What is the best appetizer you have ever had?

[expatgirl]

For me it's fresh or fried Vietnames spring rolls (rice wraps) and dipping sauce--- there are many good Vietnamese restaurants in Houston so they're easy to find in many places. I also make them at home and when served to guests I get great raves. Why does a bowl of cereal sound so unappealing now--I knew better than to look at this thread before breakfast.

 

[*amy*]

I luvvvvvvv appies. So hard to choose just one. I have a gazillion recipes, but always looking for a new twist. One I want to make at home is figs stuffed with bleu cheese, wrapped with proscuitto and drizzled with honey.

 

[wysiwyg]

Tapas in any good Spanish restaurant/bodega

 

[Jeekinz]

German meatballs at The Hofbrauhaus (closed now, trying to contact the Chef for the recipe)

 

[cheers2wine]

I love stuffed mushrooms. Here's a recipe I use, but I'd love to collect some more good ones.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Stuffed Mushrooms[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
1 pound mushrooms
2-3 Tablespoons melted butter
8 Tablespoons soft butter
2 cloves of minced garlic
6 Tablespoons of shredded Jack cheese
4 Tablespoons of Zinfandel
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2/3 cup finely crushed cracker crumbs

1. Remove stems from mushrooms.
2. Brush mushrooms with melted butter.
3. Mix together the soft butter, garlic, and cheese.
4. Add wine, soy sauce, and cracker crumbs and blend to make a paste.
5. Fill mushrooms with this mixture.
6. Set in a baking pan and broil for about 3 minutes until hot and bubbly.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This will serve 6 to 8. [/FONT]

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

The most impressive, and definitely on of the tastiest I've had was made by a hostess at a training seminar I'd attended. She made this gelatine mold that contained crab meat and stood as a tall mound. The gelatine was sea-food flavored as well, as if good clam juice had been lightly sweetened and had unflavored gelatin added to it. It was served with good crackers and cream cheese. I wish I could have it again so that I could duplicate it. The memory is 25 years old and I just remember how impressed I was with it. My memory could be a tad off about it though.

Oh, and anything Phillipino that comes with tropical fruit is wonderful as well.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[kitchenelf]

Nothing beats pan-fried foie gras with a sweet and sour demiglace sauce. Full stop.

You forgot the glass of Sauternes!!!

 

[TanyaK]

Roasted asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced smoked tuna drizzled with a olive oil,balsamic vinegar,garlic dressing.

 

[GotGarlic]

I can't pick just one, so here are my top three:

- the first appetizer I remember being enchanted with was grilled bacon-wrapped scallops at a reception for a new, high-end housing development being developed by a former employer

- saganaki from any good Greek restaurant - breaded kasseri cheese (semi-hard white cheese), fried in olive oil, flamed with brandy at the table, then drizzled with lemon juice. I grew up near Detroit, which has a large Greektown, and there, when they light the saganaki, everyone in the restaurant shouts "Opa!" Here in SE VA, they don't know to do that. The first time we ordered saganaki here, we were the only ones who shouted it out

- cold Thai steamed spring rolls with rice paper wrapping and dipping sauce

 

[blueroses47]

Can't really pick a "best"....I love appetizers so much. Calamari is a favorite, and the one I choose most often when eating out. I also love those jalapena pepper poppers. And one that hasn't been mentioned are those huge bloomin onion things at the Outback Restaurants. Love that with the dipping sauce. I guess you can tell I like fried foods.

 

[QSis]

- saganaki from any good Greek restaurant - breaded kasseri cheese (semi-hard white cheese), fried in olive oil, flamed with brandy at the table, then drizzled with lemon juice. I grew up near Detroit, which has a large Greektown, and there, when they light the saganaki, everyone in the restaurant shouts "Opa!" Here in SE VA, they don't know to do that. The first time we ordered saganaki here, we were the only ones who shouted it out

I just learned about this a couple of years ago, when I worked with a woman of Greek descent.

I definitely want to try it!

Lee

 

[jpmcgrew]

I dont know how you can pick the best appetizer there are so many good ones maybe make 2 or 3 different ones instead of just one

 

[buckytom]

i just thought of and am jonesing for one i had in a french place here in the city.

it was a small prix fixe type of joint. every table was served a salume and crudite "tree", along with fresh baguettes, butter, and the house table red.

the "tree" was a stainless steel plate and hanger assembly on which a bunch of raw veggies were placed around the bottom, and various dry sausages were draped over the hanger (that sort of resembled a nuclear reactor's cooling tower.)

you grab a hunk o' bread, slather it with butter, take the veggies you like, and slice off pieces of the different sausages.

i could sit there for hours just eating the appy.

 

[jpmcgrew]

i just thought of and am jonesing for one i had in a french place here in the city.

it was a small prix fixe type of joint. every table was served a salume and crudite "tree", along with fresh baguettes, butter, and the house table red.

the "tree" was a stainless steel plate and hanger assembly on which a bunch of raw veggies were placed around the bottom, and various dry sausages were draped over the hanger (that sort of resembled a nuclear reactor's cooling tower.)

you grab a hunk o' bread, slather it with butter, take the veggies you like, and slice off pieces of the different sausages.

i could sit there for hours just eating the appy.

I love food that is interactive which is why I adore Swiss Raclette a most fun way to eat and to me a bunch of appies and a meal at the same time with good friends and lots of good wine

 

[bigrhino2]

Folks don't tease me. Tell me the city and name of the place. I do travel and would go there.

JBB

 

[buckytom]

bigrhino, if memory serves me, it was cafe des sport on 50th off of 8th, in nyc.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

bacon wrapped bbq mushrooms

 

[JulesMichy]

I haven't read through all of the replies to see if someone has mentioned it yet, but P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps are extraordinary. You can order chicken or tofu, and it's a mix of shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and who knows what else tossed in a hoisin-like sauce, and you spoon it into butterleaf lettuce shells with crispy rice noodles.

 

[babetoo]

Roasted asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced smoked tuna drizzled with a olive oil,balsamic vinegar,garlic dressing.

asparagus wrapped in filo dough and baked. yum and yum

babetoo

 

[BBQ Mikey]

I still have a soft spot for chicken lettuce wraps.

something about sweet ginger soy, hot mustard and chili going with the crisp lettuce, shittake, water chestnuts and chicken just works for me.