Tapa's night for June

It was the second Saturday after Boat Club yesterday, which meant it was Tapa's/Appetizer night at our place.  We didn't have as big a turnout as usual, several people were out of town for family things, but we still had a few people in.

I decided to make California Rolls again, now that I seem to have figured out the knack for it, it seemed like a no-brainer.   

Grated carrots for the Sushi

Ready to roll up.

But I wanted to try making something new as well.   I saw this recipe on  Foodgawker and thought it would be fun to try.    Here's the link to the recipe, it's called Tri-Colored Terrine .   So I got all the ingredients, and started my journey.   Little did I realize how long it would take, I mean how hard is it to blanch Broccoli or Cauliflower or Carrots, yeah right.

And then there was the process of getting them processed with just a blender and not being able to beat the egg whites cause the Kitchenaid's bowl was in the dishwasher and then ...   At any rate, I'm not about to let a little thing like that get the better of me, so I followed the directions, well, mostly, I couldn't get the vegetable processed finely enough in the blender without adding some more liquid, so I did add a couple of tablespoons of cream to each batch.

First layer, Broccoli

Next layer, carrots

In the oven

And finally had it ready for the oven, just in time for it to cook and be able to cool down to room temp before my guests arrived.     At any rate, I will make this again, but next time I'll cut the nutmeg back, a lot, it overpowered the delicate flavors of the broccoli and the cauliflower.    And maybe add some white cheddar to the broccoli and some parmesan cheese to the cauliflower.   I think it will amp up the flavors a little.  

I made a cheese ball as well.    If you have cream cheese in the house, you can make a lot of stuff with it.   And I was in the mood for spicy so I threw an 8 oz. block of cream cheese into the Kitchenaid, added three ounces of finely grated pepper cheese, three ounces of finely grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese,  a tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce, a couple tablespoons of chopped capers, and three green onions finely chopped.   Whizzed them together, made a ball and put it into the fridge so the flavors could meld together.

I also put together  a platter with some sliced meats and cheeses.    And here's a sample of what I put together for the Tapa's night.

 Sushi, Vegetable Pate, sliced meats and cheese ball.  Check out the place mat, it's one my Mom wove.

Harriet also brought a lovely bean salad,

And I didn't get a chance to take a picture of some of the other dishes but there were also some 'wings', and a Chile Relleno casserole.   My excuse, I was too busy visiting with friends.