Smoked salmon

Everything sounds delicious!

Cheese straws. Proscutto with bread sticks. Or have the Champagne with dessert.

puff pastry rolled out, sprinkled with fresh parm, and then cut into strips and twisted. Makes lovely parmesan twists.
Jo

Ann's escargot in bread cups with cream is wonderful. Hopefully she'll pipe in with the recipe.

I also like to serve crab claws with warm garlic butter for dripping...I mean dipping.

Cheese straws and olives are great too.

Mini pickled pearl onions, puff pastry sausage roll bites, bacon rolled dates.
Just the two of us as well so more isn't needed as we'll be having vol au vent and salad afterwards.

This year it'll be salmon & mushroom vol au vent instead of shrimp.

SharonCb

Jo, do you bake the parmesan twists? If so, for how long and what temp? They sound good. Actually, everything y'all have listed sounds good.

Sally

I bet Ann's crab and Endive would be really good with champagne:

Ann's Crab and Endive

Fills about 24 leaves

1 2-oz. can whole pimentos
1 green onion
1 shallot
1/2 lb. cooked crab meat
1 tsp. prepared mustard
2 tsp. lemon juice
2-4 Tbl. mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Paprika
3 Belgian endives

Chop 1 pimento (reserve the remainder for another use), the green onion, and the shallot. Combine the crab meat, mustard, lemon juice, green onion, shallot, and 2 Tbl. of the mayonnaise, adding more if needed. Add the pimento and season to taste with salt, pepper, and paprika. To prepare the Belgian endive cut off 1 inch from the root end; carefully separate each leaf. Stuff Belgian endive leaves with crab meat filling.

Clare,

Moe and I always have the same thing on New Years Eve. Lobster and Champagne. We have been doing this for over 30 years, with few exceptions. I don't even bother with appetizers. Sometimes I serve steamed asparagus to dip in the melted butter. But usually we just pig out on lobster. I have 4 one pound live lobsters on order that I will pick up later today. And a bottle of Veuve Clicquot chilling.

But if I were going to serve an appetizer I would choose from one of these three.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Escargot In Mini Toast Cups
===========================
Source: Elegant Entertaining Cookbook - M. Sable

1 loaf of white bread
1/4 cup melted butter
1 can escargot (36 to 50 size)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 shallots
2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 bay leaf
1 cup whipping cream
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
. preheat oven to 400
Cut crusts off bread and roll out very thin. cut 2 inch rounds and fit
each round gently into a well buttered 1 1/4 muffin tin.
Brush tops of rounds with melted butter and bake them for 10 minutes or
until edges are golden brown. Remove from tins and cool.
In a medium sauce pan combine wine, chicken stock and shallots, thyme
and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce liquid to 1/3 cup. Stir in
cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Reduce liquid to 1/2 cup. Add escargot.
Remove bayleaf and stir in butter.
Fill each croustade with 1 or 2 escargot and some of the sauce.
Sprinkle with minced parsley.

OPtions: Use puff pastry instead of toast cups

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Escargot Stilton
================

Recipe of the Week
We have a new participant in our Guest Chef series this week - Todd White of Cafe Normandie. Todd is the Chef de Cuisine (in other words the number 2 guy) at Cafe Normandie. That's right - the same fabulous Frenchtown eatery that is the showcase for all the good things that Georges Johnson (another guest chef) prepares. You know these young upstarts - they want to show everyone that they're just as good as the boss - and I guess this recipe proves it. Todd says that he's been told by diners that this particular dish is "better than sex." I'll leave that decision up to you.

Todd White of Cafe Normandie

Escargot Stilton
1 dozen large snails
3 oz Stilton cheese, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
pinch of diced shallots salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg frozen puff pastry (I wouldn't dream of telling you to make your own - this is perfectly good)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Defrost puff pastry according to package directions.

Place 2 large snails in 2" x 2" puff pastry squares. Fold corners in and enclose. Place on greased baking sheet and bake in the oven until golden brown, approximately 13-15 minutes.

In a saucepan, place the white wine and shallots. Cook over medium high heat until reduced by half. Add the cream and again reduce by half. Remove from heat and add Stilton, stirring until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, divide the sauce onto 2 plates and place 3 escargot packets on each.

Just the appetizer to serve on a romantic occasion when the dining is a deux!

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Stuffed Endives With Crab Meat
==============================

Filling

Fills about 24 leaves

1 2-oz. can whole pimentos
1 green onion
1 shallot
1/2 lb. cooked crab meat
1 tsp. prepared mustard
2 tsp. lemon juice
2-4 Tbl. mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Paprika
3 Belgian endives
.
Chop 1 pimento (reserve the remainder for another use), the green
onion, and the shallot.
Combine the crab meat, mustard, lemon juice, green onion, shallot,
and 2 Tbl. of the
mayonnaise, adding more if needed. Add the pimento and season to
taste with salt, pepper,
and paprika. To prepare the Belgian endive cut off 1 inch from the
root end; carefully separate
each leaf. Stuff Belgian endive leaves with crab meat filling.

