Summer Hors D’Oeuvres

Hosting a dinner party or a date night at home? Chef Shane shares his favorite Summer Time “Hors d’oeuvres”. We prefer to use vegetables and herbs harvested from the Bricoleur Vineyards Gardens. So we encourage you to use your own veggies or stop by your local farmer’s market to pick some up! Either way, these are perfect bites that everyone will enjoy!

Directions:

Peach & Cucumber Soup

• 4 large peaches, ripe (or 6 smaller peaches), cut into medium dice
• 1 small cucumber (about 1.5 cups chopped), peeled and cut into medium dice
• 2 tablespoons of  Sauvignon Blanc
• 2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar
• 1 ½ cups of ice
• 1 pinch salt

Method:

Working in batches, blend ingredients in a blender on high until very smooth. Pour into a small glass and drizzle with olive oil.

Eggplant Caponata Crostini

• 1lb of globe eggplant, medium dice
• 1 red bell pepper, small dice
• 1 green bell pepper, small dice
• 1 cup of champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• ½ cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of yellow onion, small dice
• ½ cup of celery, small dice
• ½ cup of golden raisins (regular raisins will work)
• ¼ cup of pine nuts
• 12 leaves of basil, torn in half
• 1 cup of olive oil, plus a little bit more for finishing
• 1 baguette
• 1 pack burrata (fresh mozzarella will work if you can’t find burrata)

Method:

In a small pot, saute onions and celery until translucent. In a cast-iron pan, toast pine nuts until fragrant. Add vinegar, raisins, toasted pine nuts and sugar to the pot and cook until reduced by ¾, the liquid should be slightly syrupy. In a saute pan, cook eggplant in olive oil until tender. Work in batches, don’t overcrowd the pan. Place cooked eggplant in a large mixing bowl. In another large saute pan, sweat the diced peppers in olive oil until tender. Add to the mixing bowl. Pour the vinegar reduction into the bowl with the eggplant and peppers. Add torn basil and season generously with salt. Cool.

Cut the baguette in ¼ inch slices. Drizzle with olive oil and toast at 425-degree oven for 4-5 minutes. Top the crostini with eggplant mixture and cut a chunk of burrata and place it on top. Season with olive oil and sea salt.

Zucchini Pickles

• 1 lb of zucchini
• 1 yellow onion, cut in thin slices
• 2 cups of apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of sugar
• ½ tablespoon of Colman mustard powder
• ½ tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 2 ½ tablespoons  of kosher salt

Method:

Cut the zucchini into spears, or thin slices. Combine all other ingredients in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Pour over zucchini and chill.