Twelve Days of Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres (Eleventh Day)
Early on in this series, I’ve talked about balancing out the Hors d’oeuvres you put together for your holiday cocktail party. When the Hors d’oeuvres are going to be served in place of dinner, you want to make sure you have a variety, and also want to make sure you have things on your table that have some substance. Prepare eight to ten types of hors d’oeuvres and plan on each guest eating two to three of each. (Unless it’s the Crab Wontons from the third day…plan on making a lot!)
These Mediterranean Chicken Bites with Romesco Sauce will help with your balancing act. They are marinated in a lemony garlic mixture, and grilled in bite sized pieces, just right for grabbing on a toothpick. The Romesco Sauce is lively in color, and packed with flavor. You may grill the chicken ahead of time, and serve at room temperature. No last minute assembly required!
Mediterranean Chicken Bites with Romesco Dipping Sauce
Marinade:
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces
In sealable plastic bag, combine chicken and marinade ingredients. Seal bag and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Thread chicken onto grilling skewers and grill over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning skewers every 3 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from skewers and place on serving platter. Serve with Romesco Dip (recipe follows)
8 servings
Romesco Dip
1/2 cup whole natural almonds (about 3 ounces), toasted
1 cup drained roasted red peppers from a jar
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Very finely chop almonds in processor. Add roasted peppers, vinegar, and garlic; process to coarse puree. With machine running, pour olive oil through feed tube and process until puree thickens slightly. Season dip to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. (Dip can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
Makes 1 1/4 cups dip
Once again, Tokyo Terrace has come up with a brilliant cocktail to with today’s Hors d’oeuvre:
Sparkling Sangria with Cranberries and Oranges
Click here to visit Tokyo Terrace for the recipe
I hope you will join us again tomorrow, for our last day in this series.
Need to catch up?
Delicious chicken bites, I’m loving the Mediterranean flavors and the romesco sauce!
The chicken bites sound like an awesome appetizer! Different than normal, and I love the color of the romesco sauce.
[...] Yet again, Debi has a delicious hors d’oeuvre to share with you all: Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Bites with Romesco Sauce. For her recipe, click here. [...]
The chicken bites look delicious!
What a zesty, zippy snack! Love the sauce; it’s good with everything. I like dipping roasted vegetables in it!
[...] Till min kompis födelsedag tog jag med mig kyckling med romanescosås efter ett recepet jag hittat här och till åt vi vitlöksbröd och sallad. Det blev väldigt gott. Kycklingen har enkel kryddning, [...]
[...] Yet again, Debi has a delicious hors d’oeuvre to share with you all: Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Bites with Romesco Sauce. For her recipe, click here. [...]