VEGETARIAN

POTATO CANAPES WITH A CHEESY TOPPING…O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

“The potato, like man, was not meant to dwell alone.”
Shila Hibben

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Read a post by Michelle @ Bleeding Espresso about Gina DePalma, 2008 Bon Appetit award-winner for best Pastry Chef. Life is becoming just so unpredictable. A few months ago, Michelle found that Gina was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was undergoing a whirlwind of treatment. So a few of the girls (from the Dolce Italiano contest held last year) got together to do something for Gina.

In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen and Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso, announced…
O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Check out Michelle’s post HERE. The announcement can also be found at the bottom of my post. Join in, spread the word, start thinking about food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato). You’ve got until the 30th of September, 2008. Please check Michelle’s post for all the details. My entry follows with the humble POTATO.

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Made these potato canapes the other day. Had read an interesting post of how to make potato crisps, fatless, in the microwave recipe some time ago. Tried my hand at them for the want of nothing better to do one morning; they were delicious. Like the olden days, the hub rejoiced as he crunched a mouthful. I went on to clear out the fridge, despairing at the small portions of cheese etc in little containers, & then the beautiful sage arrived. One thing led to another…& in my attempt to use up all the leftovers , these pretty canapes were born. They made for a handsome bite & were delicately flavoured with a blend of cheese & sage. Feel free to substitute the cottage cheese for any other soft cheese or cream cheese. Everything tastes good on potato!

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POTATO CRISPS

Ingredients:

Potatoes – as many as you like (I used 2 & got about 35-40 crisps)
Oil – 1-2 tsps
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
Method:
  • Scrub the potatoes well, & slice them as thinly as possible.
  • Lightly oil a microwave proof plate & spread the chips out, taking care they don’t overlap.
  • Microwave on high for 5 minutes, turn over & do the same for another 5 minutes. They should be quite dry now or done (depends on the amount of moisture the potatoes have). Carry on doing the same for short bursts of 2 minutes, till the crisps are crunchy & done.
  • Season with sea salt & freshly ground pepper. Store in an airtight box.

potato+canapes2For the topping:

Cottage cheese : 100 gms, grated
Cheddar – 50 gms, grated
Low fat cream – 2 tsps
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper
Finely sliced sage leaves
Method:
  • Blend the cottage cheese + cheddar + cream till smooth. Season with salt.
  • Pipe the mixture out on the crisps with a star nozzle, grind pepper over the cheese, garnish with sage & serve immediately.

O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen and Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (via FirstGiving.org)

and then, out of the goodness of your hearts and to be eligible for the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest, please do the following:

1. Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato) and include this entire text box in the post;

OR

2. If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word about the event and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

AND

3. Then send your post url [along with a photo (100 x 100) if you’ve made a recipe] to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on September 30, 2008.

We will post a roundup and announce prize winners on October 3.

Prizes:

  • 1 Recipe Prize for best “O food” concoction: $50 gift certificate to Amazon;
  • 1 Awareness Prize for only publicizing event: Copy of Dolce Italiano cookbook.
  • ———

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

  • Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
  • The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
  • The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
  • In spite of this patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
  • When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

Please donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

and help spread the word!potato+canapes5

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About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

26 Comments

  • Bharti

    Oh I have to try those potato crisps. Neat idea to make them in to canapes. They look so good!

  • Nags

    thats a great idea to make the crisps. will surely try them with those soon-going-to-rot potatoes i have in the kitchen tray 🙂

  • Arfi Binsted

    we all love crisps! i sometimes even bother myself peel and slice potatoes thinly just to make a great and healthier crisps. looks good for the event, deeba.

  • Manggy

    Thank you for making us aware of the event 🙂 I think I would consume your canapes non-stop– I just love the combination of potatoes, salt, and cheese. I mean, who doesn’t?!

  • Anonymous

    woman! you outdo yourself each post!!! you are my inspiration (of course currently i am just being inspired and doing actually nothing!!! but someday the day will come…)

    may i say again – absolutely love your posts.

    love
    d

  • Purnima

    Deeba, these canapes look yum, how innovative n creative u got just to finish off, in style n taste, the small portions found in fridge! 🙂 ( Is the leaf same as juicy herb -ajwain ke pattey? The pic reminds me of them, umpteenth time I had chewed on the tender leaves during childhood, which gave a ajwain flavoured fresh juice!) Lovely entry.

  • michelle of bleeding espresso

    Awesome, awesome, awesome. Fabulous idea, execution, and photos (of course) 🙂 Thanks so much for participating and spreading the word Deeba!

  • Clumbsy Cookie

    What great ideas, both the event and your snack! Cool way of doing the potato chips!

  • Tartelette

    What a wonderful initiative! I am a potato freak so if you take one, fry it and then top it with cheese…I am all over it!!

  • Núria

    I might send one recipe with PotatO too ;D.
    Your pictures are stunning as always and the snack is so nicely presented and looks so cute!

  • Gloria (Canela)

    Dear Deeba I love this dish we love potatoes, and look so beauty how you make, really nice, xxxxGloria

  • JennDZ - The Leftover Queen

    That looks absolutely beautiful! Thanks so much for helping to get the word out there! 🙂

  • Rosie

    Thank you Deeba for making us aware of this event. I’m a potatoholic and your dishes look beautiful – well done sweetie 🙂

    Rosie x

  • Yasmeen

    hi deeba,
    Thank you for raising the awareness about Ovarian cancer.
    Your O recipes are simply delicious for the contest.

  • nicisme

    Thanks for highlighting this event!

    Mmmm, those potato crisps look……. CRISPY!! They’ve got the crunch factor for sure.

  • Jeanne

    Potato and sage is a match made in heaven! I really, really must try these microwave potato crisps…

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