Prosciutto Jalapeno Poppers

This is the quick'n'easy version of The Pioneer Woman's jalapeno poppers (which is delicious).  I made these guys with half jalapenos and half sweet mini peppers to give my kids a non-spicy option.  Worked very well.

The OR calls for a cheddar-cream cheese-scallion mixture that I circumvent by using herbed cheese such as Boursin or Laughing Cow, or when I ran out of that, sticks of Brie (yes, Brie is my "backup" cheese LOL)

The OR also calls for wrapping the poppers in pieces of uncooked bacon which is scrumptious.  I happened not to have any bacon on hand, but I had prosciutto so I used that (yes, prosciutto is my "backup" pork product LOL).  The nice thing about using the prosciutto is that it's already cooked so the cooking time for the poppers can be (read: needs to be) shortened from the hour originally called for.  I think using long, narrow strips of thin-sliced ham could work too in lieu of prosciutto or bacon.

The OR also calls for brushing the poppers with barbecue sauce or jelly such as apricot jelly.  I think beer jelly or garlic jelly would be OUTSTANDING here, but no sauce/jelly on top is good too (and is what I did this go-round).

I have made these in vast quantities for parties and you can absolutely make them ahead and freeze them.  I dithered about whether to freeze them before cooking or after, and decided that after cooking was less likely to result in a squishy jalapeno shell (since freezing uncooked veggies tends to make them, well, squishy).  I "revived" them for the party by baking them again for about 30 minutes to heat through and crisp the bacon back up.  To make them in advance to freeze, pull them out of the oven about 10 minutes before the final cooking time.  That way, the 2nd round of baking doesn't overbrown or burn them.

You can use toothpicks if you need to get the bacon/prosciutto/ham to stay in place, but it's a lot less time-consuming and easier to eat if you just wrap them so that the ends of the meat slice are on the bottom of the pepper.  Gravity will do the rest to keep them in place.

Lastly, the OR offers a variation wherein you place a thin slice of peach on top of the cheese before wrapping in bacon. This sounds weird, but is ohmygawd good...I highly recommend it.

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Blood Mary Cocktail Bites

Finished in-tact celery ribs 

This is adapted from Time Ferriss' The Four Hour Chef.  His recipe uses a thickener called agar agar which I do not typically keep in my kitchen and would have to go a bit far afield to acquire, so I use the more easily found unflavored gelatin.

Agar agar is a vegetarian thickener, whereas gelatin is an animal byproduct, one reason to choose agar agar instead of gelatin if that's your thing.  Agar agar evidently sets up with a more solid, toothier, less jiggly texture than gelatin too (I think this is the reason Ferriss uses it...the section in the book on hunting game and cooking it in the field suggests to me that he's not a vegetarian LOL)  It may also set up somewhat more quickly than gelatin, but I've never actually used it so that's speculation based on what I read on the interwebs when I was trying to figure out whether I could successfully substitute gelatin for the agar agar.

I don't know what the exact conversion from agar agar to gelatin (or vice versa) should be, but I know 1 packet of Knox gelatin thickens 1 cup of liquid so that's what I used (the OR calls for 2 tsp of agar agar to thicken approximately 3/4 cup of liquid).

So my execution notes...
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Cheese stuffed apples

Absolute heaven in a slice.  The creaminess of the cheese with the fullness of the Camembert flavor against the tart, crisp apple...I'm breathing a little hard right now just thinking about it.  Really...appetizer orgasms people!

The only difficulty I had in making these was getting the cheese to "adhere" to the apple.  I think I didn't get the apple surface sufficiently dry.  Doesn't matter though, they were still amazing to taste.  They'll need to be made at least a day ahead to let the cheese firm up enough to slice well.





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Blue cheese bites

This recipe is from my mom's 1970-something edition of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.  Prepped it ahead in the afternoon to throw in the oven at dinnertime to jazz up a pretty plain meal of broiled ham and steamed broccoli.  If you want, you could make your own biscuits instead of buying "whomp" biscuits (so called cuz you whomp 'em against the counter to open the package).  Double the half-recipe here for an equivalent amount of biscuits for the following recipe.

The end result is a pseudo-fried biscuit with a blue cheese zing.  The bottoms get golden and crunchy from the butter, and the creamy tang of the cheese pops up here and there without taking over the dish. 

Probably you could freeze the prepped dish, well-wrapped, but it's so fast to put together that I doubt you'll need to bother. 

Just don't freeze sealed cans of whomp biscuits, okay?  BANG.  'Nuff said.

