.teriyaki wings.

One of my daughter's most requested meals - or snack - is my teriyaki wings. She loves loves LOVES them. (Did I mention she loves them?)

These are very simple to make and are an awesome change to your standard hot wings.

First, start by making the teriyaki sauce:

In a saucepan, heat 2 Tbsp oil. When the oil is hot, saute 1 tsp minced gingerroot and 2 Tbsp minced garlic for about 30 seconds to a minute. You don't want the garlic to burn so really you just want to saute long enough to release the flavor.

Add 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup water and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar. Whisk well.
*Note: If you want these wings a little kicked up, add more gingerroot and some red chili flakes.


At this point, I pour about 1/3 of this on the thawed party wings. You can find plain unflavored chicken wings in your freezer department. Thaw them in the fridge. You don't want to give yourself food poisoning. That would be no bueno. I put the wings in a large ziploc and pour the sauce into the bag. Seal it up nice and tight removing as much of the air as you can. This will marinate the wings giving the flesh that sweet and salty flavor that makes these wings very desireable. I recommend marinating the wings overnight so remember when you go to make these, to give yourself an entire day.

Reduce the rest of the sauce down until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and let cool completely and put in the fridge.


To Make: Completely drain all of the teriyaki marinade off the wings. Put the wings on paper towels and pat dry. You don't want sauce lingering on the wings because when they hit the oil, you'll get a lot of splattering and you might get burned.

Heat oil in a pot or fry daddy to 350*. Carefully add the wings and fry for 4 minutes, using tongs to move them around for even cooking. When they're done, remove from the oil, and place on paper towels to catch as much of the oil. Put the wings in a large bowl and drizzle in that thickened teriyaki sauce. I like to garnish with some fresh sliced green onion. It not only gives a little onion'y flavor, but it looks pretty on the plate. Using a spoon or your hands, mix all of that together in the bowl and then dump into a pie plate or some other kind of baking dish. Pop in a 350* oven for 10 minutes. This will ensure the wings are cooked through, and it will also heat up that teriyaki sauce.

When I make these for a party, I dump the wings into aluminum pie plates and then just sit the pans on a plate for added stability. This makes for very easy clean up! Something every hostess can appreciate.

So the next time you're looking for a delicious snack or dinner option, think wings. Think teriyaki wings! Enjoy!

.roasted garlic hummus with fresh pita.

A few years ago, while we were stationed in Georgia, I surprised my husband to a trip to Savannah for his birthday. While we were in Savannah, we ate dinner at this little pizza place called The Mellow Mushroom and for the first time in my life, I had hummus. I had no idea what hummus was, but the waitress recommended it and we said, "Why not!" Let me just say my eyes were opened to a whole new world of food.

Since that time, I've had hummus multiple times. I've had good hummus. I've had bad hummus. I've had dill hummus. I've had roasted red pepper hummus. One thing I think we can all agree on (all you hummus lovers out there) is nothing compares to good, homemade hummus. (Did I say hummus enough times in that paragraph???)

The other night, an online friend mentioned The Mellow Mushroom and I immediately started craving a batch of roasted garlic hummus with FRESH pita. Now you could buy that store bought, I'm dry as bark, pita bread, but I'm telling you, once you have fresh, there ain't no goin' back! If you take the time to make pita yourself, you will love yourself forever and so will your family. It's easy easy easy. You can find the recipe here (you'll have to scroll past the souvlaki recipe) and if you make a double batch, you can wrap them in a freezer ziploc and have them ready anytime you want.

Now for the actual hummus recipe!

• Begin by roasting your garlic. Take a bulb of garlic and chop off the top. Put it on a piece of foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, then wrap it up nice and tight. Pop in a 375* oven for 45 minutes. Roasted garlic is AMAZING!!! It mellows out the sharp pungency and almost makes the garlic sweet in flavor. Really delicious stuff. When it's done roasting, remove from the foil and let cool. When it's cool, just squeeze out each clove from the skin and put in a bowl. You can keep this in your fridge for up to a week. It's great in sauces and in homemade bread! For this recipe, you can use the whole shebang if you want, but I used 1 Tablespoon. Put it in a blender.
• Add to the blender: Two 15.5 oz cans garbanzo beans, drained, the juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tbsp tahini, and a little sea salt.
• Blitz for a minute.
• Turn off and use a rubber spatula to move things around.
• Turn the blender back on and slowly drizzle in some extra virgin olive oil. You'll have to keep turning the blender off and mixing by hand with the spatula. You don't want to add too much oil because the hummus will become runny. Keep doing this until the beans are completely pureed and the hummus is a smooth, yet thick, texture.
• Transfer to a bowl and stir in a small handful of chopped cilantro. Taste and re-season with salt if it's needed.

Hummus will keep very well in the fridge for quite awhile, but I doubt it'll last that long, it's that good.

So go and eat hummus my friends! It's good for you and it's YUMMY!!!!

New Year's Eve Madness

Since I last posted back in October, a lot has been happening. We were in the process of buying a house closer to campus but that fell through, so we started looking again and found a beautiful new home only 25 minutes from the school. We're expected to close mid February and while I'm not looking forward to moving AGAIN, I'm excited to have a new place and start decorating.



