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Savory Snacks

Appetizers/Starters, Breads, Lunch, Savory Snacks

Knekkebrød
(Whole Grain Crackers with Sunflower, Flax and Sesame Seeds)

And yet another lucky foodie idea: eating fish on New Year’s Eve/Day. I’ve heard many different reasons why fish is supposed to be lucky — everything from that the scales look like coins (wealth), that they swim in schools (abundance) and that they swim forwards (moving ahead). New Englanders (and people in Scandinavia, Italy, Brazil, etc) are known to eat the (sacred) cod … more on cod some other time. Some people advocate that is it because of cod that the world is what it is today — bit of a stretch in my opinion, but whatever. In Germany, there is the tradition of Silvesterkarpfen (New Years Carp), but also herring (also a Polish tradition) is an option.

Me? Well, I don’t have any carp or herring, but I love smoked salmon, so here we have a quick appetizer of smoked salmon with dill mascapone, on homemade knekkebrod. The Knekkebrod is a cracker like bread (no fat or leavening) with sunflower, sesame and flax seeds. Yummy like this or even just with a schmear of cream cheese.
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Appetizers/Starters, Savory Snacks

Sweet and Spicy Rosemary Cheddar Pumpkin Crackers

It’s been a crazy week in the life of the Cup of Sugar :: Pinch of Salt Girl, and it is the first time that I have gotten around to baking all week. Shame on me. Baking is my stress relief from “real life” so you can imagine that I was really craving a baking session. And what did I end up making this morning? These lovely Sweet and Spicy Rosemary Cheddar Pumpkin Crackers. In the spirit of fall, and with Thanksgiving coming up, I thought that I would make something that could be used as a snack or appetizer for Thanksgiving. These are lovely. A little sweet from the brown sugar and maple syrup, quite spicy as well. And cheese … goes without saying that they would be delicious made mostly of cheddar.
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Appetizers/Starters, General Reference/Tutorial, Savory Snacks, Sweet Snacks

Fig Honey and Thyme Jam

This week, I found myself in possession of a pound and a half of fresh figs. Not sure really how that happened, as figs are expensive and while you can find them a lot of places, certainly less common than say, an apple. Anyway, I absolutely love figs, but there is no chance that I could have eaten all of them (and enjoyed them) in one go, so I decided to make this lovely jam with about 2/3 of the lot. It’s a sweet jam, of course, with notes of honey, thyme and orange, but it pairs really nicely with savory — would go great with pork, and as shown with this cheese (it’s manchego) or even charcuterie. Or mix it into oatmeal or yogurt, or yes, even toast. It’s surprisingly versatile and yummy to boot. Also, it is very easy to make.
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Cookies, Savory Snacks

Parmesan Almond and Rosemary Cocktail Cookies

I’ve named these little gems cookies, but they are savory of course (with just a hint of sweetness) with the intent to snack on with a nice glass of white wine (or red, but I think that a nice white would be best with these). Also, it’s nice because you can actually make a couple logs, stash them in the freezer and bake them up as you see fit. The recipe makes about 100 little (1 1/2 inch) cookies, which is just enough for a handful for 4-6 people … great for a small gathering.
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General Reference/Tutorial, Savory Snacks, Sides

Pickled Cherries (small batch)

Either you’re going to think that I am crazy, or you think that this is genius … pickled cherries? Who would have thought!

But they are amazingly good and should take my word for it and make a batch yourself. This is only a small batch and worse case, you will have to give the ones that you don’t like away, but trust me, you will be making more! Sweet and briney, a perfect addition to a cheese plate or along side pork. And while cherries are in high season and relatively inexpensive, you should go for it.
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