Category: Appetizers

Lamb Lollipops with Rosemary Balsamic Reduction

Actually, you should hide these in the kitchen and eat them all yourself!

Lamb Ingredients:

  • 6 Tab extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 Tab finely chopped parsley leaves
  • 2 Tab finely chopped rosemary leaves
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 Tab Kosher salt
  • 15 small rib lamb chops with bones attached, ribs frenched
  • 2 tsp black pepper

Lamb Directions:

  1. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, parsley, rosemary, and garlic.
  2. Season with salt, to taste. Set herb oil mixture aside.
  3. Set a 12-inch pan over medium-high heat.
  4. Season the lamb with salt and black pepper.
  5. Add 2 Tab of the herb oil to the pan.
  6. Sear the lamb until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
  7. Continue to cook the lamb, about 2 minutes each side, until medium rare.
  8. Baste them with 2 Tab herb and oil mixture.

(Alternatively, you can grill the lamb chops.)

Reduction Ingredients:

  • 2 Tab herb olive oil (from above)
  • 2 Tab minced shallots
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 1 c balsamic vinegar
  • 1 large or 2 small rosemary sprigs
  • 2 Tab butter

Reduction Directions:

  1. Place 2 Tab herb olive oil in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots, cook until translucent, about 1 min.
  3. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds.
  4. Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan and bring to a boil.
  5. Add the rosemary and allow the balsamic to gently boil and reduce until only about 1/4 cup of balsamic remains, about 10 minutes.
  6. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
  7. Remove from the heat and swirl the butter into the pan.
  8. Remove the rosemary sprigs before using.

To serve, drizzle lamb chops with the balsamic reduction.

Serves: Makes 15

Comment: To french lamb chops see The Hungry Mouse

http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/02/23/rib-of-the-week-garlic-rosemary-lamb-lollipop-chops/

If you want to be really fancy, you can make frills for the chops.

How to Make Paper Frills for a Crown Roast – YouTube

Source: FoodNetwork.com, Emeril Lagasse, 2006

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps

Easy, do-ahead and anything with bacon will sell!

Ingredients:

  • 10 chicken tenders (about 1 pound)
  • 1# bacon (17 – 20 slices)
  • 1 ½ c brown sugar
  • 4 Tab chili powder
  • toothpicks soaked in water

Directions:

  1. Cut each chicken tender into 4 equal pieces.
  2. Cut bacon slices in ½ .
  3. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with toothpick.
  4. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder.
  5. Dredge wrapped chicken in sugar-chili mix.
  6. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray and place chicken on rack in pan. (foil works too)
  7. Just before the party bake 30 – 35 minutes at 350° until bacon is crisp.

Serves: Makes 35 – 40

Source: Orange County Register, Take Five, August 28, 2013

Pioneer Woman’s Mini Meatball Sliders

You can make the meatballs in the morning (or the day before) and assemble at party time.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground chuck or lean beef
  • ½ c panko or other bread crumbs
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • ½ c milk
  • 2 Tab olive oil
  • ½ medium onion, diced (½ c)
  • 1 large jar Marinara sauce (approximately 32 oz)
  • 36 small dinner or slider rolls
  • 12 slices provolone cheese cut each slice into 6 wedges

Directions:

  1. Mix meat with bread crumbs, garlic, salt, pepper and milk.
  2. Kneed together with your hands.
  3. Roll into balls about 1 tablespoon (½ oz) each. Flatten slightly.
  4. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
  5. Add onions and cook for 1 minute.
  6. Add meatballs between the onions and brown for 1 minute.
  7. Pour in marinara sauce and shake pan gently to mix.
  8. Put on lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
  9. When ready to serve, cut dinner roll ¾ through and place a wedge of Provolone on the top and bottom of each roll.
  10. Spoon a meat ball and some sauce on each bottom.
  11. Close roll and secure with tooth pick.

Serve warm in chaffing dish.

Serves: 36 pieces

Source: Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Bacon Candied Apple Spiced Nuts  

The apples are an unexpected variation to spiced nuts. Tasty!

