9 easy holiday recipes for entertaining guests

Hosting friends and family for a dinner or party? Here are some easy recipes for small bites from some of Boston’s top chefs.

Smoked bluefish pate on baguette

Courtesy of Chef Nicola Hobson at Island Creek Oyster Bar

Yields 24 crostini

For Pate:

1 pound smoked bluefish, house made or from your local fish monger. You can substitute with smoked salmon or trout.
6 ounces cream cheese, tempered
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 dashes red tabasco
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
½ tablespoon prepared horseradish
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

For Garnish:

1 English cucumber, seeded and diced ¼ inch
Espellete pepper, optional
1 baguette, sliced ½ inch thick
Extra virgin olive oil

To prepare:

In a standing mixer with a paddle, whip the bluefish until broken apart, about 30 seconds.
Add all additional pate ingredients and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated and smooth.
Store in sealed container in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Arrange the sliced baguette on a sheet tray. Season with oil, salt, and pepper.
Bake until crisp, about 7 minutes.

To Serve:

Spoon the pate on baguette toast. Garnish with cucumber and espellete pepper.

Pair it with: Nevarro Mendocino pinot gris

Black eye pea – tasso ham dumplings with Sriracha maple syrup

Courtesy of Estelle’s Chef Eric Gburski

Yield 20 dumplings (serves 4)

20 dumpling (wonton) wrappers

Filling:

1 cup cooked black eye peas
1/2 cup chopped tasso ham
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoon bread crumbs
Salt & pepper to taste

To prepare:

Combine all ingredients in bowl.
Mix well to incorporate thoroughly.
Place a small amount of filling in each wrapper and using a press form into dumplings.

Sauce:

1/4 cup Maple syrup
1 – 3 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce( depending on how hot you like)

Combine syrup and Sriracha.

Serve together and enjoy.

Pair it with: 21st Amendment Brewery’s Fireside Chat

Maple-glazed pork belly sliders with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise

Courtesy of Chef Bill Brodsky of City Landing

Yields 6 sliders

For pork belly:

1.5 pounds of pork belly, raw, skinless
2 quarts water
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons white vinegar

For glaze:

3 ounces Maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoom salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

To prepare:

6 slider buns
1 cup shaved iceberg lettuce
6 sliced tomatoes
6 teaspoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the pork belly:

Place the pork belly in a medium sized pot. Add the sugar, vinegar and salt.
Add enough water to cover the pork by 2 inches. Place a lid on the pot and bring to a boil.
Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low and let the pork slowly simmer for 2 hours.
It is done cooking when the meat is very tender.
Gently remove the pork from the pot and place it on a plate. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Cool the pork down in a refrigerator overnight. Once completely cooled, slice the pork across the grain into 1/4 inch slices.
Then slice the pieces down into shorter pieces approximately 2’’ long. If the pieces are excessively fatty, cut of some of the fat making sure to leave a fair amount of it still on.

To prepare the glaze:

Combine the syrup, brown sugar, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat, turn it off and let it come down to room temperature. Reserve for use.

To prepare the sliders:

In a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of canola oil, sear the flat sides of the pork belly until they are golden brown and crispy. Toss them in a bowl with enough maple glaze so the pork is just lightly coated.
Slice the slider buns in half and toast them until they crisp up a bit. Build each slider with one teaspoon of mayonnaise on the base, one slice of tomato (that is seasoned with salt and pepper), a few pieces of the seared and glazed pork belly, and a healthy pinch of lettuce. Serve and enjoy.

Pair it with: A dry reisling

Smoked salmon with kohlrabi remoulade

Courtesy of Chef Michael Zentner of Gaslight Brasserie

Serves 12 party guests

For salmon:

12 ounces smoked salmon, sliced paper thin
2 cups julienne kohlrabi
1/2 cup julienne carrots
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup capers, chopped
2-3 radishes, quartered
A few lemon wedges, seeded

For remoulade sauce:

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 teaspoon parsley, chopped
1 hard cooked egg, chopped

To prepare:

Combine all the ingredients for the remoulade sauce in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. This may be done a few days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
In a large bowl combine all the julienne vegetables, and cover with ice water for ten minutes. (This will help crisp up the veggies. If you place a colander filled with ice on top of your veggies then fill the bowl with water you will not need to pick the ice chips out of your veggies)
When ready to plate, drain the veggies and dry lightly on paper towels. Mix in enough of the remoulade to give it a creamy but not gloppy consistency. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Next, layer the smoked salmon evenly on a large serving platter. Scatter the radishes, capers, and shallots on top of the salmon. Place the kohlrabi salad on top, top with parsley and serve chilled.

Pair it with: A young white Burgundy—its green apple notes compliment the slaw and high acid cuts through the smokey fatty salmon.

