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appetizer suggestions?

Sick of pita and hummus, my current obsession, right now. This is Israel, so no pork or shellfish - there go bacon-wrapped scallops or skewered grilled prawns. The sig. other of Friday's dinner guest can't eat cheese (checking on other milk products...) Menu currently consists of Israeli salad, Ina Garten's New Potato Salad with dill and wholegrain mustard, my grilled chicken leg quarters (hubby swears I killed the Colonel for the recipe!) and a cake brought by the guest for dessert.

13 Comments:

how about lightly seasoned baby veggies? maybe small rounds of good crusty bread with olive tampanade? small phillo cups with a touch of good chunky salsa? its so hard to think of things when you have restrictions, I know all i end up thinking about is what i could make if i didnt have restrictions. ;) good luck and the rest of the menu sounds wonderful, i'd come to israel to have dinner ;)

How about falafel waffles with salad on top and a tahini dressing?

I like the falafel idea... but I would also suggest:

Fried Cauliflower
I make these mock bacalaitos - they're a veggie version of a Puerto Rican fritter... I know it's not israeli, but my israeli neighbor loves them... does that count?
Stuffed Mushrooms
and when I am pressed for time, i just roast the mushrooms and serve them with a drizzle of lemon juice.

Hope you have a lovely dinner...

Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking

How about small/cocktail-sized burekasim - stuffed puff pastry? They can be completely dairy free. You can use either sauteed mushrooms or, say, a mixture of spinach and potato mash (white or sweet) as a filling (or both).

Also, you could make some kind of an aubergine dish. There are several recipes here:

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2008/04/roasted-eggplant-salad.html

No dairy. Hmm...

- vegetable pakora
- dolmades
- fattoush (need to serve with fresh pita chips...love the smokey flavor)
- vegetable tempura

You're probably sick of tabbouleh lol.

Fattoush is awesome when it's hot outside. It's so refreshing. Onions make me gag, but I will pick through the onions and eat this. It is necessary to have this with fresh pita chips though. It's not quite the same w/o it.

Crud, I forgot you were making a salad already. Forget I mentioned the fattoush. :P

Your meal looks very complete/extensive already...

How about roasted spiced almonds, and a bowl of olives. And fino sherry all around ;)

Hey, shift gears and go GREEK. stuffed grape leaves, marinated veg or octapus, lots of possibilities.

I think we're going to go with the bread and tapenade, and maybe the spiced almonds. Octopus sounds yummy, but doesn't have scales, so it's not kosher...

Got people coming next week that won't eat fish at all, so I think I'm going to do steak, the stuffed mushrooms mentioned above and I'll attempt the grape leaves. No harm in mixing cuisines, right?

Now just have to figure out what to do for next week's kids who won't eat Mac & Cheese. When I was that age I ate what was put in front of me; now everyone makes separate "kid food" that's less nutritious and leads to poor eating habits later in life...

@cowprintrabbit -- I am so with you on the separate "kid food" issue! I had a really hard time traveling with my little ones. My children eat what we eat. Vegetables, lean meats, whole foods -- not chicken nuggets and fries! I guess it's all in what they're taught to eat early on ...

BTW, your dinner sounds wonderful. Wish I could suggest something, but it sounds like you've got it all covered.

For the children, you might try a simple pasta with butter, olive oil and parmesan cheese, if that's considered kosher (I apologize, I don't know). My kids love it.

Nothing like a last minute monkey wrench! S/O in question turns out to be completely lactose intolerant; and hubby decided he wants soup as the appetizer...

Thinking squash since that's creamy by itself, and I just saw a recipe for Roasted Pear Butternut Squash Soup that sounds lighter for summer. It's got a couple of tomatoes in it, too.

Now I'm questioning myself on potato salad as a side after soup as a first course; but I really want leftovers for lunch next week :-)
Do they seem like they came from two completely different meals?

Turns out the kids next week will eat chicken strips, hot dogs and cucumber slices. I guess they don't care for pasta; I'll get buns for the hot dogs so it'll be kind of a balanced meal...

Ugh... what a pain. I would have just thrown my hands up in the air and said YOU bring food you want to eat FFS.

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