Like my Decorated Easter Egg Cheese Spreads, this appetizer is more of an idea than a recipe. It takes about a half hour to throw together. You can cut the tomatoes and make the spread in advance and then just assemble the day of your party.
To create the cheese spread, once again I just threw together ingredients I had hanging around in my fridge. The spread came out great and the recipe is below if you would like to follow it. I just basically zhushed up some cream cheese.
Although the cream cheese filling takes almost no time to make, stuff these tomatoes with your favorite store bought spread and you save even more time in your holiday meal.
Use a sharp or small serrated knife to cut the tulip shape into the tops of the tomatoes. I used one of my favorite knives in my kitchen, Wüsthof’s Clip Point paring knife. After filling the cut tomatoes, you may find some cheesy fingerprints on the outside of the tomatoes. Gently wipe up any excess spread with a kitchen cloth.
Tomato Tulips Spring Appetizer
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup cream cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 12 grape tomatoes
- 8 scallons
Instructions
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In a separate small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, lemon juice, chili, garlic and onion powders. Season with salt and pepper
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Use a small paring knife with a sharp point to cut the stem out of the bottom of each grape tomato.
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From the top slice each tomato vertically, four times, cutting down to 3/4 of the way to the bottom.
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With the point of the knife, scoop out the flesh from the insides of each tomato.
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Use a small spoon or knife to fill each of the tomatoes with the cream cheese mixture.
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Cut the bottoms off of the scallions.
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Slice the scallions vertically into strips.
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Insert the bottom (more firm) ends of the scallion strips into the bottom of the tomatoes.
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Arrange on a plate and serve.
