Some Like It Raw, 2 Popular Appetizers, Ahi Tuna and Beef Carpaccio

Here are a couple of the more complex appetizers you may find at your next catered event.  You can do these at home, however they are a multi-step process so get ready for a little work.  They are wildly popular when we serve them at the events that we cater.

Mom and the health department say we should always thoroughly cook our meats before we consume them right?  Well that is what they say, but these would not be near as tasty if they were anywhere close to being cooked.

Ahi Tuna, Blackened on a Gaufrette Potato

Ahi Tuna is another name for the yellow fin tuna found primarily in warmer water areas of the Pacific Ocean. It is prized by the Japanese culture as a good candidate for Sashimi.  For our purposes though we do cook it very slightly.  We use Saku blocks a packaging of the yellow fin that comes  in a 1?x3?x8? block, which enables it to be cut into a 1x1x8 strip.  We then blacken the strips using traditional Cajun methods of the cast iron skillet. (Get the skillet almost glowing hot and sear the Ahi for a few seconds on each side)

When that is finished, the block is frozen so that we can slice the tuna into very thin squares about an eighth of an inch wide.  The tuna is served on a waffle potato chip which has also been seasoned with Cajun spice. (You need a good mandoline to cut these with the criss-cross pattern)

At service time the tuna is laid on the chip, garnished with pickled ginger strips, a dollop of wasabi flavored mayonnaise, and a drop of sweet soy sauce.  Uhmm Good!

Carpaccio on a Crostini

This is a variation on the traditional Italian theme. Rather than a platter with the raw beef, or fish this individual passed appetizer uses a crostini as its platter. Take a baguette, slice it thinly, brush the slices with a thin coat of olive oil, sprinkle a hint of Italian herbs on top and bake them for 5-7 minutes until it is just slightly toasted.

Spread them with a nice coating of boursin cheese. Now put a very thin slice of raw or slightly seared (the health department makes us do it) tenderloin on the crostini.  Top the beef with a small amount of minced red onion, capers and a sprinkling of shredded parmesan cheese.

These went so fast that the tray was gone before I could get my camera out and take a picture. Oh well, I?ll get one in here next week when we do another party.

Of course if you really like it raw, you can get a recipe from this fellow on wiki-answers:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_grubs_taste_like_pickled_snot_balls

Technorati Tags: Ahi On a gaufrette, Carpaccio on Crostini