4th of July Party

To celebrate my 14-year-old son's birthday he wants a "Hot Dog Extravaganza"! So we'll borrow the menu from our "Franks N Stein" Halloween Party! Of course we'll have the ketchup, mustard, hot dog relish, Saurkraut, bacon and cheese.

One of my old time favorites: Spicy Onions (sautee sliced onions cut in half, once they are soft, add in tabascco, ketchup, salt and pepper, I don't measure just shake and taste. Should be well coated but not to saucy, simmer until desired tenderness and sauce consistancy. Sometimes, I also add a bit of cooking wine to them:)

The Chicago Dog (which we experienced last summer when visiting my brother) http://www.hotdogchicagostyle.com/chicagodog.php

mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato slices, pickle spear, Sport Peppers (imported from Chicago), and a dash of Celery Salt on a poppy seed bun (we could not get these in NY)

Thai Dog: Thai peanut sauce, diced cucumbers and chopped scallions.

Chili Dog: mustard, homemade chili, chopped onions and nacho cheese.

Of Course we have to have my homemade Baked Beans (my neighbor Kathy's recipe):

1/2 pound Bacon, browned and crumbled

1 medium onion, chopped and browned in 1T bacon fat

In crockpot, combine 2 large cans of B&M Baked Beans, 1 can Kidney beans, 1 can Butter Beans. Add bacon and onion. Then stir in 1/2 C ketchup, 1/4 C molasses and 1 t dry mustard (Coleman's). Original recipe also called for 1/2 pound of browned ground beef or turkey, I have never felt it needed it. Cook until heated through.

We'll wash it down with Beer and Root Beer! And finish it off with Carvel Ice Cream cake:) HAPPY 4th of JULY to all!!

Crockpot dinner party

For our school silent auction the big push is hosting an event. So I am hosting a crockpot dinner and prep night. The idea is that some adults will join me for an evening. I will provide dinner (from the crock pots) and supplies we will do prep so they also go home with bagged meals that can be frozen, when needed pull out, put into a crock pot and have a meal or such. That is the big concept. Menu ideas :

Appetizers

Creamy Spinach Dip

Bridget's caramelized onion pizza

Soup

Mom's clam chowder

Bridget's corn chowder

Main dish

Fejoida (Brazilian Black Beans)

Healthy Mama BBQ chicken

Dessert

Chocolate fountain (caramel or marshmallow creme in the crockpot to go with.)
Crockpot Carmel 

To keep it simple and easy, the prep meals to go will be the corn chowder and Fejoida. I will also probably send them home with a jar of caramelized onions. I will include all recipes. I am trying to come up with a non meat option along the lines of Fejoida. We will also have bread and salad with the meal. 

Any help or suggestions would be great, I'm a little worried about being overwhelmed.

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Wings

Ingredients
5 1/2 pounds chicken wings, split and tips discarded
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle chile sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 drops hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon salsa
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt

Directions
1.Place chicken in slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine the chile sauce, lemon juice, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salsa, chili powder, garlic powder and salt. Mix together and pour mixture over chicken.
2.Cook in slow cooker on Medium Low setting for 5 hours.

From http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-slow-cooker-chicken-wings/

I would make them spicier next time. More hot sauce! I also removed them from the crock pot and broiled them as we like our wings crisper and "drier". They were so easy and very tasty!

Mini-Appetizers & Desserts

I had posted on here asking for ideas for mini-appetizers and desserts, I thought I'd post the menu I ended up going with. It was for my Great Gatsby book club meeting, so I wanted to do finger foods that looked a little fancy — it was as much about the presentation as it was the food:).

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Shrimp Cocktail Shooters
with Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce

For the Bloody Mary cocktail sauce, I mixed ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and vodka. Placed a spoonful in the bottom of a plastic shot glass. Skewered 2 large shrimp and 1 green olive together and placed them on the glass.

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Caprese Sticks

One marinated mozzarella ball and one grape tomato wrapped in a basil leaf and skewered. I also placed these across the plastic shot glasses, just because I thought they looked cool.

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Greek Salad Bites

Layered a cucumber slice, ½ kalamata olive, a block of feta cheese and a grape tomato.

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Spicy Cucumber Cups—Two Ways

Filled ½ cucumber cups with a spicy crab dip (the pink one, pictured here. I purchased the dip at the fish stand. The others with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce, chopped peanuts and cilantro

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Crisped Sopressatta with Olive Bread, Mustards and Tapenade
Placed strips of soppresatta in the oven to crisp up. Served with bread and little dishes of mustards and tapenade.

