Thursday, August 25, 2011

Cucumber, Tomato and Olive Hors d'Oeuvres


For Tom's reception last week at the 55+ Gallery in the Turner Senior Resource Center, we brought both a blueberry cake and some summery hors d'ouvres.

I always have such a hard time trying to figure out what to make for these events. Because it's August, it only made sense to use some beautiful garden and farmers' market produce rather than puff pastry that can be purchased at any time of year. We wanted something seasonal.

And for some reason, a deconstructed Greek salad got stuck in my mind: cucumbers, tomatoes, lovely Kalamata olives. Feta's rich saltiness was desired, but it was too crumbly for the hors d'oeuvres as we started to envision them, on skewers.

So we substituted something spreadable - herbed cream cheese. And, of course, we left out the gorgeous but messy beets!

These were a delight for all our senses: visually enticing, tantalizing aroma, cool to the touch, crisp to bite into, and vibrantly flavorful.

Cucumber, Tomato and Olive Hors d'Oeuvres

1 English cucumber, sliced 1/4"+ thick
1/2 of an 8-ounce container of chive and onion spreadable cream cheese
16 Kalamata olives, pitted, halved lengthwise
32 grape tomatoes

Cut each cucumber slice in half across the slice. Schmear 1 teaspoon of cream cheese onto each cucumber piece. Take a froofy toothpick and skewer an olive half first, then a tomato. Skewer the cucumber last, without pressing the toothpick all the way through; the cucumber should lay flat against a serving tray.

Makes 32 hors d'oeuvres.

Note: Be sure to use wooden toothpicks. The plastic skewers we used were distinctive, but they didn't stay in the cucumber slices very well. Also, if you want the cucumbers to be "striped," simply run a vegetable peeler down the length of the cucumber before slicing it.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness...how incredibly cute are those?? Fantastic idea and the perfect summer appetizer!

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I love fresh appetizers like this Mary! Its so refreshing to see VEGGIES on the tray instead of the usual (albeit delicious!) puff pastry or crackers. Perfect use of the summer's bounty :)

Anonymous said...

These look so refreshing, the perfect summer compliment to most anything. What a nice photo. How could you not want one?!

Candace said...

Those are so cute and I know that they tasted absolutely delicious!

Leanne said...

This is such a great recipe idea!!! You are a genius, I tell ya! Love the whole 'deconstructed' idea . . . And this one I will HAVE to try! Thanks, dear!


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