Super Fast and Impressive Finger Food!

Party food is always a challenge for me.  I like to have lots of selection to please everyone's taste buds, but I also want to find easy ones.  Usually before hosting a party, I'm running around my apartment with Miss A frantically cleaning, sweeping, and vacuuming then hopping in the shower and getting ready as fast as possible since it's already 20minutes past when we told people to arrive.

To rectify this, I've been on the hunt for impressive but EASY appetizers.  I LOVE crostini (those little toasted baguette slices with delicious tastes on top.  I discovered this Artichoke and Olive Crostini recipe online and was so excited!  Miss A and I love artichokes and hadn't had any in a long time.  I'd suggested steamed artichokes for dinner earlier this week and was depressed to find out THEY'RE NOT IN SEASON!  Bummer!  So after all this hunting for delicious artichoke recipes to satisfy my craving, I was out of luck.  But then I realized this recipe called for artichoke hearts - A HA! - and you can get these canned all year long!

ARTICHOKE AND OLIVE CROSTINI

Thanks to Real Simple for a better

pic than any of mine!

Ingredients:

24 thin slices of baguette (from 1 small loaf)

5 bsp olive oil

1 14oz can artichoke hearts (rinsed and chopped)

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

kosher salt and pepper

fresh shaved parmesan

Preparation:

- Heat oven to 400 degrees.

- Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet (lined with foil for easy clean up) and brush both sides of the bread with 2 tbsp of olive oil.

- Bake until golden brown (about 4-5 minutes each side).

-In a small bowl, toss together the artichoke hearts, olives, and parsley with the remaining 3 tbsp of olive oil.

- Season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

- Top the baguette slices with the artichoke heart mixture and top with freshly shaved parmesan.

Happy Friday!!!

Packers Win! A Super Bowl (and Anytime) IRRESISTIBLE DIP

This is a McCormick Family FAVORITE: we call it Renner Dip, after our honorary Uncle Mark Renner.  It's absolutely unbelievable and irresistible--I promise that once you have one chip, you won't be able to stop!
It's one of the easiest and quickest things to make and is always a crowd pleaser at parties!!

IRRESISTIBLE DIP

(Renner Dip)

Ingredients:

1 block (12-16oz) light Philadelphia cream cheese

1/2 jar medium salsa

1/2 jar mild salsa

1 can beanless Hormel chili

1 bag finely shredded cheddar cheese (a Mexican or Taco mix works well too)

1 big bag of Tostitos Scoops

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  

In a 9in x 9in square pan (make sure it's at least 2in deep), spread the cream cheese on the bottom.  

Open the Hormel chili and spread evenly on top of the cream cheese. 

Add the salsa and spread evenly.  (It's okay if they mix,  but try to keep it layered if possible.)  

Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.

Bake at 375 for 25minutes, or until cheese is melted and it's warm all the way through.

You may want to let it sit for a few minutes because it will be piping hot!
Then grab your chips and Scoop away!!  

Twinnies PAR-TAY: Perfect Party Appetizers

The birthday twins plus some other Davidson soccer girls - all reunite to celebrate!

So we had a little party last weekend for my two favorite twinnies, Miss A and Miss L!  It being their 24th birthday, we decided to go all out!  We had every type of liquor needed for any drink we could possibly want (including Woo Woos... which were A-Mazing!), plenty of cheese and appetizers to entertain our 25 guests!

We got three cheeses for a cheese plate, including our favorite English cheese, Sturminster, which is cheddar-like with chive in it---delicious!!  We also got a yummy aged blue cheese from Wisconsin and a goat cheese that we dressed-up with a little cranberry and pomegranate chutney (by Stonewall Kitchen). Everything was wonderful!  We had Carr's cracked black pepper crackers and some whole grain crackers too (I like the Carr's better).  

The best thing we did for this party was make little tiny signs on toothpicks so our guests could know what cheese their trying--plus it was an adorable personal touch!

