nibbles and nuts- one day and counting

While passed hors d’oeuvres are best for a crowd, it’s prudent to have a few bites purposely positioned during cocktail hour. Strategically place a crisp crudités alongside a light herb mayonnaise. And nothing beats a savory nut alongside a creamy olive.

The beauty all can be made a day ahead. Giving you plenty of time to whisk up the citrus marinade for tomorrow’s grilled chicken.

Castelvetrano olives are intensely green with a sweet almost buttery flavor and texture. These gems are worth the pit. Pair with rosemary roasted almonds. Marcona almonds are smooth, delicate and subtly sweet. Made even better when quickly tossed and heated in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds on a rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss with salt and rosemary.

Roast for five minutes or just until the nuts begin to slightly deepen in color. Cool, place in a dish cover tightly and keep at room temperature until ready to serve. 

A quartet of julienned fresh veggies compliments the herb mayonnaise. Slice the red pepper.

Quickly steam the French beans covered in the microwave in a couple tablespoons of water for 90 seconds. Then shock in an ice bath.

Place each of the vegetables in a Ziploc bag with a paper towel and stow in the frig.

For the herb mayonnaise finely chop the chives, tarragon and italian parsley.

Place the mayonnaise, sour cream, chopped fresh herbs, dill weed and finely chopped shallot in a bowl.

Blend with a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the mayonnaise in its serving dish. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

For the citrus marinade combine the lemon and orange peel and juice.

Whisk in the olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.

(For more tricks of the trade in creating a dinner for twenty click on the previous six posts and stay tuned for more to come)