“The things we now esteem fixed shall, one by one, detach themselves, like ripe fruit, from our experience, and fall . . . The soul looketh steadily forwards, creating a world before her, leaving worlds behind her.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
FRUIT & CHEESE…one of my favourite combinations or magical partners! This was the best way to introduce my kids to fruit when they were young. Worked like magic! Cut to now; add some carbs & you end up with a well-balanced, delicious appetizer!
Entrees, appetizers, finger-food…a fascinating ‘cuisine course’ for me, largely unexplored. I always edge on the temptation of falling fall back on familiar ground when it comes to short eats. With blogging comes new energy, new ideas & loads of left-overs to experiment with. Have been exploring this finger-food front on & off. The potato canapes left me with a small amount of leftover cheese topping, & the fridge that was being cleared out, left me with a 1/4 jar of mango chutney & some pineapple slices. When we visited Chennai in the South of India in June this year, the son fell in love with pineapples. Arrrrgh…of all the tough fruits to fall in love with;what was wrong with a banana? So, the other day, I picked up this pineapple at the bazaar, & decided to tackle it. A picturesque fruit, beautiful to look a, however quite POKEY & hard-work!! For me, half the joy disappeared as it wasn’t too easy to cut the silly fruit. The angst was short lived; when you taste the juicy freshness of pineapple, life becomes worthwhile again. My Le Cordon Bleu Cook’s Bible sat next to me guiding me towards the how to cut this fruit! That achieved, I moved on to make some multi grain canapes. I rolled the multi grain slices as thin as I could with a rolling pin, then cut out 2″ circles with cookie cutters (of course, when I needed it most, the fluted cutter had done the disappearing act). Brushed them lightly with olive oil, & toasted them in the oven at 180 degrees C for about 10 minutes till they were nice & crisp. If you are short on time, you can use salted cookies instead like Monaco that we get here, or probably Saltines or something. That done, it was time for the toppings. I cut some cottage cheese with the same cookie cutter & sliced it finely to line some of the bases (you can also use cheese slice cut-outs instead).The cheese toppings are the left-over from my previous post. A blend of grated cottage-cheese, cheddar & a little low-fat cream, piped out over the fruit. Choices of toppings…hmmmmm…infinite. I’ve chosen fruit toppings, but use your imagination. Put on savoury stuff if you like…the sky’s the limit! I used apricot relishon some. It’s a great & versatile chutney that goes well with Indian food, with roasts, with grilled food, & on canapes. Line the base with a slice of cheese (optional), top with a teaspoon of relish, pipe some cream cheese over, grind pepper over the top…& you’re ready to roll!! Recipe for APRICOT RELISHhere.Another great combination is pineapple & cheese. Refreshing & delectable!
My third choice was mango chutney, which I was trying to finish up. It’s a finger-licking good relish, a recipe I got from Meeta @ What’s For Lunch Honey?You can find the recipe for MANGO CHUTNEYhere.
I did another a few days later just to see how a potato & corn salad in a garlic-sage butter would taste. What do you think? Mmmmmmmmmmm…fabulous!
A short while ago Kellypea @ Sass & Veracity was invited to participate as contributing writer for the fabulous Blissfully Domestic, & is also celebrating her 100,000th visitor to her very impressive blog. There’s a party on there, so I’m sending these delicious bites to Kellypea. Hope these bowl Gordon Ramsay over, Kellypea, sending him to ‘tastebud heaven’, & he doesn’t yell at me!!! LOL!!
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
hey made your microwave potato crisps – they were amazing! so easy and so perfect! and less oil than even potato sabji! these are definitely going to be a regular feature in my junk food free house!!! (will earn some brownie points with the husband and girls who think i am cruella de ville!) thanks!
what kind of a plate do you use and how many can you make at a time? i used a regular corelle / corning dinner plate and got about 20 at a time. is there a different way?
hi..wat a gr88 blog..always love all ur features..wanted to ask sumthing..do u make cupcakes..???where do u get those cupcake bowls or cupcake liners in India..???Or to be more precise in New delhi..???Those paper backs..??I cant find them anywhere..Please help..!!