In addition to our cheese plate, Miss L herself made a baked brie amazingness--and it's just about the easiest thing to make!  It's a wedge of brie cheese, a jar of tomatillo sauce and paprika on top (we did it in a seasonal mitten shape)!  It's simple and somehow irresistible!  One of our friends practically ate the whole thing himself it was so delicious!

To balance out our cheese feast, we made a crudité (which is simply a french appetizer of raw vegetables with a vinaigrette or other dressing to dip into).  We simply got a Hidden Valley Ranch powder mix (in the salad dressing aisle) that's especially for mixing with sour cream for veggie dip.  The veggies are also great with a Greek tzatziki dip (we had both options).  Crudités are also great because they can bring some much needed color to an otherwise bland appetizer display.

And our final appetizer offered for finger food is one of my absolute favorite recipes that I learned while catering with Missy Fink, Inc. throughout high school and into early college.  Missy is just about the coolest boss and friend I could ever have and she's a darn good cook too!  I asked for her famous shrimp and cilantro recipes and recreated it to the best of my ability.  It wasn't as perfect as it would have been if Missy had made it, but they were all eaten by the end of the party! 

Shrimp can be understandably daunting, but this recipe is really easy (notice a theme for our appetizer selections?).  I bought 2 bags of frozen shrimp, but I chose the pre-cooked, tail-off, and de-veined kind to simplify the process even more.  These puppies were simply skewered with short wooden skewers and placed on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil.  Drizzle them (fairly generously) with a good olive oil, and add freshly ground salt and pepper.  Put them in the oven (pre-heated to 350 degrees) for 6 minutes (or until pink) and voile!  Done and done!  There's a great cilantro salad dressing dip you can get at Trader Joe's that I simply spruced up with some extra sour cream (on Missy's recommendation of course) and a simple, yet ready-to-impress appetizer was ready!

Our final display was festive with a Christmas tree on the table and Christmas lights wrapped around the base of it.  Nearly all of the food was eaten (thankfully), so I guess we did something right!

Parties are my favorite excuse to find new recipes and foods to share with friends and this party was no different.  Don't get overwhelmed with thinking anything impressive will be hard to prepare -- I did all of this (with a little help from my girls) in just over 1 hour!

Happy Sunday!  I'm flying to NYC for work on Tuesday, so I have a feeling my week's schedule is going to be quite disrupted.  I do get to see my mom on her birthday though (yay), so no matter how much I'm slacking with posts, I'll still be a happy camper this week!

Excited for Mac Monday tomorrow...

101 Thursday: My Favorite Italian Meet - Prosciutto (plus a recipe!!)

It's 101 Thursday again... and today it's all about PROSCIUTTO!!!  


Prosciutto is the Italian word for ham, although us Americans use the word prosciutto to refer to a thinly-sliced, dry-cured ham.  The meat is served uncooked in a style called prosciutto crudo in Italian, which distinguishes it from Italian cooked ham, prosciutto cotto.

The best prosciutto comes from Italy, from central regions like Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, and from the northern regions like Friuli-Venezia Giulia and San Daniele.  Prosciutto di Parma (prosciutto from the Parma province in Emilia Romagna)) is one of the most renowned Italian cities to produce some of the best and most expensive legs of prosciutto.  

Salting the ham

Prosciutto is from either a pig's leg or from a wild boar's thigh.  I have always known that prosciutto was ham, and that ham comes from a pig; I was confused to read that it could also be from a wild boar.  I have never really thought about wild boars in specifics, other than it's an animal, but didn't realize a wild boar is simply an uncastrated male swine, or pig.  You learn something new everyday!

Prosciutto di Parma

Back to the meat... prosciutto is a slow-cured meat and can take anywhere from 9 months to 2 years!!  There are several types of prosciutto, each distinguished from the next by where and how the ham is produced.  The European Union and Italian government have a similar protection agency as they do for Italian wines; the legislation has granted a special "protected designation of origin" to several of the raw hams, which are regulated to monitor the quality and processing of the ham. 

