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Page 2C Wednesday, December 12, 2012 The Pueblo Chieftain ! Pueblo, Colorado

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE By LYNN JOHNSTON

CHEF TIPS

The right bitesForget the muss and fuss — try some easy-to-make party foodsTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS__________________________________________

It’s easy to have roman-tic visions of the holidays— cozy fires, perfectlywrapped gifts, your housedecorated like a magazinespread, all your friendsgathered to celebrate, mar-veling at your culinaryprowess.

But let’s be honest, par-ties take work. However, ifyou do it right, the cookingcan be the least of your

worries. In fact, you cansometimes get away withno cooking at all. With justa few simple ingredientsand minimal effort you re-ally can throw an elegantaffair that meets the culi-nary mark.

So we’ve assembled doz-ens of easy-to-execute par-ty bites from cookbook au-thors and chefs to get youoff to a good start. But asfor doing the dishes afterthe party? You’re on yourown.

JOSE GARCES (Philadelphia chef and author of ‘‘The Latin RoadHome”)

" Smoky almonds. Dust roasted marcona al-monds with smoked paprika and Maldon sea salt.

" Spoon snack. Combine good quality cannedSpanish tuna, quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced greenSpanish olives like arbequina or manzanilla, choppedchives, a splash of sherry vinegar and a bit of olive oil.Serve on miso spoons for an impressive and prettyone-bite snack.

JAMIE BISSONNETTE(chef and owner of Boston’s Coppa and Toro res-taurants)

" Cheese and apples. Serve Epoisse cheese atroom temperature on a decorative spoon topped witha slice of apple and some toasted walnuts.

" Mortadella rolls. Buy sliced mortadella and rollit up stuffed with olives and oozy robiola due lattecheese.

" Asian dip. Take onion dip to Chinatown. In-stead of instant onion soup, spike your sour creamwith a ramen noodle flavoring packet and spicy kim-chi. Add a little cream cheese for texture. Serve withrice crackers.

TOM DOUGLAS(Seattle chef and restaurateur)

" Salty-sweet spread. Puree equal amounts ofdried figs and pitted Kalamata olives for a delicioussmear for pita.

" Wide-awake shrimp cocktail. Turn yourshrimp cocktail into a ‘‘red eye’’ by spiking 1 cup ofcocktail sauce with five finely ground espresso beans.

" Lox and cukes. Top cucumber slices with lox(smoked salmon) for a healthy, crunchy appetizer orfinger snack.

KEVIN GILLESPIE(executive chef of Atlanta’s Woodfire Grill andauthor of ‘‘Fire in my Belly”)

" Smoky sweet apples. Wrap thick apple wedgesin smoked bacon and sprinkle with brown sugar. Broiluntil the bacon is crisp.

" Baked brie, 2012. Spread store-bought puffpastry or croissant dough into an ‘‘X.’’ Put a wheel ofbrie or camembert in the center and cover in trufflehoney. Tuck a few toasted walnuts inside for crunch,if you like. Pull up the sides of the dough like you’rewrapping a present. Bake until golden brown.

" Smoked fish dip. Buy hot-smoked salmon ortrout. Blend in a food processor with room tempera-ture cream cheese, onion powder, garlic powder andfresh chives. Use as a dip for crackers or spread ontoslices of toasted baguette.

" Fruit and cheese bites. Buy brioche and punchout bite-sized rounds or cut into squares. Top withsliced pears, cooked smoked bacon and sharp cheddarcheese. Put on baking sheet and bake at 350 F untilthe cheese melts.

SEAMUS MULLEN(chef and owner of New York’s Tertulia and au-thor of ‘‘Hero Food’’)

" White Beans and sardines. Puree canned can-nellini beans with roasted garlic, canned artichokes,olive oil and lemon juice for a white bean spread toserve with smoked sardines on toast.

" Tuna and avocado toasts. Fork mash avocadowith olive oil and lemon juice. Grill some flatbread,spread with the avocado mash, and top with grape-fruit segments, good canned tuna and coarse sea salt.

" Shrimp and squash skewers. Skewer somesmall shrimp with lightly blanched winter squashand grill. Serve with a simple salsa verde of mincedherbs, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice.

DAVID BURKE(chef of several New York restaurants, includingDavid Burke Townhouse)

" Parmesan pops. Line a baking sheet withwaxed paper. Place wooden skewers about 4 inchesapart on the paper. Sprinkle shredded Parmesancheese in a circle on top of one end of the skewer,creating a cheese lollipop. Bake at 350 F for 2 to 3minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool, spray light-ly with oil and sprinkle fine herbs.

" Goat cheese lollies. Roll goat cheese into ballsthe size of a golf ball. Puree pistachios and roll thegoat cheese balls through the nuts to encrust thecheese. Put a lollipop stick in the balls.

