Game Night App Night!

Last week we hosted a game night at our house, and I took the opportunity to try out a few appetizer recipes rather than making a full meal. I love the variety of a bunch of appetizers and so did our guests! On the menu was Balderdash the game served with a side of cheese & crackers, spinach & artichoke dip, Indian-spiced lamb dumplings, samosas a la Candace, and two phyllo creations: phyllo triangles with basil, zucchini, and pine nuts; and feta and walnut phyllo rolls.

I made the lavash crackers two days early and re-toasted them that day. Before baking them initially, I sprinkled them with a variety of seasonings including cayenne pepper, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala and paprika. I made these gorgeous stripes of different seasonings and was so excited about it. However, silly me didn't try hard enough to get all those seasonings to incorporate with the dough. I probably should have really pressed them in well. Instead, 85% of the seasonings fell off almost immediately upon lifting the crackers off the baking sheet. Oh well! I made the spinach artichoke dip that day as well which was actually served as an app to Carrie and John; the leftovers were reheated and served at game night. It's health(ier) and delicious!

The evening before game night, I assembled both phyllo apps and stored them in the fridge covered tightly with saran wrap. I also made the dumpling filling. That way all I had to do the day of was throw the apps in the oven, wrap the dumplings, and steam them. I used gyoza wrappers I bought at Maxim, the Asian market near work, rather than making my own dough. Wrapping all those dumplings was a pain but I had tons extra to freeze!

Rather than transcribe all the recipes, I'll just link right to 'em for ya. See the pics below for the recipe links.

Lamb Dumplings with Cumin and Garam Masala (picture taken pre-cooking. They were served with hot dumpling sauce also from Maxim)

Cheese, clockwise from left: salsa jack, extra sharp cheddar, gruyere, mozzarella balls (leftover from homemade ravioli), tossed with basil and red pepper flakes, and goat cheese. I served them with a variety of crackers, including the lavash below.

Lavash crackers and homemade roasted red pepper hummus (recipe below)

Phyllo triangles with basil, zucchini and pine nuts (so sorry about the blurriness, the pic was taken in haste!)

Not pictured are the phyllo and walnut rolls, spinach and artichoke dip, and Candace's samosas. Apologies for the lack of link to the samosas but they were her creation, not mine. Perhaps this will motivate her lazy ass to blog about that Indian feast she made! :-)

One recipe I will copy here is the hummus, since I can't remember where the heck I got it and it's really more of a guideline. I rarely use the exact amounts of ingredients. My never-ending variations include but are not limited to: chipotle peppers in adobo instead of roasted red peppers, pine nuts, fresh hot peppers, sometimes no peppers at all! I'm crazy like that. Anyway, this hummus is always present in my fridge in some form or another. It's great! I even once did a taste test between this hummus and a much more labor-intensive version; this hummus won.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

4-8 oz roasted red peppers, to taste

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp tahini (I love this stuff, so sometimes I add 3 Tbsp)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender; blend until desired consistency. Add olive oil if you want. Add more cumin like I usually do. Enjoy with anything and everything.