Parma Province, in
Emilia Romana, central Italy

The best, in my opinion, is Prosciutto di Parma, which is produced by over 200 curers in the Parma Province.  Prosciutto di Parma is made from only large, fresh hams (26 - 30lbs).  Although it's a salty meat, the curing process uses relatively little salt, but can also use garlic salt and sugar for a sweeter meat.  After the meat is salted with sea salt, it is sealed with pig fat to slow the drying process.  Curing occurs over a minimum of 12 months for certified Prosciutto di Parma and uses only salt--no nitrates, no spices, and no conserving substances.   The ham is salted and left to settle for about 2 months; it is slowly pressed throughout the time to avoid breaking the ham bone, but simultaneously drain the meat.  It is washed repeatedly to remove the salt and then hung in a dark and well-ventilated room.  It is left to dry completely over time, then hung to air out in a controlled environment, or at room temperature, for up to 2 years!


Now, what do you do with prosciutto?
Some of my favorite recipes are some of the easiest...

• Try wrapping steamed or grilled asparagus in prosciutto...
•  If you like tomato, basil, and mozzarella -- serve a sandwich on focaccia bread with T, B, & M plus prosciutto and good balsamic vinegar... my FAVORITE sandwich in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!

A new one that Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) taught me is...
GRILLED BREAD WITH PROSCIUTTO from her new cookbook, How Easy is That?  In Italy, grilled bread rubbed in garlic is known as fettunta, which is the foundation of this recipe.  The bread is at its ABSOLUTE BEST if you ACTUALLY GRILL IT OVER AN OPEN FLAME!!  I know it's a little more annoying, but the charred taste it gets is incredible.  (I tried to take pictures, but it's getting dark by 5:30pm here and the flash totally distorted the whole beauty of grilling the bread!)  The bread is delicious on its own, but Ina shows how to put some prosciutto, mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil before putting it back in the oven (to melt the cheese, of course) and DELICIOZO!  And seriously, could anyone mess that up?!?!

GRILLED BREAD WITH PROSCIUTTO

makes 6 slices... perfect for an appetizer and filling enough for a small(ish) dinner for roomies!

Ingredients:

6 slices of GOOD Tuscan round bread (sliced into 3/4-in thick slices)

2 large cloves of garlic (cut in half)

2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, torn roughly into pieces

2 oz fresh mozzarella, grated**

3 tbsp minced fresh parsley

**the recipe calls for smoked mozzarella, but I have to admit that I HATE smoked mozzarella... so I took it upon myself to use fresh mozzarella and it was AMAZING!!!  I didn't feel like anything was missing by substituting fresh mozzarella for smoked.

Preparation:

Prepare a charcoal grill with medium-hot coals (this is what I had access to at our apartment complex, but I want to try it at home in NY on our gas grill, which Ina suggests to prepare at medium-high heat).

Grill the bread for about 2 minutes on ONE side.  Remove from the grill and place grilled side up on a platter

IMMEDIATELY (this is important) rub the grilled side of the bread with the cut side of a garlic clove.  If you like, excuse me, LOVE garlic like I do, you can make it extra garlicky by using 2 cloves instead of 1 (like I did) and by rubbing the garlic fairly hard on the surface of the bread.  

Drizzle the bread with the olive oil.  

Place the torn prosciutto over the grilled, oiled, garlicked side of the bread and top with the grated mozzarella too!  

Return the jazzed-up bread to the grill, cover the grill, and cook just long enough to melt the cheese and re-warm the toast (about 1-2 minutes).  MAKE SURE to leave the vent open so that the fire stays lit.  

This is EXCELLENT with a great glass of Chianti or a Super Tuscan red vino from Italy!

Sit back, sip your vino, and bite into a crunchy slice of delicious, hot, garlicky slice of Tuscan bread with mozz and prosciutto!

Hooray for Mac Monday: Fried Mashed Potato Balls!!! ...Is It Thanksgiving Yet?!?!

     I went to sleep away camp for the first time in the summer of 1998 when I was in 2nd grade.  Camp O-AT-KA is a traditional all-boys camp, founded in 1906 on the shores of Lake Sebago in Maine.  I wish I could be a camper forever so for the past 5 summers I have worked at the same camp; now I'm a counselor and trying to still feel like a camper even though I'm almost 21 and in college.  

