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Sunday, April 05, 2009

Amy Sherman's Appetizer Event


I was very fortunate to attend a wonderful appetizer event that Amy Sherman of Cooking With Amy fame contributed as a Larkspur Library fundraiser. The first event was sold out in 3 days, so Amy graciously gave a second class in simple and tasty appetizers. Amy developed 44 appetizer recipes for the Williams Sonoma New Flavors for Appetizers , classic recipes with a twist, in 6 weeks!

Amy is very knowledgeable about food and an eloquent speaker. Food is her passion, and she has a lot of experience in the areas of recipe development, food writing, marketing and branding. She is also a down-to-earth, home cook who develops recipes that are simple and efficient rather than complex and laborious. She encourages people to cook fresh, healthy recipes while being mindful of the time and effort available to the average cook. That makes her my kind of cook!

All the appetizers she made for the event were simple and had few ingredients (all of which were available at Trader Joe's). Here's Amy demonstrating dried apricots filled with chevre goat cheese and chopped roasted almonds:



An appetizer a child could help you prepare, these were an incredibly simple and delicious blend of sweet tartness, cream, and crunch:


My favorite was the crostini with edamame (or fava beans) with ricotta, pecorino, lemon and mint:

And a vegan option, Endive with White Bean Dip:


Amy treated us to many great food stories and experiences and all the appetizers she prepared in minutes were delicious.


Amy also did Prosciutto Pear Bites and I'm musing on a vegetarian version of this, which is hard as I've never tasted prosciutto. Would love to hear any suggestions in the comment!

Huge thanks to Amy for being so gracious with her time, answering questions, and providing an awesome foodie event in Larkspur.

Cheers!

6 Comments:

Blogger Jennifer Carden said...

You know I like anythig a kid can help with!!! I will be making these.

8:49 PM  
Blogger Kalyn Denny said...

I have her book and really love the looks of the recipe. Definitely going to be making some of them.

9:09 PM  
Blogger K Allrich said...

How fabulous! You're so lucky. I would love to meet Amy and hear her speak. Great write up and photos! Thanks for sharing this.

9:27 PM  
Blogger Anna Haight said...

Vegetarian substitute for prosciutto? Something salty for sure. I'd put some tempeh bacon on it as perhaps the closest alternate. Aside from the meat analogues, I'd try to find something salty with some unami. Maybe thin slices of eggplant, seasoned with Bragg's amino acids and grilled wrapped around the pear pieces?

9:52 PM  
Blogger A_and_N said...

Lovely post Catherine! I was truly suprised when I saw the vegetarian substitute for proscuitto. What was the substitution?

And its always fun to involve others/kids while you're making something :)

6:33 AM  
Blogger MeloMeals said...

What a great class!

2:14 PM  

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