TGIF cocktail party

I hosted a TGIF cocktail party with my friend Chris. It was part of our school's silent auction. We do Great gatherings.  We had 8 Mom's counting us (and my Mom).  We made seasonal cocktails with homemade liquors and appetizers.  Fall: Pumpkin Martini's (we used 2 parts homemade pumpkin syrup, 1part Vanilla Vodka and 1part amaretto), cocktail meatballs and cheese and crackers.  Winter: a variation of Cranberry fizz (1part cranberry liquor, a splash of ginger ale and lemon aid), cranberry pinwheel and . Spring: Key lime Martini, Chris made veggies and Savory Spinach dip  and Mini Reuben.  Summer: We did Sorbet margarita's with pineapple infused Vodka, I used the pineapple core (less to strain after but infused only one week would try longer next time).  The lemon pasta, Chris made was great served with fruit and dip. Deserts: Irish cream, chocolate Death( I need to find the on-line recipe) and yummy tea cakes.  
As sipping we did some jolly rancher vodka , only made grape might make other flavors next year - watermelon anyone?

Shrimp ceviche bites

Inspired by my sister, Regina’s recent post about shrimp bruschetta and this Weight Watchers recipe for shrimp ceviche cocktail I just had to make this version of shrimp ceviche + gazpacho + margarita, in a bite-size version, for a party we’re attending tonight.

Shrimp ceviche bites

¼ c red onion, finely chopped
4 small limes, squeezed
1 orange, squeezed
2 t olive oil (I used blood orange olive oil that my sister brought me from The Tubby Olive
1 lb small shrimp, raw, peeled, and deveined
1 avocado, diced into small chunks
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
½ serrano pepper, seeds removed and minced
2 T cilantro, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
⅛ c tequila
salt and fresh black pepper to taste
2 heads endive, for serving

Combine all ingredients except endive in a non-metal bowl and toss to mix well, but gently, so as not to mash the tomato and avocado. Refrigerate for 6 hours, the citrus will “cook” the shrimp. When ready to serve, place one shrimp and a teaspoon of vegetables on each endive leaf. Garnish each with chopped cilantro or one whole cilantro leaf, if desired.
 

Shrimp Appetizers - Two Ways

I love, love, love shrimp in most ways. It is truly one of my favorite things to have and I love how many things you can do with it. I thought I'd share with you two great shrimp appetizers that we have discovered this fall. They are both, homey and cozy and delicious, as well as elegant and beautiful. The perfect appetizer!

The first, Shrimp & Chorizo Tapas, a friend brought to a dinner party. George and I loved it so much, she brought it to a party we were having. It is to-die-for. (Thanks, Alicja!)

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil and saucte 1 lb sliced chorizo until it begins to brown around the edges, about 7-8 minutes. Add 1 1/2 c thinly sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, about 4-6 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp minced garlic, cook, stirring for another minute. Add 1/4 c of sherry, cook 1 more minute. Add 1 1/2 lb. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp, 1 Tbsp Spanish paprika, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 c of sherry and 1/4 c olive oil, 3 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 Tbsp minced parsley, remaining tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper; stir to combine and remove from heat. Serve immediately on small plates with accumulated cooking juices spooned over top and pass some nice crusty bread to accompany it, or in a large dish surrounded by crusty bread. Serve with more bread than you think necessary or people will be licking the dish clean! It is THAT good! 

The second, Shrimp Bruschetta, was a recipe my daughter and I saw Giada DeLaurentis make and my daughter requested for her confirmation party. It was soooooo good. It will certainly become a go-to appetizer for us, I think. (We enjoyed the leftovers the next day just as much!)

Toasts: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice a 1 lb. ciabatta loaf into 14 1/2 inch-thick slices and arrange in a single layer on a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes, rub with the cute side of a garlic clove and set aside.

Topping: In a medium skillet, heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil over med-high heat. Add 1-2 sliced shallots and 1 chopped clove of garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 2 minutes. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook about 2-4 minutes, remove the shrimp and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In the same skillet, add 6 chopped Roma tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until the tomatoes start to soften, about 4 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add 1/4 cup of white wine and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook for 2 minutes.Stir in 1/4 c chicken (or veg) stock and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add 3 Tbsp chopped tarragon, 1 c packed chopped arugala, 1/2 c marscapone cheese and cooked shrimp. Stir until the mixture is creamy. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the toasts and serving plates and drizzle with the sauce.

I hope you will enjoy these great recipes!

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).

Fall has been weird, here in New England. For the most part, the leaves are still green, and on the trees. Those that have fallen, have turned brown right away. No pretty leaf-peeping walks this year.

All the same, it is Fall, and Winter will be on us before we know it. Are you stockpiling nuts away for the winter, like the squirrels? If so, these are some very delicious options. (And don’t wait for December, they’re a delicious—and healthy!—treat right now.)

