The most memorable parties usually involve tasty food and if it’s a little different than what people are used to that can make things feel extra festive. This episode features a selection of snacks that are always a big hit every time I serve them.
The first dish for our party menu ines hoy
lime tuna tataki. That may sounde a likutmohful, but it’s really simple
to prepare to. Takis. A Japanese word that refers to fish or meat
that’s been served either raw or very lightly seared. In this case,
we’re going to sear this beautiful tuna loin and dress it up with a beautiful
honey liinme vaigrette. So delicious. So we’re going to start
by making the vinaigrette. I love to shmiake ne up in mason
jars. As you’ve probably noted
if you’ve watched previous , episepode isodes of the show,
it’s so easy. So I’m going to start by tting in some freshly grated
ginger root. Very popular
in a lot of Asian cuisines, and it adds a nice le,ittl so almost a peppery bite
to the vinaigrette. I’ve g somote rice vinegar. Again, very quintessentially
Asian, although I use it in a diflot offerent vinaigrette,
so I really like it. Got some soy sauce. And just
to dilute e thsoy sauce a little soin the vgraiette isn’t
too salty. We’re going
to put in a bit of water. Next upwe
‘ve got some sesame oil. The honey
that I mentioned before. And you’ll see it’s not
a great quantity of vinaigrette. We don’t want to drown
our fish o it’s been seared sli andd.ce We just want to give it
just a little extra flavor. And our last item is going to be
some freshly squeezed li me juice. If you don’t have a citrus
reamer, highly recommend it. Great for not making a whole,
carafe of orange juice, t bufor squeezing a lemon
or lime now and again. It’s really helpful. We’re looking for just
a teaspoon or two of lime juice. That should be good. Now we’re going to put the lonid
our jar and give it a shake. There. It’s all ready to go. Once the fish has been seared. So we’ve got fry ouring pan
here. Just going to turn up the heat
a little bit. And wegoin’re g to add
a little bit of vegetable oil to the pan. And we really don’t
need to do anything to the tuna. You could sprinkle it withit a ltle bit of pepper
if you wanted. It doesn’t need salt
because of the dinressg, but it’s just a reallypl sime
preparation. Just checking to make sure
the pan’ce as ni hndot. And then we’ll add
the tuna to the pan. And we’re just going
to do about 30s per side. And wht coen imes off we’re going to place it on this board. And if it sticks a little bit u yocan just persuade it
with a fork. So you want the tuna
to still be pink on the inside, but ha theve nice white sear
on the outside so it’s easy to see
it’s progress because of the pink
in the middle. Almost done. Here we go. See how easy that is? It’s pretty foolproof as long as
you pay attention to it. You just don’t want to let it
get away from you. It’ll still be tasty,
even if it’s fully cooked. But when you slice it
seand e the contrast of the sear d the raw in the middle,
it’s really, really pretty. wSoe’ve got a plate. We just turn that off. Now we’re going to slice
itabout a third of an inch thi. So that’s about two centimeters
or so. You don’t wantsl to ice it too
thinly or it might fall apart. Look at that.
Isn’t that gorgeous? Just perfect. This could be something
th havat youe as a past appetizer
at a cocktail party. could have it on a buffet
with little plates. It would even make a really
pretty plated appetizer. I’m just going to cut this
first piece so that I can are rangit
and show you what we do to serve it up. So think about
sort of a pretty pattern on your plate. You can get tuna loin at most,
reputable fishmongers. And it’s not terribly expensive. You n oftecan find it frozen,
and it can stay in the freezer for a long time
if it’s properly vacuum sealed. So I usually have
a couple of them in the freezer just for a spontaneous meal
or a party, and they don’t have to go out
sto ahop and try and find it. So now
we’re going to add our dressing. And like I said, we
don’t twanto drowned the fish. So’m just going to use a spoon to just drizzle
a little over the top. And what you can always do with the extra is serve it
in little bowls. And people could dip their bites
of tuna in the dressing if they preferred. Just atl lite bit more. You can always add a bit more, but it’s hard to take it away
if you poout t much on. I’And m just trying to make sure
every piece gets a little bit of ginger on it, because that’s p tart ofhe appeal of this dressing. There we go. And we’ll wipe
the plate for presentation sake. And the last garnish I want useo
are these nice microgreens. I really enjoy
this one’s from Farm Boy. And they have several varieties. These happen to be little tiny
baby broccoli plants. How cute is that. ey have mustard ones.