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Chocolate & PB Mousse

Layered chocolate pudding, peanut butter mousse and chocolate mousse. Topped with Dove Peanut Butter Chocolate Baking Chips (YUM).

St. Patrick's Day Food

We had a few friends over last night to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We were having drinks, "heavy appetizers" and desserts. My serving goal was to serve foods that were Irish-inspired and/or orange and green. I am putting up my menu (before I forget):

Lamb Chops with Yogurt Mint Sauce

Corned Beef & Cabbage Slaw Sliders

Roasted New Potatoes with Horseradish Cream and Smoked Salmon

Cockles & Mussels (sauteed a little garlic in butter, added white wine and parsley and steamed the mussels and cockles)

Green, White & Orange Veggies with spinach dip

Irish Soda Bread

Car Bomb Cupcakes

Minted Peaches with Mint Ice Cream (I tossed sliced fresh peaches with some sugar and chopped mint. I mixed some chopped fresh mint into softened vanilla ice cream and served in a martini glass on top of the peaches)

And my friend Maria brought Mint Brownies (she makes her brownies, then while they are still hot she puts Andes Candies on top and spreads them as they melt. Beautiful and delicious!)

We had Guinness, Harp, Bass and others, and of course, finished with Irish Cream.

Overall, exactly the meal I was hoping for. I don't think I would omit or change one thing.

St. Patrick's Day Post

We are having a few friends over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day next weekend for cocktails and drinks.
Food: I am not going to do a full corned beef and cabbage dinner, but may do some appetizer based on corned beef (my husband would be ecstatic if I did a hash). I am looking for dishes that are based in Irish Cuisine and/or that are orange and green. I WILL be making Irish soda bread and probably some brown bread, and my Potatoes with Smoked Salmon (post from last year).
I am also thinking I might do baby lamb chops with mint and some type of clam or mussel dish. Any other thoughts? I'd love to hear them!
Drinks: I think we'll be offering an assortment of drinks made with Irish beers and/or whiskeys, and, of course, Irish Cream.
Look forward to your thoughts.

Flank Steak with Creole Hash Brown Stuffing

I have been wanting to try this for quite awhile and finally got around to it yesterday. It was yummy, but spicy and I didn't even put the full amount of creole seasoning. I am looking forward to trying the pizza stuffing next:)
http://hyshamecho.blogspot.com/2010/08/stuffed-grilled-flank-steak.html

Party favrites?

I am planning a Ladies' Night for my Birthday! I plan on serving appetizers, drinks and desserts. I figure I'll make a few of my favorite appetizers (make ahead), others will bring stuff also. I'll probably make the Shrimp cocktail from the above post, or Regina's Crab meat Cheese Spread. I'll do my Brie with chutney and probably fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato. What suggestions do you have?

Shrimp Cocktail

Check out this twist on Shrimp cocktail! I think I'll try it!
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/appetizers-snacks/mediterranean-shrimp/

Let me know if you try it!

Slow cooker pork recipes

This Italian Roast Pork was so easy, delicious and done in 5 hours on LOW. I was concerned, but the thermometer read done! Nice meal to come home to!
http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/pork/italian-pork-roast/

I love my BBQ Ribs: I put a rub on them, then grill them, and finish them off in the oven with a mixture of BBQ sauce and beer. I tried these last weekend for a family get together, I wanted something in the crock pot so I could go to an AM soccer game and a PM baseball game and have things ready when we walked in the house. I may never go back to my original:)
http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/pork/asian-style-ribs/

Crabmeat stuffed mushrooms

Does anyone have a good recipe for crabmeat stuffed mushrooms?

Potatoes with smoked salmon

This will be a new favorite appetizer at our house. We made it when we had friends over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It filled all my criteria -- based on Irish cuisine (potatoes and salmon), was orange and green, really easy to make, looked pretty, and most importantly, tasted delicious!

I sliced 4 red potatoes, tossed with olive oil, s&p and baked at 400°. I flipped them 1/2 way and baked them for about 30-45 minutes, depending on thickness. I blotted them on paper towels. (I made these in the morning and they kept fine during the day.)

I mixed a little cream cheese, sour cream and capers and topped the potatoes with that. (This can also be made ahead and stored in the fridge until you are ready to assemble.)

Then topped with slices of smoked salmon and chopped chives for garnish.

Loved it!

My husband has already requested it for my son's First Communion in a couple of weeks.