" Black olive toasts. Puree black olives. Toastbaguette slices and spread with ricotta cheese. Topwith a dollop of olive puree.

CHRIS PAINTER(chef at Philadelphia’s Il Pittore)

" Fancy Italian subs. Brush slices of hearty coun-try bread with extra-virgin olive oil, then grill. Whentoasted, top with thinly sliced prosciutto, serranochile peppers and grated Parmesan. Drizzle withextra-virgin olive oil.

" Stuffed figs. Take a whole toasted almond andwrap it in a basil leaf. Using the pointed end, push thenut through the fat end of a fresh fig, tucking it inside.Top with a little pat of butter or drizzle with olive oil.Sprinkle with sea salt. Place on a baking sheet androast for 5 to 8 minutes at 425 F.

J.M. HIRSCH(AP food editor)

" Brie with bourbon-balsamic glaze. Gentlysimmer 1 cup of bourbon and 1 cup of balsamic vine-gar until syrupy and reduced to 1⁄4 cup, about 20 min-utes. Season with black pepper. Drizzle while warmover a round of brie that has come to room tempera-ture. Serve with slices of baguette.

" Spring pea guacamole. In a food processor,combine the flesh of 2 avocados, a 15-ounce can ofpeas (drained), 1⁄4 cup packed fresh cilantro, juice of 1lime and a splash of hot sauce. Process until smooth,then season with salt and pepper. Serve at room tem-perature with crackers.

" Feta cheese and honey. Arrange slices of fetacheese on a platter. Sprinkle toasted pine nuts andfresh oregano over it, then season with black pepperand smoked paprika. Drizzle honey over everything,then serve with baguette slices.

AP PHOTO/MATTHEW MEAD

Feta cheese and honey is an easy-to-assemble holiday partytreat.

POTICA1 package dry yeast1⁄4 cup warm water1⁄4 cup white sugar3⁄4 cups whole milk,scalded1⁄2 teaspoon vanillaDash of salt1 medium egg3 to 31⁄2 cups bread flouror unbleachedall-purpose flour1⁄4 cup salted butter,melted, plus butter forgreasing bowls and pans

Filling:11⁄4 pound ground walnuts1⁄4 cup salted butter,melted3⁄4 cup white sugar1 cup brown sugar1⁄4 cup honey2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk1⁄3 cup whipping cream

For the dough, dissolvethe yeast in the wateralong with 1 teaspoon ofthe sugar. In a separatebowl, combine the milk,vanilla, salt, egg andremaining sugar, and addthe mixture to the yeast.Slowly add the flour andknead, working in thebutter, until the mixtureforms a smooth ball.Place in a greased bowl,cover, and let rise forabout 11⁄2 hours. Do notpunch down.

For the filling, combinethe walnuts, melted

butter, both sugars,honey, 2 eggs and all but1 tablespoon of thewhipping cream, addingthe cream gradually untilthe mixture is theconsistency of honey.

On a table or other flatsurface that is at least 3feet by 5 feet, spread aclean sheet so that theedges hang slightly overthe sides. Roll out thedough to form arectangle and thenstretch and pull it until itis about 3 feet by 5 feet.Smear the filling on top.Roll up the dough,starting at the narrower(3-foot) end. Cut intothree equal-size rolls.

Grease a rectangularbaking dish, 9 inches by13 inches, and cover withaluminum foil, shiny sideup. Now grease the foil.Place the three potica onthe foil, placing strips offoil between the pastriesto keep them separated.Combine the egg yolkwith the remainingtablespoon of cream andbrush the mixture overthe potica.

Bake in a 325-degreeoven for 45 minutes to 1hour, or until goldenbrown. Yield: 3 loaves. — New York Times, Feb. 25, 1987

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/MIKE SWEENEYJantz sprinkles filling over fresh dough. Walnut is thetraditional filling in potica, but Jantz also makes loavesusing pecans and almonds.

POTICA / from page 1C __________________________

Eventually, she decided tomake potica a year-roundventure. Through Christ-mas, she’ll be in the kitch-en seven days a week, tak-ing orders, baking andpackaging.

Sure, potica is a bigseller during the holidays.However, there’s more toit than earning a living.

As Jantz noted, manyhome bakers — the oneswho have honed their fam-ily recipes over decades —are aging and leaving ofthe business. This is a wayfor her to contribute to thepreservation of her adopt-

ed Pueblo tradition.“There’s something re-

ally personal about poti-ca,” she said. “If you askwhen people had theirfirst slopper, they can’ttell you, but mention poti-ca and they’ll tell youabout their grandma ortheir mom. You get a sto-ry.

“It’s part of the fabricof Pueblo.”

Jantz’s company is at421 S. Santa Fe Ave. Thephone number is250-0469. amym@chieftain.com