<p>We are going to have Thanksgiving, as we often do, with good friends in the neighborhood. The mother-in-law of my friend keeps kosher, and so the dinner is always dairy-free. In the past I’ve brought fruit pies, making the crusts without butter and leaving butter out of the filling. This year someone else is bringing pies, and I am bringing appetizers. I’m trying to think of what to bring. A platter of smoked salmon with capers and lemon slices would be nice, but what would I bring with it? Dry bread or crackers - butter and cream cheese are out. Vegetable platter with hummus? Does pita bread contain milk? Any other ideas?</p>
<p>These also need to be nut-free - S2 is allergic.</p>
<p>Match the smoked salmon with kosher crackers similar to melba toast or toasted rye, if you can find them. There are lots of kosher hummus products around,with various flavors; likewise baba ghannouj (eggplant dip).</p>
<p>Also, check with the hostess. On the one hand, kosher rules often allow eating dairy before meat (but not afterwards) so it might be all right to bring some cream cheese with the fish.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some kosher standards require using different plates and silverware for fish and for meat, so you might save some dishwashing by not bringing a smoked salmon appetizer. Again, check with the hostess.</p>
<p>Great suggestions, VeryHappy and dadofsam, thanks!</p>
<p>dadofsam, I’ve never heard that it was all right to eat dairy before meat. In this case, the guidelines are clear - no dairy. But they are not so strict as to require preparation in a kosher kitchen - mine certainly isn’t, and my friend’s house isn’t, either. So, really, what I am going for is dairy-free, not kosher.</p>
<p>Pita bread shouldn’t contain milk products, but I’d check the label. Cold asparagus makes a nice appetizer you can serve it with a vinaigrette. I also like baba ganoush or tapenade on pita or crackers. We never had anything but good olives, carrots, celery and pepper slices in my family.</p>
<p>We do crudities with hummus and maybe an olive or artichoke tapenade (Trader Joe’s has some great options). I make some sort of spiced nuts, and some variety of jazzed-up olives. </p>
<p>I just had this chickpea dip at a party last week and I’m going to make it on Thanksgiving. It’s delicious and different than the usual hummus. The person who brought it got the recipe from her Greek mother-in-law. She served it with slices of baguette that she had toasted lightly.</p>
<p>Pat’s Chickpea, Garlic, and Mint Topping</p>
<p>1 large can chickpeas (or use 2 small cans)
1 garlic clove
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juic
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp mint leaves torn up small</p>
<p>Mash garlic to a paste with salt and pepper, using a mortar and pestle. Whip the paste together with lemon juice and olive oil. Toss with chickpeas and mash chickpeas with a fork, leaving some chickpeas formed for texture if you like. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Just before serving, stir in mint. Serve on crostini. Can be mashed and chilled one day ahead, but bring to room temperature and add mint just before serving.</p>
<p>A surprising number of pita breads have “milk” in them. It doesn’t seem like the bread itself has it as an ingredient, but it the bread often has some milk proteins in the dough conditioner. So I’d look for the bread that has the parve symbol on it if you go this route.</p>
<p>As for appetizers, you can do a diary free spanikopita with fillo dough, chopped spinach, onions, chapped anything else you might like (like mushrooms). </p>
<p>You could also do those tiny fillo cups (you find them in the freezer section of our store see the mini shells on <a href=“http://athensphyllo.com/default.aspx[/url]”>http://athensphyllo.com/default.aspx</a> ). Then I fill them with a variety of things - usually a combo of hummos, taboulli, roasted slivers of vegetables, apples and so on. These are ALWAYS a hit.</p>
<p>hummus is always good, what about bruschetta without the cheese- toasted french or italian bread (made without dairy of course), garlic, tomato, basil, olive oil, balsamic vineagar</p>
<p>Was north minnesota kidding? Anyway, I make the stuffed mushrooms with celery, onion and the mushroom stems as filling. I sprinkle with bread crumbs. Slight olive oil on pan, and then broil or bake till cooked through. Don’t forget my favorite hot dogs in the blanket. Hebrew national and Cohens make them frozen to guarantee kosher (the pillsbury rolls that we used when I was a kid, are unfortunately without a kosher symbol).</p>
<p>You can make homemade gravlax, from the Kosher Palette cook book:</p>
<p>3 lb. salmon fillet (I use a smaller one)
1/4 c. kosher salt
1/4 c. dark brown sugar (you can use light too)
2 T. black pepper
1 T vodka
1 bunch fresh dill</p>
<p>mix sugar pepper vodka and rub over salmon, top with chopped dill. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refridgerator for 2-3 days. If you make it today, it will be ready.</p>
<p>Serve on pareve toast points with capers, chopped egg etc.</p>
<p>Usually the appetizer is on a separate plate anyway, so if they really don’t put fish and meat on the same plate it is unlikely to make a difference.</p>
<p>North Minn, I think the OP meant kosher style, rather than complete kosher supervision. This reminds me of a joke I heard. The problem with kosher chicken cordon bleu isn’t the cheese (which is a problem, but anyway) but the ham.</p>
<p>How about a dried fruit platter? How about a variety of fresh fruit? Sorry, I just saw that one son is allergic to nuts, so I deleted that idea.</p>
<p>Sliced vegetables are great as an alternative to pita bread for serving with hummus. Or hummus as a dip replacement to serve with a vegetable platter :)</p>
<p>Our traditional meat appetizer, in addition to hummus, is chapped liver! Chicken livers, onions, hardboiled egg. A staple of the Eastern European Jewish diet!</p>