Jalapeno Poppers

I thought this article was interesting -- and it made me think of Katie and Leslie. Let me know if you try any.

http://www.chow.com/galleries/93/jalapeno-popper-recipes/1522/pick-a-pack-of-peppers

Buffalo Chicken Chili Recipe

This looks worth a try for Football parties or Winter!
http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=46171&WT.dcsvid=NTE4OTI3Mjk0NgS2&rvrin=61A15436-7004-4164-94FA-DAE9035F9033&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_PB_01_22_2010&rvrin=61A15436-7004-4164-94FA-DAE9035F9033

Ladies Luncheon Ideas

I may be having 4 or 5 ladies over on Monday for a Luncheon. I was looking for some good winter luncheon ideas. What do you thik?

Holiday favorites?

I'm the 1st to post in 2010! Are we all still full from the holidays? What were your favorites of the holidays? Share any new recipes, please!

Vegetarian Favorites!

Tonight we had a friend of my daughter's and her mother here for Pizza between school and PTA. I promised next month I would cook for them! What's your favorite Company Vegetarian Meal? I'll have to check if they like spicy, for my Veggie Chili:)
Thanks for sharing!

Appetizer - Proscuitto & Pear

With the holidays coming up, and a couple of events I am hosting or co-hosting, I was looking for some fun, new appetizers. I just came across this deliciously simple looking appetizer. Plus, it looks beautiful! I will be trying this sometime this month and will report back.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/crispy-prosciutto-cups-with-pear?backto=true

The Dunican sisters were anti-grocery shopping today. I’m not sure what Regina ended up finding in her pantry and freezer to turn into dinner, but I had quite a coup, inspired by National Seafood Bisque Day, I combined the recipe the punchbowl.com page recommended with some inspiration from Ina Garten’s Shrimp Bisque (because I had all the ingredients on hand).

This recipe is truly a last-minute preparation. I made the whole thing from frozen shrimp to eating the piping hot bowl with a piece of crusty bread in 30 minutes. If you use frozen shrimp, skip the sautéing step, but the olive oil does add some depth of flavor to your bisque. If you don’t have white wine, you can substitute seafood stock or even water, but add a splash (less than ¼ cup of brandy, vermouth, or dry sherry at the end). Remember to take the center out of the blender when blending hot liquids; hot liquids tend to cause the blender to “explode” and are quite dangerous, so place a folded dish towel over the hole in the blender top to let the steam escape, and keep your hand on it so the top and towel stay in place.

Truly last-minute “National Seafood Bisque Day” shrimp bisque

1 T olive oil
1 lb shrimp, in shells, frozen is fine
1 bottle white wine
1 qt light cream
¼ t thyme leaves
1 pinch black pepper
1 pinch kosher salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper

If shrimp is thawed, sauté shrimp, shells and all, in olive oil; add thyme, pepper, and salt. Simmer shrimp in wine just until cooked (pink), overcooking shrimp will cause it to be tough. Pull shrimp from wine and chill in refrigerator until cool enough to handle. In the meantime, add cream to wine and continue simmering over low heat.

Once shrimp is cool enough, peel shrimp and place in blender; reserve 12 shrimp, peeled, with tails intact. Add liquid so blender is half full. With center of blender top out of hole, place folded dish cloth over hole. Keeping your hand on dish cloth, pulse blender until shrimp is chopped fine. Return to pot to warm over low heat. Stir in cayenne pepper. Serve immediately with two whole shrimp as garnish.

Birthday Party Lunch

My daughter Megan is turning 5 tomorrow and to celebrate, we are having a few of her friends from preschool and their Moms over for lunch and water games/obstacle course. Hopefully the weather will hold out!

The kids will be having pizza sticks and sauce (we found it on the Rachael Ray Show website), mini hot dogs, and fruit skewers with a yogurt dipping sauce.

The Moms will have Honeydew wrapped in prosciutto, Spinach & Strawberry salad, and Peach and Brie Quesadillas with Lime-Honey dipping sauce. Katie told me about the quesadillas and they look so great, I had to try them!

Quesadillas

1 cup thinly sliced peeled firm ripe peaches (about 2 large)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

3 ounces Brie cheese, thinly sliced

4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas

Cooking spray

You mix the peaches and brown sugar together, then layer in the tortilla with slice of brie. Spray the pan with cooking spray and bake in the oven until the tortilla is lightly browned and the cheese is melted. Fold over and cut into wedges.

Serve with honey-lime dipping sauce: 2 Tbs. honey, 2 Tbsp. lime juice and 1/2 tsp of lime zest. Kate recommended mixing into sour cream for the sauce. I cannot wait to try this!

All of this will be washed down with lemonade and sweet tea, and finished off with a strawberry beach-themed cake.