The holidays are upon us and so, too, the specter of holiday parties and the ghost of Christmas future, telling us of the pounds we could pile on between December 1 and New Year’s Day.
But the holidays are about joy and fellowship and gaiety and…well…food, which holds center stage this time of year. So if you’re planning a gathering of friends during this festive season, here’s a little bit of help.
There are many carb-friendly party foods–low carb mini cheese cakes (see recipe in Protein Power), Blue Cheese Lorraine miniatures, deli meats, nuts, cheeses, marinated veggies, fresh crunchy veggies, boiled shrimp, Seviche, steak or tuna tartare, guacamole (very Christmasy all dressed in red and green) and cream cheese dips to name a few. The big problem is often the platform–the cracker for the hors d’ouvre or the chip for the dip.
Here’s a carb friendly solution I learned from Mike’s sister in Michigan and it works fabulously well as a crispy, savory platform. Make them in batches just before you intend to use them.
Salami Crisps
12 slices of dry thin salami (about 1 to 2″ diameter)
12 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
1. Arrange salami slices in a single layer on several thicknesses of paper towel or on a paper plate.
2. Top each slice with 1 teaspoon grated cheese
3. Microwave on high for about 30 seconds until just starting to crisp.
4. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Repeat.
5. Enjoy as is or use as a platform for hors d’ouvres or for dips.
A favorite recipe of mine that I swiped from a low-carb web site is to cut a slice of American cheese (not the plastic-wrapped kind, either deli or something like Kraft’s Deli Deluxe) into sixteen pieces, arrange them in the microwave on a circle of parchment paper and nuke for 40 seconds. They crunch and taste just like Cheez-Its and are sturdy enough to be dipped. It’s WAY easy to overeat them if you make a lot, so I make up little snack baggies with two slices’ worth of chips in them. I’ve experimented with making chips from string cheese–pepper jack (which turned out well) and mozzarella (which didn’t).
COMMENT from MD EADES: What a great idea! I’m going to have to give it a try. I wonder if plain old organic cheddar would work as well?
I tried it once with freshly shredded cheddar and they came out okay, but not great–kind of greasy. I left them as chunks and they were gross. I did okay with deli-sliced jack, though–the chips tasted almost like potato chips.
COMMENT from MD EADES: Thanks for the tip–the deli sliced hot cheese would be delicious.