community to which my husband and I have retired, the most common social event among ex-pats is the boca party. Boca, Spanish for mouth, refers to appetizers/finger food that one can just pop into one's mouth – no need for utensils. In the US, we'd call these events cocktail parties, but that sounds so grown up and not like us at all. When someone says, "Come for bocas," what she really means is, "Bring a boca, and we'll provide the drinks." While there's no meal served, the wonderful array of bocas that guests bring substitutes for dinner; so many here put substantial effort into making something great, and the urge to provide a unique and especially tasty boca is compelling.
For the first 40-some years of my marriage and, especially while raising two daughters and practicing law, I wasn't much of a cook. I considered that a personal failing and can't count the number of New Years when my resolution was "This year, I will learn to cook." I'm here to tell you, that if you don't get to it until retirement, it's not too late. One of the real pleasures of these years of leisure has been time to cook and time to learn to do it passably well. Finding a few great bocas has been an important part of the process and I'm happy to have this opportunity to share with you three terrific options, all from my Fargo friend, Chris, who has been a great cook since she was a wee child, I'm sure. I'm sorry I don't have pictures. By the next time I write a What's for Dinner? diary, I hope to have learned how to post photos with it. So far, I'm beyond frustrated with trying.
Stuffed Jalapeños
Jalapeño peppers – this stuffing recipe will fill approximately 18 peppers
1 12 oz package of Jimmy Dean sausage
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Put on protective gloves and cut the jalapeños in half length-wise. Remove the seeds and membranes – I use a small knife for this and take care to avoid such sharp, quick action as might cause the peppers' spicy oil to squirt onto my face or skin. Easy does it, but if you get burned, put milk on the spot immediately. That's the best antidote I've found.
Sauté the sausage. We can't get Jimmy Dean here in Costa Rica, so I use a mixture of spicy chorizo and sweet breakfast sausage, removing the skin and breaking the contents up in the frypan as one would do with hamburger for tacos. Drain the sausage well. The cheeses provide substantial fat, so the drier the sausage, the better.
In a bowl, mix the sausage and cream cheese, then blend in the Parmesan. (I do this all with my still-gloved hands rather than with an instrument of some kind.)
Stuff the peppers, slightly rounding the stuffing. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove and serve.
Note: It's a big recipe and great for a crowd, but you can't always serve such quantities. Chris bakes what she needs and freezes the excess unbaked, stuffed peppers for use little by little over time. But, I prefer freezing the stuffing and using fresh peppers the second time around. That seems to yield peppers that hold their shape better for the second serving.
A spicy sausage makes an especially hot mouthful – we love that at our house, but find we must warn people new to the dish. Interestingly, we've found that as the temperature of the peppers drops, so does its spiciness, though generally they don't last long enough to cool down.
Shrimp-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms from Epicurious.com
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped fresh or dried basil
3 large garlic gloves, chopped
½ teaspoon chopped fresh or dried rosemary
6-8 ounces cooked shrimp (if they are baby size, use as is, otherwise, chop)
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise
8 2-2½ inch Portobello mushrooms (The smaller portobellos called for here are packaged as portobellini or baby portobellos. They can be served whole as an appetizer course that needs a knife and fork or with a salad for a light supper. For bocas, I use the larger portobellos and, after baking, I cut them into six or eight pieces, like pie.)
Using a spoon, gently remove the dark gills from the underside of the mushrooms. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
Add onion, basil, garlic and rosemary. Sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to medium bowl and mix in shrimp, breadcrumbs, cheese and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Arrange mushrooms, rounded side down, on oiled baking sheet. Mound shrimp filling in the mushrooms, pressing filling to compact slightly. (You can do this much up to 6 hours ahead then cover and refrigerate.)
Bake mushrooms at 350 degrees, until they are tender and the filling begins to brown, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.
Sesame Crab Rolls
1½ cups grated Velveeta cheese
1 lb. Butter
20 slices, white bread (prefer sandwich bread sliced thin)
8-12 oz. sesame seeds
8-16 oz. crab or shrimps (canned, frozen, fresh)
Melt half the butter in a double broiler with cheese and then cool. Add crab and stir until cool and of spreading consistency. Blend as it cools.
Cut crusts off bread and roll until flattened. If you use the square sandwich bread, you'll get something only slightly thicker than a communion wafer and 4-6 inches square. Spread one side with filling and roll up. Melt the other half of the butter. Dip rolls in butter and roll in sesame seeds. Place seam side down on baking sheet, cover and freeze. Thaw slightly and cut into bite size pieces (like a sushi roll). Broil until brown on all sides.
NB: The thinner you get the bread, the more important that it be fresh so it doesn't break.
Do you have a special appetizer recipe you are willing to share? I'm always in search of something new. Do you have a cooking mentor who has been especially important to your growth in the kitchen? And, by the way, What's for dinner?
A new French restaurant has opened here and a neighbor is treating us to dinner, so I'll be away for part of the evening. I look forward to your comments and will reply as soon as we get home, if not before we leave. And, I'll post a report about the restaurant, too. French! That's really uptown here in Nosara.