Spinach Pinwheels
08-Jan-2006
Several years ago one of my planned dishes for my holiday party bombed during the preparation phase. I don’t remember exactly what happened but it was on the party day and I was left feeling like I needed to fill the hole that it left. As I was scrambling, trying to figure out what would be a quick and easy substitute, this recipe came to mind. I’d recently had these bite-sized snacks at my sister’s house and just happened to have nearly all of the ingredients on hand. A quick trip to the store filled out the list of supplies.
Since these are such a 70s type food, I really didn’t expect them to be received all that well, but they are were tasty and at least filled the table. Imagine my surprise when they were among the first items to go! People loved them! This is partly due, I’m sure, to the saltiness and the bacon – two tastes that people love. Since that party I’ve made them nearly every year and they always fly off the table. I rarely have even a few remaining at the end of the night.
Spinach Pinwheels
- 1 packet Uncle Dan’s Original powder dressing
- 1 – 1½ cups mayonnaise
- 1 – 1½ cups sour cream
- 1 3.5 oz jar bacon bits
- 1 bunch of green onions, chopped (both greens & whites)
- 1 10 oz box of frozen spinach, cooked and well-drained
- Tortilla shells*
Mix all ingredients except tortilla shells.
Spread thinly on tortillas and roll up. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Cut into 1" strips and place cut side up on platter.
*You can use any size tortilla shells but I generally use the largest. This recipe will fill 5 to 6 of those. Also, use flour tortillas not corn. You can use plain or any of the flavored shells – like spinach or garlic – experiment!
Warming Winter Lunch
07-Jan-2006
Sorry! No picture as this dish just called my name and I had to eat it immediately! But it was simultaneously hearty and light; flavorful but simple; and visually appealing, which you’ll have to take my word on!
Here’s what I did:
Prepare your favorite type of dried pasta according to the instructions but use vegetable stock instead of water.
Roughly cut up or tear prosciutto into bite size pieces. Place in your serving bowl. Tear fresh sage into small pieces and place in the bowl with the prosciutto.
When the pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove it from the broth, so that a bit of the broth is included in each spoonful, place in the serving bowl and toss with the prosciutto and sage.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Grate Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta and then grate a little lemon zest over the cheese. Add additional fresh cracked black pepper, if desired.
Eat and be happy!
Blog Warming Party!
07-Jan-2006
Come and join us as we celebrate the launch of the Well Fed Network! See the details at I Heart Bacon!
Happy Hour at Home
05-Jan-2006
Check out my latest "Happy Hour at Home" post on The Spirit World. It features a drink you’ve seen before, Starbucks Mochatini and includes a recipe for a super easy warmed Brie appetizer!
Well Fed Network
03-Jan-2006
A few days ago I gave you a sneak peek of a new project I’m working on, The Spirit World. What I didn’t really tell you at the time, was that this new blog is part of an entire blog network. Today marked our official release and we’ve started with five blogs:
- Well Fed Network: Gives you a peak into the entire network of blogs
- The Spirit World: Focused on spirits, cocktails, beers and all related topics
- Sugar Savvy: Interested in chocolate and candy? This is the place for you!
- Growers and Grocers: Exploring the food industry
- Paper Palate: Covering news from food magazines and newspaper sections around the world.
While we are starting with just these five blogs, eventually the network will encompass about 40 blogs focusing on food topics or on cities around the world.
I will be editing and writing for The Spirit World and, occasionally, contributing to the other blogs. I have a great set of people working with me on The Spirit World! Most of them have other blogs of their own but we also have a few new talents. Most are up and running but a few more will be coming on over the next few weeks. To find out more about who’s there, check out the list of Contributors.
We plan to have four weekly columns and a variety of other posts we hope will be of interest to you. Our weekly columns are:
- Monday: Mixology 101
- Tuesday: Brewsday
- Wednesday: Drinks Around the World
- Thursday: Happy Hour at Home
Other categories of posts that will be showing up include; Mixology References; Tools of the Trade; Tips and Tricks; Cooking with Spirits; and Tasting Notes, among others. Our goal is to educate and inform while entertaining you! We’d like to become one of your primary Mixology destinations.
Please stop by and check out the new site. Leave a comment or two or three! Tell us what you’d like to see covered or ask us questions. Try our recommendations and let us know if you agree or why you don’t. We’d really like to hear from you!
Chicken Pecan Salad on Cucumbers
03-Jan-2006
This is a nice light appetizer. The freshness of the cucumbers offsets all the other richer elements on the table.