There’s mixed ones. Sometimes there’s pea shoots itand just makes the dish
look so much more elegant when you’ve got these beautiful
littlets sprou perched on top. sIt’sort of like old time putting tinsel
on a Christmas tree. Resist the urge
to just throw them on top and, try and place them
a little bit uniformly. And the leftover mgricroeens
from the container are cidelious on salads
put into sandwiches. So I never let a container
go to waste when I buy them at Farm Boy. All right. And if you wish,
you could finish witagh ain, Pepper,
if you haven’td useto before. Black sesame
seeds are really nice, but you can see
how quick and easy it was to make this beautiful
honey lime tuna tataki. Perfect for your next party. If you’re a big fan of meatballs as I am,ou y’re going to want to
stay tuned for my next recipe. The colorful, flavorful saucree
ally makes the meatballs taste outstanding in this party. Perfect dish. a buffet for a party. sep Ditch those toothpicks and
consider pretzel sticks instead. Guests will be verrty enteneaid
by the thought of spearing a meat
ball or a piece of cheese on an edible holder. I don’t know about you, but I love meatballs
and constantly exptierimenng th wi different ways
to prepare them. Different sauces,
erdiffent fillings. My current favorite are these
pe C Ca iodnspired meatballs. And n’t I doknow why they they’re called Cape Cod,
except that they do grow a lot of cranberries
in Massachusetts. Of course, we happen to grow a lot of cranbeserrin iCanada,
particularly in Quebec, so maybe I’ll call them
Quebectb meaalls. I don’t kn I’m using ground chicken today
because the sauce is cranberry based, as I mentioned, and the combination of poultry
and cranberries can’t beat it. So first
we’vt e goour ground chicken an’rd wee
going to add in beaten egg. This helps the meatballs hold together. And then we’re going to add in some dehydrated
onion and ga. This gives a great pop of flavor but it doesn’t taste too harsh. Whicn anh oniod garlic can if they’re inside a meatball
and they don’t get fully cooked. And then we’ve got panko, whichr
aried Japanese breadcrumbs. I really like the texture
that they give to thish. dis If yreou pfer, you could use your favorite gluten
free dry breadcrumbs as well. So that’s it for the meatballs. Super simple. Of course u can play around
with other fillings you could put in choppedfr
esh herbs. ley Parsulwod be really nice. You could add insa some lt
and pepper. I find that
the sauce has uch so mflavor. I really d’t lonook for anything
else. Now, if you’re noticin’sg itkid
of a struggle to mix it with a spatula. My preferred
method of choice is usually just to get my hands
right in there, because they’re going
to get messy anyway. When I make the meatballs
by hand, you can use a cookie dough scoop
to make the meatballs, but I find it’s
just easier to do it by hand. So I’m going to dive in. Analso you could use
two little spoons. d So you want them to be just about a little bit smaller
tholf an gllba sized. And like I said ther
no way to avoid the mess. e’s And we’re
going to put them in our pan. You coulke td base
heon a baking tray if you prefe. I just really like cooking them
in a c iron pan,
because the caen wn add the sauce to the cooked meatballs
and put the pan back in the oven and serve it right ie n thpan. So it’s kind of a one
and done thing. One trick with meatballs
is that you dowan’t nt to pack the meat too tightly. That can make
for a kind of a tough meatball. And that’s particularly true when you’re workwiing th ground
beef. The same applies
if you’re making mea or hamburger patties. So it’s good to just have a bit
of a gentler touch. I think this recipe makes about
two dozen meatballs, which goois ad amount for,
one buffet offering. Absolutely. The recipe can be,
doubled or tripled e You just might need to cook them
in batches, and you could put the cooked
meatballs anucd sae into, a crock pot or
even an Instant Pot and have it have them kept warm throughout
the course of your party. So that’s kind of a nice option. My mom use
d tomake various sorts of meatb, inclg onudin
with cooked rice in them, es and she would serve it as a main
course because that helped a little bit of meat
go quite a long way. She put in
sometimes a bit more filler for our family of eight,
so she’d often put in oats and different things, and it would stretch
or extend the meat so that it would
serve more people. And I thought that was
pretty crafty. I liked the flavor and I didn’t
realize what she was doing. Was also very thrifty. And don’t worry thatse the don’t
look like perfect little orbs. By the time
you put the sauce on them, they’re hardly
able to be seen in the p. even And of cou yrse,an mou cake
the meatballs ahead of time. You can freeze tunhem cooked. And if I’m doing that, I usually put them
on a parchment lined baking tray and slide the tray
into the freezer. After about an hour,
they’re ready to transfer to airtight container
like a food storage bag. And if you prefer,
you can pre-cooked the maleatbls and then freeze them. So it’s a very flexible recipe, and it just means you don’t
have to fuss at the last minute. The sauce can also be asdsemble
ahead of time and refrigerated. But it’s best if you just put
the sauce on the meatbls about 20 minutes or half an hour before