Mostly anything's good with champagne...but for sour or pickeled things. Salty like caviar go very well.
Linda C

Gorgeous photos, Ann!

And don't forget Alexa's Lobster in Phyllo.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Phyllo Triangles with Lobster Filling
=====================================
Posted by caliloo (My Page) on Mon, Dec 19, 05 at 16:04

Phyllo Triangles with Lobster Filling
Martha Stewart Entertaining
Makes about 50

1 Steamed Lobster
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 scallions finely chopped
¼ cup white wine or vodka
1 ½ tbsp all purpose flour
¼ cup heavy cream
pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 lb Phyllo
1 lb unsalted butter, melted

Remove meat from lobster and chop. Set aside
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small skillet and sauté the scallions for 2 or 3 min. Add lobster meat and wine or vodka and stir quickly to combine over high heat. Drain the mixture reserving the liquid.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in another skillet. Add the flour and cook slowly without coloring the flour for 5 minutes. Add the reserved liquid and cream and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir the lobster meat back into the cream mixture, add cayenne and season to taste. Cool completely before filling the triangles.

Prepare the triangles as you would sharons Spanikopita. If you need those directions, I can copy them over.

I do not know if these freeze, but I am not going to need all 50 for Xmas Eve, so I am going to give it a shot with the leftovers.

Everything sounds great! Except maybe the escargots. Sorry Ann T, just not a big fan though your photos make them look good. LOL. I like your idea of lobster. I might pick some up today or maybe some crab. I love them both!

We eat early so that is why we have snacks with the Champagne starting at 9PM and going to 10PM or maybe 11PM. I rarely make it to midnight any more. ;>)
Clare

Clare,

Sharon's stuffed mushrooms or puff pastry with mushroom and roasted red peppers would also be good.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Stuffed Mushrooms
=================

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Mushrooms And Pimientos In Puff Pastry
======================================
The Foods and Wines of Spain

1 package puff pastry
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1 clove garlic minced
2 Tablespoons minced pimiento
preferably homemade
1/4 pound mushrooms, chopped fine
1/2 dried red chili crumbled or 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

.

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion and garlic until onion is
wilted. Add the pimiento and cook for a minute, then the mushrooms,
chili pepper, salt, and pepper and saute until mushrooms are softened.
Remove from the heat and stir in cheese.

Roll the puff pastry to 1/8 inch. You can cut Cut into 1 3/4 inch
circles and place 1 teaspoon of filling on half of the circles. Moisten
the edges with water, cover with the remaining pastry circles, and
press with the tines of a fork to seal.

I prefer to make them triangle shape,by cutting the pastry into 2 1/2
inches squares, add filling on one half and then folding over corner to
form a triangle.

(May be prepared ahead and refrigerated) Place on a dampened cookie
sheet and bake at 425 F on the upper rack of the oven for 7 to 10
minutes or until golden.

( To cut down on work you could make this appetizer in a larger size
and Bake for about 20 minutes.) Then cut into wedges.

You reminded me of these that Chase had recommended to me! They are so awesome and easy!

La Gougere (Ann T)

NOTE: I do not make the ring , instead I drop from a Tablespoon and make individual ones.

H1 Cup water (or half milk/half water)
1/3 Cup butter
1/2 Tsp salt
fresh nutmeg, Grated (I use the canned spice)
cayenne pepper
1 Cup flour
4 eggs
1 Tbl Dijon Mustard
1 Cup gruyere cheese
1 Tsp milk
extra cheese for top

Bring the water/milk to a boil and add butter. When butter has melted remove pan from heat and add flour, salt, cayenne, nutmeg, pepper and stir vigorously with a big wooden spoon.

The mixture should come away from the sides of the pan and form a ball.

Place mixture in the bowl of a large mixer and add one egg at a time beating well, After you add last egg continue to beat well.
Mixture will be shiny. Add dijon mustard and taste for
seasoning. Adjust to your taste. Add coarsely grated cheese.

Butter a large cookie sheet and flour. Draw a small circle in the flour (about 2 inches wide) and proceed to drop thedough by tablespoon fulls around the outside of this hole, making a ring,
or a crown. Dough should be piled high.

Brush lightly with milk and sprinkle the extra cheese over top.

Bake the ring in the over for 45 minutes at 400F. Do Not Open Door.

After baking, open the door of the oven and leave the gougere in the oven for 5 minutes. It should be firm to the touch and golden brown.

DH and I have fudge with our Champagne......different but good.