Ingredients:

  • 8 c mixed unsalted nuts
  • 1 pound thick-cut bacon
  • 1 c dried apple rings, chopped
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 tsp water
  • 1/2 c light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt (if using salted nuts, omit salt)
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 300°.
  2. Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towel, roughly chop, set aside.
  3. Combine the sugar and the spices in a small bowl, set aside.
  4. In a large clean bowl vigorously whisk the egg whites until foamy.
  5. Add the water and continue to whisk until you have soft peaks and there is no water on the bottom of the bowl. Be careful not to go too far – whites should be soft, light and foamy, not stiff.
  6. Toss the nuts into the bowl and coat the nuts in the egg whites lightly, using your fingertips.
  7. Sprinkle the sugar and spice mixture over the nuts and gently toss until everything is completely coated.
  8. Spread in a single layer onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
  9. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring and flipping with a spatula occasionally.
  10. After 20 minutes sprinkle with the bacon and apple, toss one more time and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
  11. Remove from oven and let nuts cool completely on the baking sheets.
  12. When they are cool break up any larger clumps

Serves: 8 cups
Source: foodrepublic.co
Comments: Once baked, they keep for a few days at room temperature and actually improve after a day or two on the counter.

 

Ham Nirvana

No more boring sugar coated ham for us!  Yummy and really simple.

Ingredients:

  • 8 – 10 lbs spiral cut ham
  • 1 ½ c rye whiskey (bourbon or other whiskey will do, too)
  • ¾ c honey
  • ¼ c light molasses
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • Honey Mustard Sauce
  • Piña Colada Sauce
  • 6 dz small dinner rolls

Directions:

  1. Whisk the whiskey, honey, molasses, red pepper flakes and black pepper in a medium bowl.
  2. Place the ham in a large roasting pan.
  3. Cook in 350° for 1 ½ hr or until 135°.
  4. Brush with whiskey glaze every 20 minutes while heating.
  5. Transfer to serving platter, carve.

Place mustard and pina colada sauces in dishes with small spoons.
Place rolls in napkin lined basket.

Source: Bon Appetit December 2013

How to Carve a Spiral Ham

  1. Turn the ham on its bottom.
  2. Find the bone, and using a large knife, cut around the entire bone.
  3. There are natural breaks in the ham, generally where a line of fat is, cut through those breaks. Leave some ham on the bone and cut some slices to fit rolls.
  4. Place uncut ham and bone on platter and arrange the cut pieces around it.

Honey Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 c mayonnaise
  • 1/4 c honey
  • 1/8 c mustard (4 Tab)

Instructions:

  1. Place all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
  2. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Piña Colada Sauce

Ingredients:

  •  2/3 cups cream of coconut
  • 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1 1/8 cups sour cream
  • 1/3 cup coconut flakes

Instructions:

  1. Place the cream of coconut and sour cream in a bowl.
  2. Stir until smooth and add the remaining ingredients.
  3. Store in the fridge .

Notes: Cream of coconut is actually quite easy to find. Just head to the alcohol section of your local grocery store and it will be by the margarita mixes etc.

Source: ohsweetbasil.com

Beery Kielbasa Appetizers

Sounds like Super Bowl to me!

Ingredients:

  • 18 oz beer
  • 18 oz barbecue sauce
  • ½ c brown sugar
  • ¼ c Dijon mustard
  • 2 lbs kielbasa sausage cut into ½ inch pieces
  • toothpicks

Directions:

  1. Combine beer, barbecue sauce, brown sugar and Dijon mustard in a large skillet over medium heat.
  2. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  3. Reduce heat to low and add kielbasa pieces.
  4. Simmer until kielbasa is browned and glazed, about 1 hour.
  5. Serve warm in a chaffing dish.
  6. Don’t forget toothpicks in a bowl and a bowl for used ones.

