"Vegan Finger Foods" Review & Giveaway!

Tami & Celine's latest book "Vegan Finger Foods" is finally here! What a fun book!

I love to throw parties, so I love the idea of a book full of bite-sized delights. But, as you'll see, I was able to repurpose many of the recipes into dinners for Mr VE&T... so you don't need to limit your finger food fun to parties alone. 

Tami & Celine asked if I would take part in their blogger Book Tour, and I was happy to participate. I am such a fan of each of them: as bloggers, as recipe creators, and as cookbook writers. They sent me a copy to review, and I also get to offer a giveaway for one lucky winner (details below).

The first thing I made were the Nacho Potato Skins, and they were great! I couldn't find cute little mini potatoes like the recipe called for - but since we were just going to eat these for dinner, it didn't really matter. This way, I ended up with 6 medium potato halves instead of 12 minis. 

The recipe took a little time, but wasn't complicated. The potatoes had to be baked, hollowed, and re-baked. There was the filling to make, and queso to make. My only "complaint" was that the queso recipe made way more than I needed for the recipe itself. But then I just ate queso for the next few days, and I was happy. We both really loved these potatoes - the skins were perfectly cooked with a good bite, the filling was fresh and light, and the queso added a good creaminess. We also added on a big blog of salsa, because we like our mexi-food spicy! They were really messy to eat!

finger-lickin' yummy!

Next up were the Portabello BLTs - which were a total hit. OmmNomNom. I'm not a big portabello fan (ugh, that texture!!!) - but I already know I like shiitake bacon. So, I used their shiitake bacon recipe in the book, and followed everything else just so. I love the open-face BLT idea, and the addition of creamy avocado. These were just absolutely delicious, easy to make, and would definitely be a party hit - as well as a nice summertime dinner.

As luck would have it, one of my besties was having a BIG party for a BIG birthday, and so I actually had the chance to bring along some finger foods! I made a double batch of the Black Lentil Endive Cups. This may have been my first time ever actually buying endives? These were super good and quite easy - and quickly disappeared at the party! The lentils were easy and delicious, and I loved the sauce: it's a cashew-citrus-Sriracha combo that was spicy and creamy and a great compliment to the other flavors. Again, the sauce made way more than I needed... I ended up using the leftover sauce as dressing on some raw kale salads though - and was most pleased with that turn of events. In fact, I might make the sauce again, just for those purposes.

You know how it is. If you're invited to a big potluck, and you want dessert, you best bring it yourself. The desserts section in Vegan Finger Foods is mighty fine, chock full of temptations. This particular party was going with a mexi-food theme, so I made the Chocolate Chunk Cookies. The recipe calls for either garam masala or cinnamon... and I went with cinnamon (and added a pinch of cayenne) to make them more Mexi. I also added a little cocoa powder for more choco-flavor. I really loved these cookies and can't wait to try them out with the garam masala: that sounds so intriguing!!

Don't mind if I do!

(notice my imaginary Jeanette Zeis cake stand? - a girl can dream!)

Last but not least, I made a big ol' batch of the Baked Buffalo Tofu Bites. Que Yum! Theses were sooo good. The little tofu cubes took a bit of time to bread individually, but it was a pleasant and easy task that I enjoyed. Aside from that, the recipe is essentially effortless - and the result was a really fun and special dinner. The spicy sauce was super spicy! Wowzers! I happened to have some ranch dressing (from Isa Does It) left in my fridge, so we had that too. It was a great combo. Plus, a big raw kale sale with tomatoes and red onions for a powerful veggie blast.

As you can see, I really enjoyed the recipes I've made from this book so far, and there are lots more that I've taken note of to try again in the future. I'd definitely recommend this book if you like hosting parties or having fun things to to bring to parties, but there are also plenty of fun dinner-worthy ideas in here too.

Giveaway time!

Now, you too can amaze your party friends with flashy vegan offerings! Just leave a comment here with your email address and I will pick a winner by Monday May 19th. Open to U.S. & Canada. Tell me about a fun party you went to. Or about a fun party idea. Or whatever!