I’m not going to give you a specific recipe, as any chicken salad recipe will do. This one uses chicken, pecans, celery and tarragon but you should make your own favorite combination.
For the cucumbers I prefer the English style long cucumbers. They are sweet and stay firm longer than regular cukes. I only peel strips of the skin off, as I like the contrast of the light and dark green. Cut the slices about ½" thick. I sometimes also hollow out just a bit of the seed area to make a little cup. But not always – I like to keep people guessing! :-)
Chinese Pork Appetizer
02-Jan-2006
Calling this a recipe is actually a misnomer. Although you can make your own Chinese Pork, I’ve found that the brand carried in the Costco warehouses is really good and it’s just not worth my time to make it from scratch. It’s beautifully moist and the flavor is great! You simply slice the tenderloins into 1/4" pieces and serve with Chinese Hot Mustard, ketchup and sesame seeds.
The other nice thing about this appetizer is that it looks really beautiful. If you look straight down on the platter it resembles a flower with the pork slices the petals, growing out from the center.
Wine Glass Tags
02-Jan-2006
Each year at my holiday party I use lots and lots of matching glassware. To help my guests keep track of their glass or to keep them from stealing others’, I ask everyone to use these little tags. I have a couple stacks of them along with a couple of pens on the drink table so that they are easy to use and very accessible.
I also have a lot of charms but I find that for larger parties they don’t tend to work quite as well, as people tend to forget what they chose. I think they work fine for smaller gatherings, as a lot of the time what someone chooses becomes a topic of conversation.
You can find these tags all over the place now. Wine shops nearly always have them, but I also find them in the wine section of my grocery stores. I believe I generally pay about $3.50 for 25 of them.
If you don’t find them in shops in your area, they are available online. Here are a couple sites that sell them:
Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
31-Dec-2005
Another appetizer that is always a hit is cheese stuffed mushrooms. Again, this is great to make ahead of time and then just do the final broil as people are starting to arrive for the party or a few minutes before.
The key to making this appetizer successful is a trick I picked up from Martha Stewart in her "Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook". You must bake the mushrooms prior to filling them to release and drain the water from the mushrooms. If you don’t do that, your filling will tend to get soggy. Even with that step this is an amazingly easy recipe.
Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
36 button or crimini mushrooms, each about 1" across
5 oz of Boursin or any soft, herbed cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Brush off any dirt on the mushrooms with a cloth or mushroom brush. Remove the stems and place cap side up on a baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 7 – 10 minutes, until mushroom caps are tender and water is seeping from them. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack over a towel, cap side up, allowing water to continue draining. Let sit for one hour.
Fill each cap with the cheese, making sure to completely fill the stem cavity. Place on baking sheet, cheese side up.
Broil on high for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.
Holiday Party Onion Tart
30-Dec-2005
One of the new things I made for my Holiday Party this year was an Onion Tart and it was well received so I thought I’d share it with you. You can either make this tart early in the day and then serve it at room temperature; or have it all assembled and then pop it into the oven about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it. Either way most of the prep work can be done quite early, so it’s a good dish for entertaining.
This is another recipe that you can customize in many different ways; add mushrooms or olives; swap out the cheese for a different variety; add sun-dried or oven roasted tomatoes; just do whatever appeals to you!
Onion Tart
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2 large yellow onions sliced into ¼" slices
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup ricotta cheese at room temperature
½ cup cream cheese at room temperature
1 sheet puff pastry – either made fresh or a defrosted frozen sheet, keep chilled until ready to use
¼ cup blue cheese
¼ cup currants
Heat olive oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add onions and sauté until onions are translucent. Add chopped rosemary and garlic. Continue sautéing until onions are golden and caramelized. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and let cool.
Mix ricotta and cream cheese together until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375° F
Remove puff pastry from refrigerator and quickly roll out into 9"x13" rectangle. With sharp knife or pizza wheel trim all edges to ensure it can spring during baking. With a sharp knife score a line about 1/2" from edge all around border of pastry, making sure not to cut all the way through. This allows the border to puff.
Spread the cheese mixture evenly between the score lines. Cover with the onion mixture, again spreading evenly between the score lines. Sprinkle the blue cheese and currants over the onions.
Bake at 375° F for about 25 – 35 minutes, until puff pastry is golden on top and crispy and golden on the bottom.
Remove from oven and cut into 2′ squares.
Culinary Fool 