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Party Wings

My husband, like most Y chromosome-bearers it seems, is a fan of wings.  I could go on and on about why I'm not such a fan, but talking down on food seems a strange choice for a food blog.  Instead, I'll say this...if I ever leave my husband for another man, it will be Chris Kimball of America's Test Kitchen.  If I ever leave Chris Kimball, it will be for Alton Brown.  And I ever leave Alton, it might be for Gina Neely. 

This recipe is a mashup of Alton Brown's wing preparation technique with the Neelys' wing seasoning mix.  The result is a crispy, spicy, flavorful oven-fried wing that doesn't need to be batter-slathered or drowned in butter, doesn't get sauce all over your fingers  and can be made pretty easily in large quantities with not a lot of attention from the cook.  Ka-chow!

I'm still working on the best way to make this for everyday eating.  This cooking method requires a rest between two stages of cooking...not hard to do, but hard to accomplish on an average weeknight. Alton Brown recommends steaming (therefore, partially cooking) the wings to eliminate some of the fat, then letting them air-dry in the fridge for no more than an hour (since you don't want partially cooked poultry hanging out too long...a big USDA food safety no-no), then baking them off. 

It makes ahead very well for a party as it can sit happily warming in a crockpot for a few hours.  If it's the weekend, and you've got the time to get through all those steps, it's just fine for a regular meal. I *think* the best thing to do if you want them for a weeknight meal would be bake them off entirely the night before (say on Sunday for Monday night dinner) at a slightly lower temp for less browning, fridge them, then reheat them under the broiler for a few minutes on Dinner Day.  But I haven't tried this, so I can't guarantee it.  If anyone does try it, report back please!  And it is prep-ahead freezer-friendly in that you can prepare the spice rub and apply it to the chicken wings then freeze them.

The step-heaviness of the process is SO worth the flavor and the bite of these little guys though.  You can of course adjust the spiciness by using more or less of the cayenne pepper, red chili flake and black pepper. 

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Chicken Vegetable Croissant Loaf

Another recipe from my new cookbook, Fresh from the Farmer's Market.  I've fiddled just a bit with the recipe to make it a bit more svelte.  The OR calls for mayo, and I'm substituting light sour cream for a lot less fat and fewer calories.  I also skew the ratio of vegetables to chicken more heavily in the vegetable direction than the OR. 

Chicken Croissant Loaf with swiss chard

You can prep this dish ahead in a variety of ways.  Prepare the filling and fridge or freeze it (another benefit of using sour cream over mayo...mayo breaks badly in the freezer) separately from the dough, assembling and baking at the last minute.  You can also assemble the loaf up to the point of brushing the top with egg white and sprinkling with almonds and fridge it, covered in plastic wrap, until ready to bake.  I don't see any reason you couldn't freeze the assembled loaf, but I've not actually tried doing it so that is merely speculation.  If you fridge or freeze prior to baking, transfer the parchment paper and loaf to a room temp baking sheet rather than baking on the chilly sheet on which you stored/thawed the loaf.  You could also bake this off and reheat at 350F for 15 minutes or so.

A note on the croissant/crescent roll dough.  If you're a fantastic baker, by all means, make your own croissant dough.  Or another type of bread dough.  I buy 2 tubes of crescent rolls at the grocery store.  I have occasionally seen tubes of unperforated crescent roll dough...if you find that product, it's perfect for this recipe.  Otherwise you'll need to smoosh the seams on the unrolled crescent rolls to form a more-or-less solid sheet of pastry.

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Chicken Francese for a crowd

I love chicken francese, but it's a fairly last-minute intensive dish to prepare...frying those cutlets can really eat up time, especially if you're cooking for a crowd. 

I tried a new twist for a "dinner party" (can you really call it a dinner party when you're eating off paper plates?) wherein I baked many chicken breasts that were seasoned with lemon pepper and served the lemon-caper sauce as a relish on the side.  Captures the same flavors with far less work.

If you prep this in advance and put your chicken in a baking dish in the fridge, plan for extra cooking time (I screw up so you don't have to).  The cold dish slows down the chicken's progression to an appropriate final temperature, and it took an extra 20-25 minutes of cooking to get my chicken up to temp.  Better yet, prep the chicken, store it in a ziptop bag and put it in the baking dish at the last minute. 

I don't have pictures because it was a dinner party and I had better things to do than take pictures of food LOL

Edited to note...this is evidently my 100th "freezer" recipe!  I guess I do more of this sort of thing than I realized!
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Baked Brie with crostini

This doesn't have to be party food, but it's best to make it for an occasion that won't leave too many leftovers.  After a day or two, the baked brie will start to dry out most unattractively.