you’ng tre goio serve them. Hey, we’re gngetti to the bottom
here. Justd of kin making room
for these last few in the pot. And although I said I like the chicken and poultry, chicken
d poultry and cranberry. Excuse me. Combination. You could absolutely make
these with, ground beef. I k ththin ceyould be delicious
with ground pork as well. Or a combination. And of course, ground turkey. It’s really what yeverou prefer. And what you have easy
access to. Ground chicken and turkey
are extremely lean, so they’re quite considered
quite healthful meats. And we’ll just pop this onto
the top of that one. Okay. I’m just going to go wash
my hands and I’ll igbe rht back. All right, so after I washed my hands,
I slid the frying pan into the oven
to cook the meatballs. And depending on the size
you make them, they’ll take anywhere
from about 15 to 20 minutes at 375 or 400,
whatever you prefer. Again, instant meat
thermometer is your best friend when you’re checking
the temperature on things, and they should be 165
or higher. So we’ve gurot o meatballs here. Just going to slide this warm
pan out of the way. And we’ll make our sauce
and then put it on top. So as I mentioned the fstar o
the show is cranberries. I have some of my homemade
cranberry sauce which I love. You can find r theecipe on my
constantly cooking website. You could
use jarred cranberry sauce, but I don’t recommend
the jellied kind. It should have something that
looks like cranberries in it. And we’re going to add in
some ketchup that’s very popular with meatballs. My crary
sauce is a bit tart, nber so the ketchup helps to bae
lanc that. t Go orasomenge juice
for flavor. Soy sauce again flavor. And that’s in lif eu oadding
just salt to the recipe. I’ve got a combina
tion of powdered ginger and smoked paprika. that’ll give it a really nice
flavor. And last but not l,east
some hoisin sauce. And you might think that’s a bit of a funny combination,
but it just seems orto wk. People
really rave about this sauce. I would use the sausamece, perhaps minus
the orange juice for mtloaeaf. And I thin wk it be ouldreally
a great success. So that’s it. Just quickr stitogether. You want to make sure
the ketchup and the inhois
are fully incorporated. And then we’re going to just spoon drizzle,
pour it over the meatballs. You want to try and distribute
it fairly evenly. And you could even prepare the dish to this point
and ck it in the fridge. tu Cover it if it’s going to be in
there more than a couple hours and then bake it up
even 24 hours later so you can see what
a great party food option it is. So I’m just making sure the meatballs
arall snuggled in there. e They look pretty goo md toe, and we’re going to put it back in the oven
until the sauce is bubbling. I’ve pulled my piping
hot skillet ofout the oven and oh mshy go, don’t
these meatballs look fantastic? The sauce is bubbling
and the meatballs kind of
are caramelized into the sauce. It smells terrific. And I can’t
to waittaste this beauty. Coming
up next is a super fun idea that apparently went viral
a few years ago, though I’ve just learned of it
recently. It’s another great crowd pleaser and can be prepared in advance. So I wish I’d known about this
recipe a long time ago. It’s so easy and so fun. Of course, I didn’t have an air fryer
lo a ng time ago, but you can also
make this in an oven. So these crispy pasta chips juare st
a great surprise to people. ey see pasta.
It doesn’t look quite normal. Taste it. And their eyes
just pop open. So I’ve got some cooked
farfalle or bow tie pasta here which I’ve drizzled with
just a little bit of olive oil. And that’s a key thing
when you’re either oven roasting or air frying.
If you want things deep crispy. Don’t use too much oil. There’s a tempta to tionink,th
well, it’s like deep frying. If I use more oil,
it’ll get crispier. And that’s not actually
the case. It’ll be soggy. So use just the bare minimum. I think I used about a teaspoon
for this amount. And I know this doesn’t
look like a lot of pasta, but it’s what fits into my air
fryer. In one layer I could absolutely do more, but I’d have to cook them
in batches. And this is something
you can make ahead of time. They’ll stay crispy for hours,
so it’s not something you have to do
at the last minute for a party. Food. So again,
I’ve got my cooked oiled pasta. I’ve got a combination here ofarlic powder oregano basil
and smoked paprika. g And that’s going
to be our seasoning. And as I often say freestyle it. Choose your own
favoteri seasonings. I find that these just play
really nicel ty with pheasta and then
just sprinthkle em over. I’m going to put about
half on top thand en stir. And before I flip and add more I’m going to add
some parmesan cheese. Now the parmesan when I grated
at home or by shredded parmesan you’ll see that
the shards are pretty long and you want shingomet
that’s fine, or a bit likmoree that powdered stuff that comes in a cardboard tube
that we won’t talkbo aut because I don’t reallyke
lihat tstuff. So we’re going to
juivst ge the parm a quick chop
to make the pieces smaller. ‘s that simple. It You could even put it in a bag
and crush it with a rolling pin. That would work too. You just want to avoid
having any pieces that are more than about,