Fish latkes

Courtesy of Chef Rob Rosen of Legal Seafoods Prudential

Yields about 12 latkes

2 pounds russet potatoes
2 large eggs
1 small onion
4 ounces cooked cod or similar-textured fish
½ cup unsalted matzah meal
Salt
Freshly milled black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives or chopped fresh parsly
Grapeseed oil
Applesauce
Sour cream

To prepare:

Peel the potatoes and beat the eggs. Using a standing 4-sided grater, grate the potatoes directly into the eggs, using the largest size holes in the grater. Grate the onion into the mixture.
Stir in the flaked fish and matzoh meal. Season with salt, pepper and chives.
Heat at least ½ inch of oil in a large skillet. Form the potato mixture into 2 ½ inch cakes (latkes) and ¾ inch thick.
Fry the cakes a few at a time over medium-high heat until thoroughly browned on both sides, about 10 minutes.
Set the latkes aside on a paper towel. Continue forming and frying the cakes until all the potato mixture is cooked.
Serve with bowls of applesauce and sour cream on the side.

Pair it with: A dry riesling. Rosen suggets the 2011 Domaine Zind Humbrecht, Riesling ‘Herrenweg de Turckheim,’ from Alsace.

Pierogies

Courtesy of Chef Rebecca Newell, Executive Chef of Beat Hotel

Ingredients for the pierogi filling:

6 scallions, chopped
2 cups of mashed potato
1 cup of cheddar cheese
A touch of truffle oil

Ingredients for the pierogi dough:

3 pounds of flour

2 cups of truffled Sour Cream

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

4 Eggs

Ingredients for sour cream garnish:

3 cups of sour cream
6 scallions, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Vinegar
Truffle oil

To prepare pierogi filling:

In a mixing bowl, mix mashed potato, scallions, cheddar and truffle oil. Add salt and pepper.

To prepare pierogi dough:

Put flour, eggs, salt and pepper and olive oil in the mixer.

Turn on the combine. Add sour cream. Turn the mixer until just combined. Add sour cream and mix until just combined. Pull out. Finished.

To prepare sour cream:

Mix ingredients.

Full preparation:

Refrigerate dough. When cold, best made the night before, roll out as thin as possible. If you have a pasta machine, even better.
Next, using a round cuter or water glass, cut out pierogi shape.
Fill with fill and brush with egg wash. Place on a cookie sheet with flour.
In a pot of boiling and salted water, drop in the pierogi. Cook until just floating.
Pull fromthe water. If desired, sauté in brown butter until crispy and serve with additional sour cream.

Pair it with: Dowset “Celilo Vineyard’’ 2011

Moroccan chicken skins

Courtesy of Chef Andrew Bonner of The Blue Room

Skin of chicken (From any skin on chicken breast, or leg, or whole bird—or try and make friends with a super market butcher!)

Ras el hanout
Salt

To prepare:

Scrape the chicken skin of any excess fat or meat. Lay skins flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place a piece of parchment on top of the skins and press down with a baking sheet of the same size.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour until the skins are golden and crispy. Rotate the pan 90 degrees after 30 minutes for even cooking.
Drain the excess fat (and save it to cook eggs the next morning!). Mix 1 teaspoon of salt with 1 teaspoon of ras el hanout and sprinkle the skins with the spiced salt.

Truffled twice-baked potatoes

Courtesy of Coda Bar & Kitchen’s executive chef, Kyle Stamps

4 russet potatoes-cleaned
3 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
1/2 pound shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Truffle oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bake the potatoes on a sheet pan with a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until tender.
Let the potatoes cool slightly so you can handle them.
Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the centers, leaving enough of the potato and skin so the shells do not fall apart.
Mix the scooped out potato with the sour cream, butter, chive, and truffle oil.
Put the mixture into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe the potato back into the shells. Place the stuffed shells into the oven and bake until the tops are golden.
Garnish with a little more chive and a dash of truffle oil.

Cheesecake tempura

Courtesy of Alex Aratake, Executive Chef at Haru

2 slices of cheesecake (of choice)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup ice water or iced soda water
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt
Oil, for deep-frying
Chocolate or fruit sauce and whipped cream (optional)

To prepare the cheesecake:

Cut each slice of cheesecake into 3 pieces to total 6 “bite’’ size pieces.
Place “bites’’ in the freezer while you prepare the oil and batter.

To prepare the tempura batter:

Heat oil in a deep fat fryer, or deep pot until 350 degrees.
Beat the egg yolk in a bowl and add the ice water. Lightly mix in the flour and salt to produce a lumpy batter. (Lumpy is good!)
Once the oil reaches 350 degrees, remove the “bites’’ from the freezer and dip them into the batter to coat the pieces.
Gently lower the coated pieces into the fryer or pot, making sure not to splatter. Fry for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown.
Drain and serve with your favorite chocolate sauce, fruit sauce, ice cream and/or whipped cream.