If you make this in advance, be sure to wrap the puff pastry really well with plastic wrap.  I screw up so you don't have to.  Also, if you take it right from the fridge to bake, it will probably need 5-10 more minutes in the oven than if it's at room temp.

I happened to find a pre-sliced ciabatta loaf at my supermarket for the crostini...saves some time and the aggravation of trying to get thin, even slices by hand.

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S'mores on a stick

This is NOT my idea.  I cannot claim it in any way.  But I learned enough in the making of it not to take some notes and share them.  Dipping chocolate has ever been my foe, and I learn something new every time I try and fail and retry and fail less badly LOL  If you don't count the time I spent screwing up the first batch of chocolate, going to the store to get more chocolate and starting that part over, it only took me about 20 minutes total to make these.  These can be made a couple of days ahead, if you're making them for a party.

First the DOs:

• DO push the pretzel sticks into the marshmallows until they stick out the other side a bit
• DO thin the melted chocolate with a tbsp of shortening
• DO buy extra chocolate chips, just in case of screw-ups
• DO use parchment paper or a silicone mat to put the dipped sticks on

Now the DON'Ts:

• DON'T use anything except shortening to thin the chocolate (not butter, milk, water, or oil...better to use nothing at all if you don't have shortening)

OK, there's just the one DON'T but it's important.  If water or milk or butter or oil gets into the chocolate, it will "seize" or start to turn fudgy and you will have delicious faux fudge but totally undippable chocolate.  This is true for candy coating as well. 

The set-up is more important than the recipe.  Have your pretzel-stuck marshmallows assembled before you start melting chocolate.  Put them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mats.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, preferably one wide enough to put your hand down into safely to dip the marshmallows (I have had bad luck with melting chocolate for dipping in the microwave, so I don't try any more).  I rolled just the sides of the marshmallows rather than dipping them straight down as I was worried that the marshmallows would pull off the sticks.  Keep the heat on low under the double boiler to keep the chocolate warm and thin (if you don't have a double boiler, I suppose you could melt the chocolate and put your work bowl over a heating pad to help keep the chocolate from cooling and thickening too much, but I can't swear to the viability of this equipment work-around).  Work with one stick at a time, dipping then rolling then putting it back on the baking sheet before doing the next one.



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Corned Beef Cheese Ball

And finally, I have a post about the other St. Patty's Day corned beef do-over.  Maybe it's a Midwest thing, but cheeseballs are great pitch-in food.  They can even be frozen ahead and thawed a day before the event. 

If you're going to freeze them for more than a few days, vacusealing is the way to go as the cream cheese is prone to picking up funky odors.  Make the cheeseball, then freeze for at least an hour on a piece of waxed or parchment paper, THEN vacuseal.  Otherwise the vacuum will squish the cheeseball flat.  Once again, I screw up so you don't have to.

I also recommend preparing this cheeseball in a stand mixer rather than a food processor or by hand.  The food processor will just turn the mix-ins to paste and without some electric elbow grease, the cream cheese will stay clumpy and dense instead of mixing into a light, smooth medium for corned beef goodness delivery.

Corned Beef Cheeseball
Makes 2 4" cheeseballs

12 oz. corned beef, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup pickle relish
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 1/2 tbsp horseradish
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups walnut or pecan pieces

Combine first 8 ingredients in a stand mixer.  Mix until well-blended.  Divide mixture in half and shape into balls. 



Please to be ignoring the take-out cup in the background

 Spread half of the nut pieces on a piece of waxed or parchment paper.  Roll one ball in the nuts until well-coated on all sides.  Repeat with remaining cheeseball.  Refrigerate or freeze. Pin It

Beer marinated olives



Savory, dried and bundled

A twist on olives marinated in oil and red wine.  Great make-ahead party apps.
 

I use savory in this recipe, which is an herb not often found at the local supermarket but with a flavor similar to rosemary in my oh-pinion.  I've put this herb in my herb garden rotation instead of rosemary for its small leaves (no chopping necessary, unlike rosemary), its propensity for reseeding itself and its capacity for dried storage.  At the end of summer, I tie several stems into a bundle with kitchen twine and store in the pantry in an open plastic bag.  When you need to use some, you just shake the bundle over a cutting board until you have the desired amount.  Easy-peasy!  If you don't have savory, sub in rosemary.

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