The Princeton Public Library Flavors of Princeton series continued, collaborating with Executive Chef, Michael LaCorte of the Nassau Inn’s Yankee Doodle Tap Room. He took his cue from the Princeton Reads selection Silver Linings Playbook. LaCorte prepared the Sicilian dish chicken spiedini, shared that recipe along with braciole, crabby patties, and chicken curry, and had plenty of all dishes for the crowd to sample.
Chef LaCorte was very personable, gave great tips, and shared anecdotes about his family and Sicilian heritage. He created his own version of a crab snack sited in the “Playbook”, which along with the braciole and spiedini served, make great appetizers on any game day. This is really easy to prepare and flavorful.
To make this dish, LaCorte pounded out chicken breast strips, coated them with olive oil, covered them with a mixture of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasonings including a couple of pinches of cinnamon, rolled up a cube of provolone inside, skewered with bay leaves in between, and broiled on both sides until the chicken was done. The spiedini was my personal favorite. My friend enjoyed his “crabby patty” most. Below is that recipe. Enjoy!
Crabby Snacks (Crab Canapés)
Yield: 48 canapés, Time: 30 minute prep time, plus 30 minutes in the freezer
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
- One 6-ounce can crabmeat, drained
- One 5-ounce jar Kraft Old English cheese spread
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 English muffins, halved
Directions:
- Combine butter, crabmeat, cheese spread, mayonnaise, and garlic powder in medium bowl.
- Spread crab mixture on English muffin halves. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Heat broiler. Cut each English muffin half into quarters, and transfer onto a baking sheet.
- Broil until brown and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.