     The camp food is always the best on the opening Sunday of each summer session (because we are trying to impress the parents who are dropping their kids off at camp).  For the past 2 summers, the head chef, Nicolas Munua, has made the most amazing side dish: FRIED MASHED POTATO BALLS!!!  I know it sounds crazy, but they were the most amazing, delicious thing I ate all summer (granted it is camp food.  I started to pester Nick to find out just how he made them.


     He FINALLY told me the recipe at the end of this past summer.  As soon as he started telling me the ingredients and method, I started thinking about all the excuses I could come up with to make this recipe again.  Suddenly, I realized that this new spin on mashed potatoes would be perfect for an updated Thanksgiving Dinner.  


     There are just about 4-weeks until the best holiday of the year: THANKSGIVING!  So in these few excruciatingly long weeks before I get to spend Thanksgiving break with my family in New York, I thought it was only appropriate to whet your appetite and share the recipe.  You better start practicing this recipe before the family arrives for Thanksgiving!!!

The Camp O-AT-KA Shield

Ingredients:

2 cups of mashed potatoes

1/2 cup of plain bread crumbs

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1 egg (lightly beaten)

olive oil

Preparation:

     After making your mashed potatoes put them into the freezer for about 1 or 2 hours, until they firm up.  This helps to keep the potatoes together in the frying process.
     Once the potatoes are cooled, remove them from the freezer and let them warm up for about 30 minutes.

     In a large mixing bowl, mix together the potatoes, scallions and egg. 
     Then start rolling the mashed potatoes into little balls.  
     Now spread the bread crumbs out onto a plate or a cookie sheet (preferably with a lip so the bread crumbs do not spill over the edge).  Roll the mashed potato balls in the bread crumbs until there is an even coating. 
     In a medium skillet over medium heat, add about an inch of oil.  (If you have a frying thermometer you are looking for a temperature of about 375 degrees.)  Once the oil is hot, start to fry the balls in batches.  

Each batch should take about 2-3 minutes.  You will know when each batch is done when the breadcrumb coating has a nice golden brown color to it. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe.  It is simple and easy way to bring something new to your thanksgiving tradition.  Remember cook what you love, love what you eat!

Dinner Tonight: Celebrate Friday with Wine & Cheese

All good Friday night dinners start with a good wine...

For tonight we chose a delicious California White Wine, a combination of Chardonnay, Moscato, and Chenin Blanc... a yummy 2009 from The Fresh Market.  Plus what a fun name!

 And then A and I decided to use some of the biggest tomatoes we've ever seen (again from the Fresh Market), slice some fresh mozzarella on top, and add large leaves of basil on top... YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!

And A drizzled some delicious wonderful aged balsamic vinegar on top.

But we needed some meat with those tomato, basil, mozzarella stacks... Prosciutto it is!

And that delicious golden cheese is one that our friend B discovered with us when she visited, a Sturminster.  a creamy cheese with chives from the UK.

Cut up a fresh French baguette, some Carr's crackers (the cracked pepper flavor is my favorite) and perfetto!!!

We were low on my favorite balsamic Manicardi, a magical vinegar from Florence aged 12 years, so we supplemented with this store brand.  Surprisingly, the Harris Teeter balsamic was fantastic.  It wasn't a Manicardi, but it was great (and if you've never had the Manicardi, you wouldn't know the difference).

And voile, a yummy floor-ready, TV-friendly Friday night dinner!  Cheese and wine will make any meal feel more sophisticated (or romantic, depending on who you're eating with).  The tomato, basil, mozzarella stacks are a staple of my family's menu and are a great appetizer to bring to a party.  They look beautiful, festive, and fancy -- taste even better -- and are so so so easy to make!

Happy Friday!!  I'm doing a Habitat for Humanity build tomorrow with A.  We have to rise and shine extra early on a Saturday... we start building at 8:30am!  I'm sure they'll be some funny stories and pictures to share, so although it's not food-related, I might just have to share!