Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Dinner Party Recipes

I realize I teased all of you with the photos of my appetizer/dinner party food yesterday, so here are the recipes - including the directions on how to create the olive penguins!

First up: Roasted Chickpeas, which I first discovered on Michelle's blog.  


Roasted Chickpeas
Yields: 8 servings

-2 (12 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 tablespoon ground cumin
-1 ½ tsp. chili powder
-1 tsp. dried oregano
-½ tsp. ground ginger
-Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2.) Stir together the chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Spread the chickpea mixture in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
3.) Roast in the preheated oven until the chickpeas are dark brown in spots, crisp, and have shrunk quite a bit, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Next up: Black Bean Hummus. This recipe inspired my recipe.


Black Bean Hummus
Yield: 8 servings

-1  tbsp. minced garlic
-2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
-1  teaspoon  ground cumin
-1  (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
-1  small jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
-Pinch of cayenne pepper
-½ tsp. dried cilantro
-Salt and black pepper, to taste
-2  teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil

Directions: 
1.) Place garlic, lemon juice, cumin, salt, black pepper, cayenne, black beans, jalapeño pepper and cilantro in food processor; process until smooth.
2.) Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with more dried cilantro. Serve with pita chips.

And, the grand finale: Olive Penguins!


Directions, courtesy of my mother:

-Take a slice of carrot for the base; cut out a pie slice piece for the beak; remainder of carrot is for the feet (base).
-Make a slit down the front of 1 olive and fill with cream cheese (squeezed from a bag) for the body
-Make a tiny slit across another olive and slide pie slice carrot in for beak
-Stack onto carrot base with a toothpick

Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite dishes to make for a dinner/appetizer party?

4 comments:

  1. Yay! I'm so glad my blog post inspired you to make roasted chickpeas! Aren't they delicious?

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  2. thanks for sharing, love that you got inspiration form other blogs and your mom! I do the same thing.

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  3. Michelle - they were addicting! Thanks again for the inspiration!

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  4. Oh my god those penguins crack me up...how freaking cute!!

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