Chile-roasted almonds

1 T chili powder
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
½ t kosher salt
½ t ground cumin
½ t ground coriander
¼ t ground cinnamon
¼ t freshly ground black pepper
2 c whole almonds

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine chili powder, olive oil, kosher salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and pepper; add almonds and toss to coat. Transfer mixture to a baking pan. Bake about 10 minutes or until almonds are toasted, stirring twice. Cool almonds completely before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Sugar-and-spice walnuts

1 egg white
1 T water
½ t vanilla
8 oz walnuts
½ c granulated sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
3/4 t salt
¼ t ground cloves
¼ t ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 300°. Lightly beat egg white with water and vanilla with a fork. Add walnuts to egg white mixture. Stir until all walnuts are coated with the egg white mixture. Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg and add to walnut mixture. Stir until all walnuts are coated with sugar-and-spice spice mixture. Transfer walnuts individually to a 12-by-18-inch nonstick baking sheet coated with cooking spray, ensuring that the walnuts are separated and dispersed evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, then transfer walnuts to a clean, flat surface to cool. These are as good on a salad as they are by the handful.

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.

Apple Cranberry Chutney

I made this for Thanksgiving with baked brie. It was so good Kelly asked me to bring it to Christmas. Here is a new favorite. Apple Cranberry Chutney. I used apple/pear mix and dried cranberries instead of raisins.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/508/AppleCranberry_Chutney39726.shtml

Pickled Peppers

Katie,

George wants to know if you will share Nonni's Pickled Peppers recipe? He even claims HE will try to make them!

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!

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.

Eileen's Reuben Dip

Eileen: Can you share the recipe?

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

NYE appetizer: Crab Cocktail Spread

One of may go to appetizers is this recipe my sister Regina passed on to me. I lost the original, but was able to find it on Cooks.com, I believe it's the original (correct me if I'm wrong, Reg:)

Crab Cocktail Spread

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tbsp. chopped onion

Garlic salt to taste

6 oz. bottled cocktail sauce

1 (7 1/2 oz.) can lump crab meat

2 tbsp. dried parsley flakes

Assorted crackers

Combine the first 5 ingredients. Spread mixture in a deep 10-inch glass pie plate. Pour cocktail sauce over mixture. Layer the crab on the sauce. Sprinkle parsley over all.

Cover with plastic wrap sealing edges of pie plate and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled with assorted crackers. Yield 12 to 15 servings.

Tonight for a smaller gathering, I'm going to put them in the fillo dough shells I have!

Friday night cocktails and appetizers ...

... on Wednesday! The night before Thanksgiving calls for some celebration, relaxation, and reflection while your preparing what needs to be done in advance, so we moved Friday night cocktails to Wednesday this week.

Pumpkin martinis, first and foremost for the purpose of quality testing prior to serving them to a crowd on Thursday, and Pizza potato skins (made from the skins of the potatoes baked for the Make-ahead mashed potatoes, also to be served Thursday). What efficiency!

Pumpkin martinis

2 parts vanilla vodka
1 part amaretto
1 part canned pumpkin

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ½ c of crushed ice. Shake well. Strain into a martini glass, top with freshly grated nutmeg. The nutmeg was key!

Make-ahead mashed potatoes

5 lb russet potatoes
¼-½ lb butter, softened
3-4 c whole milk or light cream, warmed

One or two days before serving, bake potatoes in preheated 350° oven for about an hour, until flesh is tender. Let cool until comfortable to hold in your hand. Cut potatoes in half and scoop flesh into a bowl. Reserve skins for another use, that’s where all the vitamins are. Mash potatoes to remove all lumps. Add in butter and milk (½ cup at a time). When you’ve got the potatoes to your desired consistency, add another ½-1 cup of warmed milk and mix well.

The day of serving, warm the potatoes in a crockpot, on the stovetop, covered with foil in the oven, or in the microwave. Stir well to distribute the flavors. Top with additional butter.

Pizza potato skins

potato skins
pinch each salt, pepper, oregano, basil
mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
parmesan cheese
sour cream

Place skins on baking sheet. Top skins with herbs, cheese, and pepperoni. Bake until cheese is melted, bubbly, and just starting to brown. Serve with sour cream.

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

Life gets busy, no excuses, but it’s a fact, and as a result, I am hot and cold about blogging. But I try to be responsive when a friend or a client makes a request for a recipe or help with a specific problem. A friend is hosting Thanksgiving and she wants to serve Cranberry-brie puffs as an appetizer.

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Sarah, and it never fails to impress. Sarah’s recipe calls for whole cranberry sauce, which I often use, but I also make cranberry chutney and fresh cranberry-orange relish around the holidays, so I sometimes substitute those. Another quick fix for these is to use prepared, thawed filo cups. You can bake them just a touch or eliminate the baking altogether. Please note, the baked puff pastry version is superior, but sometimes you’re in a pinch and it’s nice to know you can work with what you have.

An additional plus for the hostess: They don’t take much time to assemble, you can do the assembly the day ahead, then just pop them in the oven at the last minute. Happy hostess, happy guests, what more could you want?

Cranberry-brie puffs

1 package puff pastry, thawed
1 small wheel of brie, chilled
1 can whole cranberry sauce
slivered almonds, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Roll out puff pastry and cut into 2-inch squares. Place one square of puff pastry in each cup of a mini muffin tin. Cut brie into ½-inch cubes. (Chilled brie cuts easier than room-temperature brie.) Place one cube of brie and one scant teaspoon of cranberry in each cup. Top with slivered almonds, if using. (Can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated at this point if you’ll be baking them later.) Bake for 20-30 minutes, until puff pastry is golden brown and brie is melted. Let cool about 5 minutes before removing from tin and serving as the brie will be extremely hot.