Appetizer cake

What is an appetizer cake? It is a cake that is served as an appetizer or as a snack at a party.

I love appetizers. I would forgo the main dish for the appetizers. When I was little, my parents left me alone at the Holiday table for a couple of minutes, and when they came back, they found me unable to talk since my mouth was full with olives and salami. I do not remember this humiliating episode, and anyway, my parents and I survived the crisis. The food was somehow pried out of my clenched jaws.

Today, since processed meats are out of our diet (they increase the risk of colon cancer), I try to find healthy, and yet delicious, substitutes.

In the past, my mom had made a pancake stack for an appetizer. It consisted of layers of pancakes with various cheeses, mayo and pickles in between.

For this past New Years Eve, I decided to experiment and make my own healthy appetizer cake. The "cake" would be well-received at any party. This year, break the tradition of celebrating every occasion with sugar. Try something new. Try the appetizer cake!

Appetizer cake

You need:
Four pocket thins (with high fiber contents or any other type you may like). Two packages of cream cheese (I use the reduced fat). 3 - 4 Tbsp of plain yogurt (I use non-fat), 2 cloves of garlic (crushed), 1 medium size sweet onion (diced), 5 - 6 baked and peeled red peppers (I buy the ready to use peppers in jars), 1 - 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 can of pitted olives, 1 or more cups of shredded Cheddar cheese or any other cheese you like, a cucumber and/or tomatoes for decoration.

Instructions:
Soften the cream cheese in the microwave (for 30 seconds or less) and mix with the yogurt and crushed garlic. Soften the onion in a pan with olive oil until caramelized. Crush and drain well the pitted olives. Drain well the peppers and dice. Mix separately the olives, the peppers and the onions each with 2 Tbsp of the cream cheese-yogurt mixture. Assemble the cake by layering the thins and the fillings. I arranged my cake in the following order: one thin as a foundation of the cake, onion layer, another thin, pepper layer, thin, olive layer, and a final thin. Cover the cake on all sides with the remaining cream cheese-yogurt mix and sprinkle the shredded Cheddar cheese on top and on the sides. Decorate with sliced cucumber or tomatoes.

My tweaks for the "next edition" of the appetizer cake:
 

• Next time, I will use the half (one layer) of each doubled-layered pocket thin. 
• Instead of onion, I will use mushrooms softened in oil. The onions were too sweet and clashed with the salty taste of the cake.  
• The double-layered thins were a bit tough but the taste and texture improved after I kept the cake for 24 hours in the refrigerator, and then a couple of hours at room temperature (before serving). 
• I may also try to make the same cake with pancakes