Serves: Makes about 64 pieces

Source: allrecipes.com, submitted by ladderman229

Tomato, Prosciutto, and Ricotta Tart

This is really pretty to serve as a first course instead of soup or salad.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed (two sheets)
  • 6 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
  • 1 1/3 c ricotta cheese
  • ½ tsp kosher salt, divided (¼ tsp + ¼ tsp)
  • 1 ¾ lb ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (multi colored if possible)
  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • 1 Tab chives, thinly sliced on a diagonal
  • 2 Tab fresh basil, chopped
  • ½ tsp lemon zest

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Roll each sheet of pastry slightly to smooth creases.
  3. Place both sheets on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  4. Cover pastry with another piece of parchment paper and a metal cooling rack turned upside down.
  5. Bake until pastry is golden (but not completely cooked), about 15 minutes.
  6. Remove cooling rack and top sheet of parchment.
  7. Arrange prosciutto on pastry to cover.
  8. Return to oven and bake until pastry is golden brown with no raw-looking spots in center, about 15 minutes. Prosciutto will shrink.
  9. Remove prosciutto and chop into small pieces.
  10. Gently press down any large air bubbles.
  11. Cool at least 10 minutes.
  12. Combine ricotta, pepper, lemon zest, and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl.
  13. Dollop small spoon fulls of ricotta evenly over pastry, leaving border clear, then smear ricotta a bit. (It shouldn’t cover completely.)
  14. Sprinkle with prosciutto.
  15. Drain tomatoes and sprinkle over ricotta and prosciutto.
  16. Sprinkle with remaining salt.
  17. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chives and basil.
  18. Cut each piece into 6 pieces.

Serves: 12

Source: Sunset Magazine, August 2013

 

Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Rounds

You can mix the spread 2-3 days ahead and just slap in on and pop in the oven.

Ingredients:

  • 1 flute loaf French bread (baguette, 1 – 2 inches in diameter)
  • ½ c minced sun-dried tomatoes (drained)
  • 2 c Sonoma Jack Cheese, finely grated
  • 2 Tab mayonnaise
  • chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:

  1. Cut bread in thin slices.
  2. Toast slices lightly on both sides.
  3. Mix cheese and sun-dried tomatoes and mayonnaise.
  4. Spread mixture thickly on each slice of bread.
  5. Bake in 400° oven until cheese melts.
  6. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Serves: 40 pieces

Source: Sonoma Cheese Factory

Summer Madness

Keep the kids out of these!!

Ingredients:

  • 1 large seedless watermelon
  • 1 c rum
  • 1 c scotch
  • toothpicks

Directions

  1. Cut watermelon in 1 inch cubes.
  2. Divide into two resealable plastic bags.
  3. Pour rum in one bag.
  4. Pour scotch in the other.
  5. Refrigerate over night, stirring occasionally.

Serves:  Take what is left to the party in 2 bowls.

Source: Boomvanger’s Cookbook, Lahaina Yacht Club

Oven-Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

 These really work when you cannot bbq – or don’t want to mess with the whole outdoor thing.

Ingredients:

  • 4 c ketchup
  • 1 c brown sugar
  • ¼ c white vinegar
  • ¼ c minced onion
  • 1 ½ Tab minced garlic
  • 1 ½ Tab dry mustard
  • 1 Tab cayenne
  • salt and pepper
  • 8 lb baby back ribs

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300°.
  2. Line baking pan with foil enough to wrap and seal ribs.
  3. In a bowl combine all ingredients except ribs to make BBQ sauce.
  4. Cut racks into individual ribs. Place in single layer in foil lined pans.
  5. Brush ribs on both sides with half the barbecue sauce.
  6. Wrap well in foil and seal.
  7. Bake 2 hours.
  8. Remove from oven and open foil.
  9. Baste top with remaining barbecue sauce and place back in oven, with foil still open, for an hour, or until sauce is nice and thick.
  10. Serve in large chaffing dish

Serves; 40 ribs

Source: Sauce by Emeril Lagasse

Directions: from Southern Plate – posted by Christy Jordan

Comments: Costco Swift Premium Back Ribs have about 40 ribs in 3 racks.