OMG, Deeba i love this fruit canape!! when I was a teenager my bestfriend makes me the best pineapple cheese sandwiches. so when i saw the pineaple canapes..im immediately smitten! yummy
deeba fruit n cheese is a fab combination. Though i have to tell you i’m eyeing the corn potato n sage garlic butter now .. yum …you’ve got my mouth watering !
These are some lovely combinations you’ve come up with, Deeba! I’m most intrigued by the cheese and pineapple 🙂 Preparing it is fun, isn’t it? You should see the cart-bearing pineapple vendors here… They go through a pineapple so quickly and so deftly!
Mmm, I also love the fruit/cheese combo – I practically grew up on apples and cheddar cheese! The canapes look lovely and I particularly like the shot of the yummy apricot relish 🙂
Your canapes are amazing. The variety has me wanting to be at a party where someone keeps passing the tray. The apricot…the potato and sage…none of looks remotely like what you describe as “leftovers.” I’m seriously impressed. And you’re right. I haven’t experimented much with finger food, either. Nice work.
Loading...
Thank you so much for stopping by. I'd love to hear from you.Cancel reply
19 Comments
Anonymous
hey made your microwave potato crisps – they were amazing! so easy and so perfect! and less oil than even potato sabji! these are definitely going to be a regular feature in my junk food free house!!! (will earn some brownie points with the husband and girls who think i am cruella de ville!)
thanks!
what kind of a plate do you use and how many can you make at a time? i used a regular corelle / corning dinner plate and got about 20 at a time. is there a different way?
thanks
d
Shivani
hi..wat a gr88 blog..always love all ur features..wanted to ask sumthing..do u make cupcakes..???where do u get those cupcake bowls or cupcake liners in India..???Or to be more precise in New delhi..???Those paper backs..??I cant find them anywhere..Please help..!!
Ivy
I love the combination of something sweet with cheese. Your canapes are all lovely.
Ning
Delicious! Simply delicious! Very creative with the toppings! I could eat lots of these! 🙂
Dhanggit
OMG, Deeba i love this fruit canape!! when I was a teenager my bestfriend makes me the best pineapple cheese sandwiches. so when i saw the pineaple canapes..im immediately smitten! yummy
Kate / Kajal
deeba fruit n cheese is a fab combination. Though i have to tell you i’m eyeing the corn potato n sage garlic butter now .. yum …you’ve got my mouth watering !
OhioMom
I love these, what a perfect dish for a party!
Divya
Those look so pretty! Perfect bite-size appetizers. Will make it when I have company.
nicisme
I lurve cheese and fruit combo – all of these look wonderful Deeba!
Alexa
Fun and versatile party dish Deeba! You know how to entertain. 🙂
noble pig
These are so lovely and wonderful for a special party! Thank you for posting these!
Manggy
These are some lovely combinations you’ve come up with, Deeba! I’m most intrigued by the cheese and pineapple 🙂 Preparing it is fun, isn’t it? You should see the cart-bearing pineapple vendors here… They go through a pineapple so quickly and so deftly!
Meeta
I really love fruit and cheese to.I love the variety here and am honored that my humble mango chutney found a place in your heart!
CECIL
What a beautiful canapes! Perfect for party, and just such a feast for eyes.
Gloria (Canela)
Deeba I love all these little things Im really in love of them!! and I love the combo chhese and fruits I think is the best!! xxGloria
bren@Flanboyant Eats
all these pics are great. you’ve just given me some ideas for appetizers when i host in home lessons and parties! nice nice job!!!!
by MAG
Oh your canapes look soooo good!!! I love the combination of ingredients! And the photos are great like always 😉
Jeanne
Mmm, I also love the fruit/cheese combo – I practically grew up on apples and cheddar cheese! The canapes look lovely and I particularly like the shot of the yummy apricot relish 🙂
kellypea
Your canapes are amazing. The variety has me wanting to be at a party where someone keeps passing the tray. The apricot…the potato and sage…none of looks remotely like what you describe as “leftovers.” I’m seriously impressed. And you’re right. I haven’t experimented much with finger food, either. Nice work.