Little Bits of Things on Sticks and other Odds and Ends

I have been trying to clean up this blog site for more than a year. So much maintenance, once I let go of my website. I have worked to get most of the recipes from the website into this blog, so they are still available, but somehow I still find a recipe here and there that is missing. I am updating the Newsletter posts, deleting old ones with too many broken links to the nonexistent website. Maintenance. Tedious, but necessary.

In this process, I ran into quite a few things I never posted in this blog that really really SHOULD have been posted here long ago. Some of these things are party type things, or geared for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Or, Quince Paste, simple to make if you have quinces and excellent on a charcuterie platter, along with some really good Manchego. So many fantastic recipes!

Little Bits of Things on Sticks

One pretty simple idea is for meat and cheese skewers. These can be made any which way you choose, but the presentation of these skewers is what I want to talk about. And, I am calling them "Little Bits of Things on Sticks," after something said on the 1970s British sitcom "Good Neighbors." One of the first times I used this idea was in 2004 for my sister's 50th birthday party. We put lots and lots of sliced things stacked onto smaller toothpicks, and I used a half red cabbage as the display dome. For this party, we used nicer cheeses, including Manchego and Quince Paste (see below) stacked and cut together and some yellow cheddar, pepperjack and such, various salamis and ham in little cubes, olives artistically placed on here and there. Leaving just enough room at the pointy end of the toothpick to poke into the cabbage. Keep making the sticks and poking them into the cabbage, making a lovely domed presentation, very easy to grab and go.

Little Bits of Things on Sticks for Princesses

The second time I made Little Bits of Things on Sticks was for a "Princess Party" held by Aberdeen, SD's Dacotah Prairie Museum, in maybe 2012. This time, as the little skewers were for children, the meat and cheese were kept very simple, and I used grape halves as the beginning and ending items. This time, rather than a cabbage (which lots of children look on in horror) I used a half Styrofoam dome and covered it in pretty pink foil. I skewered in place a flat brim, also covered in pink foil and to this I affixed all the Little Bits of Things on Sticks. The flat piece and dome made their own little serving plate.

The third time I made Little Bits of Things on Sticks was for an Open House, this time anticipating the possibility of either adults or children attending, so these had meats, salami and cheeses alternating with grapes, cherry tomatoes and olives, and skewered into a half red cabbage. These were on pretty skewers from a place called Pick on Us, as well as the little pink heart skewers (above) for the Princess Party.

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Veggie Tree on Cheese Mold

Another pretty idea, this time for Christmas, is sprucing up a cheese mold by using veggies and parsley to create a Christmas Tree. Any cheese mold will do, preferably not covered in nuts as this would make it harder to get smooth. Cheese molds are simple to whip together, using any of a whole host of possible ingredients. Choose the ones that suit you and your guests best. I have some ideas here. Once you've created your mixture, line a 7 to 8-inch cake pan with plastic film, and then pack in the cheese mixture. Smooth the top, cover with more plastic film and refrigerate to help the mold keep its shape and to allow flavors to meld. It should refrigerate a few hours.

Veggie Tree on Cheese Mold

When ready to proceed, you will need some very nice parsley leaves, some carrots, red and/or yellow bell peppers and at least one goodly sized cherry tomato or a wedge shaped piece from a Roma tomato as the tree base. Cut the peppers into different sized stars, either freeform cut or using small star cutters. You can create a template with paper and use it as an outline to cut around with a sharp knife. With a peeler, cut a long, thin strip from a carrot to use as a garland. Assemble all the pieces. Try out your design on a flat surface before attempting it on the mold.

When ready to assemble, have a pretty plate ready to hold the cheese mold. Remove the plastic film from the top of the refrigerated mold and invert it onto the plate. Remove the plastic film from the remainder of the mold. Now, using the parsley leaves, lay out a diamond shape as the "tree." Set on a bell pepper star as tree topper, plus a few scattered on the tree. Use a tomato wedge as the tree stand. Drape the carrot strip artfully zigzagged to be the garland. In this photo I used rosemary sprigs to decorate the edges, and made carrot stars.

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Membrillo, or Quince Paste

Quince Fruits

Membrillo is the Spanish word for Quince, yet strangely, the word membrillo is used when I have seen this quince paste sold in stores. This is a simple recipe, providing you have access to quinces, often available only in the fall. Quince are a fruit that looks vaguely like a lumpy apple and they are not really tasty when raw. They are extremely tart and have a very high pectin content. They can be cooked to jam stage, or continued to cook down to paste. This paste will set firm enough to slice and set onto a meat and cheese plate or charcuterie plate.

Of course, the quince paste can also be eaten with toast, or on a cheese sandwich. Anything you can think of to use this delicious thickened "jam."

Quince Paste

Makes four (4 x 4 x ½-inch) squares

Quince Paste with Manchego Cheese

5 cups quince, peeled, cored, sliced
2 cups sugar
½ vanilla bean, optional

Set the quince slices into a 6 quart saucepan with ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, or until fruit is tender.  Add in the sugar and the half vanilla bean if using, stirring well to combine. Cook for about 20 more minutes covered, to wash down any sugar crystals.

Uncover the pan, remove the vanilla bean and off the heat, puree the mixture with an immersion blender or pour into other blender or food processor to puree. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring often for about 45 minutes to an hour over medium heat, or until the mixture has reduced significantly and can be brought together into a single mass without melting back into the pot.

Cooking the paste and setting into mold

Prepare an 8 x 8-inch square pan by lining it with parchment and then spraying the parchment with cooking spray. Pour the quince mixture into the prepared pan and allow to cool. This should yield a nice piece that will come out of the parchment whole and is able to be sliced into four 4x1-inch squares. Wrap each square well in plastic film and place them into a ziptop bag. Store in the refrigerator if using them within 3 to 4 weeks. Otherwise, place the bag into the freezer and withdraw one square when needed.

NOTE: If, after cooling, the mixture is not solidified, it can be placed into an oven on the lowest setting possible to further dry. Watch very carefully so as not to burn the edges.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.