Belgian Endive Herb Cheese Canapés
An elegant canapé that makes an elegant statement for special occasions. Delicious with a glass of cold Brut Champagne.
This recipe was researched specifically for a New Year's Eve dinner planned to usher in 1999, and it came from a now defunct website called the Digital Chef. I still have the printout from this website, computer dated 12/30/98. The domain today is for sale, so sadly, the Chef couldn't make a go of it. It was a well laid-out site, too, and allegedly was in association with the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, otherwise known as the CIA located in Hyde Park, New York. Sorry to see it crashed and burned as many of the early pioneers of the world wide web have since the mid-90's.
I augmented Digital Chef's original recipe with the inclusion of fresh Herbs Fines. a combination of parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil. We enjoyed these while sipping champagne and preparing the rest of our celebratory dinner.
A Study of Belgian Endive - Belgian Endive Herb Cheese Canapés
Ingredients
- 1 cup cream cheese, softened (like, Kraft Philadelphia)
- 1/2 tsp garlic, finely minced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 4 tbsp fresh Herbs Fines
- 7-8 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 4-5 heads Belgian Endive
- 1/4 c red bell pepper, finely cubed
- 2 tbsp fresh flat parsley leaves (sometimes referred to as Italian Parsley)
Instructions
- Thoroughly combine the cream cheese, garlic, 1/2 of the lemon juice, Herbs Fines, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
- Cover and reserve at room temperature for at least a half-hour, which will allow the mixture to further soften and the flavor of the herbs to open.
- In a bowl large enough to accommodate the endive leaves, add the remaining lemon juice to 2-3 cups of very cold water.
- Trim the endive root and separate the leaves, placing them into the cold lemon water bath. This will help prevent the endive leaves from oxidizing and turning brown while waiting on a serving platter to be eaten.
- Drying each leaf with a paper towel, spoon about a tablespoon the cheese mixture onto the root end of each leaf.
- Garnish with the cubes red bell pepper and one flat parsley leaf. Arrange on a serving platter as you go.
- Place the serving platter the refrigerator and chill for 20-30 minutes before presenting.