I don’t know, I’ll say 2 or 3mm. There we go. So we’ll sprinkle half of at on our pasta. Now we’re going to do the stir
and flip. As I mentioned. As best as we can. This is one of those dishes
where you just don’te hav to get too fussed
abouect prision. d the rest of our seasoning. As long as each noodle
gets a bit of it, they’re going to taste great. First time I made these,
I didn’t tell my favorite taste tester, aka my husband,
what was goin,ng o he andhad thisy verconfused look and then when he tasted them,
he was pretty excited. All right. So now they’re going to go
into the air fryer. And the trick is
you do want to try geand t them into a
single layer. As I mentioned. So I’m just going to pull the basket out. And it’s a bit fiddlybu
t it really is eaest if you just pop them
in one at a time. si So obviously, depending upon the capacity of your air fryer,
that’ll determine how much you can fit in
one batch. There I’m cheating
and putting two at a time. That’s working okay. For the most part, you don’t want them tonguchi each other
because as they crisp up, they will start
to stick together. So I’m trying to place them
so that theyse’re parate. It’s going okay so far. And I didn’t actually count
the number of noodles, even though it migooht lk
that way. I just measured out
a half a cup and it looks to exa
bectly the right amount. So you could put them on
a parchment lined baking sheet and 4into a d00egree oven
if you wish. But the air fryer just makes it
faster. It’ll be about probably 6
or 7 minutes. I’m going to set it for six now, and then I’m going
to check them in the oven. It might be 8 to 10 minutes. And again
you just have to start checking. I find with the crisper
tray in the air fryer you don’t need to flip them. t
if they’re on parchment, Buin the oven, you’re probably going to want to turn them over
about halfway through so that they get this crispy on
both sides. So we’ll just clear the decks
here. And chips without dip are fine, but chips
with dipre a always way better. So for dipping for this recipe,
I tried a few different things and in the end I settled on my
homemade smoky tomato ketchup. It’s got a little bit of spice and a little bit of smoke,
and it’s really, really tasty. As always,
you can find the recipe for the chips
and yteverhing else you see on the show
at Constantly cooking.com. Pizza
sauce would be a Great dipper. Even pasta sauce. I’m told that we’re
not to call it marinara sauce. That’s a North American
invention. Italians just call it red sauce. And that would be a to smato
aucewith a few seasonings in i, like some
garlic and oregano and basil. So in this case, we’re going
to put the ketchup in a dish. And you might wonder
why I’m using an eupgg c. And that’s to illustrate
the principle that a good buffet table has lots
of difntfere levels going on. So it kind of tricks
the eye into thinking, I don’t know if there’s more
or it’s imorenteresting becatheruse are e some things
high and some things low. So by putting the chips
in the bowl and then the sauce up high it just makes it
a little bit more festive. So I’m jusg tot goin let
the airfryer do its thing
for a couple more mis.nute And then we’ll take a look at our chi
d see if they’re done. anps All right. I’m pretty sure
we’re going to find that our pasta chips are crispy. Now, let’s open
the erdraw and take a look. Oh, my
gosh, they look fantastic. All nicely brown and crispy. They can burn
if you leave them too long. So you do want to keep
an eye on them. I’m going to take them out
and put them on this paper towel lined plate just to absorb
any of the residual oil. And that will help the chips
stay crispy long They don’t be alarmed
if they don’t feel perfectly crispy
as you’re takiheng tm out. They do need about,
sayI’ll, 90s or so to firm up. Also, they’re blistering hot,
ouso y don’t want to taste st them until they have had
a little bit of cooling time. e And again, depending on
how your airfryer cooks, you might need tveo gi them
a shake even and then make sure they’re redistributed flat mine
the air circulates quite eve so that I don’t find
I have to move the food around to get it to cook
uniformly throughout b theasket. And you could slyobviou
make these in the, I’ll call it the toaster oven style air fryer
as well, with great success. Okay. So now that we’ve got some
we’re just going to toss them. And I’m not sure
if you can see the few little speckles of oil
there on the paper towel. That’s great news.
That’s exactly what we want. And then we’re going
to transthfer em to our cute little serving dish. And now it is ready
for the buffet table. And I think people will get ae
grckki out of tasting these. if you like the recipes
that I’mwcas shoing on Polaroid’s
favori fteoods on Rogers TV, I invite you
to check out my website. Constantly cooking. There you’ll find over
1200 tried and tested recipes that are sure to appeal to both
new and serious cooks al While there’s
nog thinwrong with serving chips and dip at a party,
I am definitely a fan of them. It’s easy to take your snack and game up a level or two
with theisse dhes. If you you andfrr iends are
Phish fans. The tunay
turkeshould hit all the right . Meanwhile, snack lovers young and old are sure
toind fthese crispy pasta chips and meatballs
with cranberry sauce. Very appealing.
Dining and Cooking