Easy Peasie Appies

By Luci

It’s one of those weeks. Bad enough, but good friends, unexpectedly, are going to drop by in late afternoon ….or, your carefully constructed appetizer to start a dinner party with a BANG! wound up smashed to smithereens on the floor, thanks to tripping over the cat……or - fill in the blank with your dismaying accident.  All is not lost.

Most of us have in our pantries and fridges a few items that can turn into a delightful and super easy substitute: cheese and crackers, jams and jellies.

Cheese and crackers are a ho-hum appetizer but can be gussied up to look and taste marvelous. Top a sharp cheese with a sweet jam or jelly. Mix in a flavor that complements the jam flavor and you will have, not a ho-hum appie, but a delicious treat filled with complex flavors and textures. The cheese supplies plenty of umami and the jams contribute  sweet, sour, and, sometimes, bitter tastes. Crackers complete the inclusion of the five basic tastes with salt. As for texture, imagine biting into one of these creations. Soft jam meets pliable cheese and crunchy cracker. At first, each element is distinct, then all blend for a fill-your-mouth-with-joy experience.

Spicy Cherry Spread

Sweet and spicy always scores a success. Cherries combine a touch of tart with their rich sweetness. Adding  sweet spices and pungent black pepper makes a marvelous mixture, enhanced by the sharp cheese.

This combination is a favorite of mine, not only in appetizers, but also in sauces. I’ve varied the spices and peppers and urge you to try cooked cherries with your favorites. I favor cloves, cinnamon and coriander. In this case, I used cloves, cinnamon and coarsely ground black peppercorns.

The amounts to use depend greatly on the taste, especially of the sweetness of the cherry jam and, to a lesser extent, the sharpness of the cheese. Start with an appropriate amount of cherry jam and gradually add small amounts of the spices you chose until you have the flavor you want. Do the same with pepper.

Fig Spread with Crushed Almonds

That combination, figs and almonds, is common in Spanish cuisine and other Mediterranean ones. So, simplicity itself, I lightly crushed some salted, toasted almonds to mix with the fig spread. Using crushed, not ground, almonds means more crunch to the dish. Use as much as pleases you.Your guests will be just as pleased.

Pear Spread with Bacon

Sweet pears and savory, salty bacon are always great together. They were the inspiration for this blog. I had some unexpected visitors and was grateful that I had a jar of pear spread and some slices of bacon that I had cooked the previous day. I chopped a couple slices of bacon and mixed the bits into a pear spread that I had recently opened. I topped cheddar cheese on crackers with the mix. My visitors applauded.