Greek Garden Appetizer Food

GREEK MEZZE PLATTER

Steps:

• Artfully arrange the marinated feta, red peppers, stuffed grape leaves and a small bowl filled with the hummus on a platter. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the hummus and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place the pita chips on the platter and arrange the sprigs of thyme over the red peppers, for decoration.
• Combine the dried thyme, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Lay the feta slices overlapping on a 9 × 9-inch square serving plate.
• Sprinkle the feta with the entire herb mixture. Nestle the thyme sprigs and olives among the feta slices. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve at room temperature.
• "Make It Ahead" by Ina Garten © Clarkson Potter 2014. Provided courtesy of Ina Garten. All rights reserved.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice the pita bread into 8 triangles and place them on a sheet pan. Place the sheet pan in the oven and toast the bread for 10 minutes.

GREEK GARDEN APPETIZER

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, feta, yogurt, garlic, oregano and pepper. Spread into a 9-in. pie plate. Sprinkle the cucumber, tomatoes, onions and olives over the cream cheese mixture. Serve with pita bread. Refrigerate leftovers.

HEALTHY GREEK APPETIZER PLATTER (HEALTHY APPETIZERS)

Steps:

• Combine cherries, balsamic vinegar, vanilla bean seeds, honey, olive oil, and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium/medium-low. Simmer until mixture is thick and reduced by more than half. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then pour onto feta. Serve with crackers and more honey, if desired.
• Prepare a hot grill. Drizzle all vegetables and halloumi with a bit of olive oil then season with salt and pepper. Brush grill grate with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
• Grill vegetables until tender and nicely charred, turning occasionally. Green onions will be ready after 2-4 minutes. Peppers and zucchini take about 10 minutes. Transfer from grill to serving platter.
• Grill halloumi, about 2-3 minutes on each side until grill marks appear. If you press gently on the cheese, it should be tender and give a little but not be too soft or runny. Transfer from grill to serving platter. Sprinkle grilled vegetables and halloumi with fresh mint, if desired, to serve. Drizzle halloumi with harissa oil, if desired, to serve.
• You can grill the apricots at the same time as the halloumi to ensure things come out at the right time. Prepare a hot grill (or keep grill hot from grilled vegetables). In a medium bowl, combine apricots, olive oil, honey, vanilla bean seeds, and salt. Toss to coat apricots well, ensuring vanilla bean seeds are evenly distributed.
• Grill apricots, cut side down, until marked and beginning to soften, about 1 minute or so. Flip and cook about 30 more seconds on the skin side until marked. Transfer to serving platter.
• Arrange all items on a platter, evenly distributing types of dishes (dips, fruits, nuts, cheeses) and colors, making sure no type of dish or color is too concentrated. You can start by placing large items like dips and arranging dipping items (crackers, grilled veggies, fresh veggies) around them.