This year, I catered and planned a wedding, catered and planned a birthday bash, catered and planned the Christmas party for church, *and* on top of it all, decided to throw a New Year's Eve party! I am completely insane. I'm just grateful my husband is so willing to go along with my plans and still keep a smile on his face. I just *LOVE* him! <3 id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425885664440924354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhse0EP9LQNxJBi8yaaszz6Zw0yeZXGZf7QMVowFBTid7CGEY1kT7BfKwMbPNfhxcKtkdNpq7lHu2OUpW7r0O-FQd4m_ALZek3vt1HyGYrs-Sy1pPZfoodzStuD9PlC8E4_wnHZZ8bRrIii/s400/nyebuffet1.jpg" border="0">Here's what my dining table looked like that night. When throwing a party, it's always a great idea to make the food and table the focal point. Putting food trays at various heights and angles is a great way to do that. If I removed that white tablecloth, you'd see how I did it. I used books, boxes, pots and pans upside down and towels. If I'm putting a basket at an angle, or want a salad tipped, towels are AWESOME because you can get the achieved look and it will keep the bowl/basket from moving too much. Once I put everything in the right spot, I drape it with tablecloths or fabric. I put a strand of white icicle lights on the table to give it extra lumination. A hurricane candle put on a tier and a vase of branches spray-painted white, help bring visual interest as well.

From this angle, let me tell you what I made. (left to right) Rosettes, Crab Rangoon, Meat and Cheese tray (I had a small tray of crackers on the other side), Lemon Tarts, Baked Santa Fe Dip, and Chocolate Cake.

From this side (right to left) I made a Parmesan-Artichoke dip (recipe below), Stuffed Mushrooms, Hot Wings, and on the far far end, you can't see but I had a tray of Soutwest Eggrolls.

The next time you decide to have a party, try out some of these recipes. Happy New Year!

Parmesan-Artichoke Dip

1 can (the size of a can of beans) artichokes, drained and roughly chopped
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
8oz goat cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 cups fresh grated parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp basil (fresh), roughly chopped
3/4 c. panko bread crumbs (japanese bread crumbs)

Mix all the ingredients together and put in a baking crock. Put in a 375* oven for about 20 minutes or until the dip is bubbling and golden on top. Serve with crostini (toasted baguette chip).

*To make the crostini, slide a french baguette on the diagonal. Lay on a cookie sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Put in a 400* oven for about 5 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in a large ziploc to keep fresh.

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ-Z_fQXybIkZGcydmZqcW1fMTY1Y2QyOXQ4aHM&hl=en

.grilled skewered steak w/ roasted red pepper salsa.

This was another recipe I made for our appetizer night last week. When I was working up my app menu, I wanted to make sure I had a little bit from each food group. I had brie puffs (dairy and grain), italian stuffed mushrooms (veggie), crab cakes with the chipotle lime aioli (seafood), and I needed a meat. I had some flank steak in the freezer so I got that out to thaw. It was the perfect addition for our meal.

This is a great appetizer too. One I will be making for sure when I have a party!

You'll need one jar of roasted red pepper and 1/2 a can of diced tomatoes.

Chop up 1 clove garlic, 1 jalapeno (seeded), and 1/2 of one small onion.

If you want absolutely no heat in this salsa, leave out the jalapeno. If you want some, feel free to add as much or as little as you desire.

In a saucepan, add a little olive oil and saute the onion, garlic, and jalapeno for a minute taking care not to burn the garlic.

Drain the liquid out of the pepper jar. Do a quick chop to make sure there are no big pieces left.

Add that and the half can of diced tomatoes to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook over medium high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring often, then reduce to low and let stew for 10 minutes.

Now the night before our appetizer night, I put the flank steak in a ziploc with crushed cloves of garlic (2) a drizzle of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. The longer this can sit in the fridge, the better the flavor will be because the garlic will absorb into the flesh.

Thinly slice the steak. Remember, this is an appetizer. You don't want to have big honkin pieces of meat on the skewer because it will make it more difficult to eat.

Make sure you cut on the cross-grain.

Skewer up the steak.

I'm using my grill pan but you can use your bbq grill. In fact, the bbq grill will give it some awesome smoky flavor. If you use the bbq grill, please make sure you soak the skewers well. You don't want them to burn to a crisp.

Grill for 3 minutes on each side. Pull from the grill and place on a platter. Put the salsa in a bowl with a spoon so people can scoop some out on their plates.

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ-Z_fQXybIkZGcydmZqcW1fMTY4ZjViZGJ0Y2s&hl=en

.italian stuffed mushrooms.

The other night we had appetizer night, which I do when I'm craving multiple things at the same time. I usually do this on Friday as a kind of "celebration" for surviving the week. Normally I don't fix this kind of fancy food, but I was in the mood to try new things.


On the menu: Brie puffs (I used my profiteroles recipe and added grated Brie cheese to the dough before piping), Grilled Steak Kabobs with Roasted Red Pepper Salsa, Crab Cakes with Chipotle Lime Aioli, and Italian Stuffed Mushrooms. For dessert I made Coconut Parfaits using toasted coconut pound cake and coconut whipped cream.


Today's blog entry shows how I made the mushrooms.



In a skillet, put a little olive oil and cook some mild italian sausage (1 cup) with 1/2 cup finely diced onion. Saute until the sausage is cooked through.
















Transfer the onion and sausage to a bowl and add 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs, 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and one egg.


Mix everything together well using a fork.
















Remove the stems from all of the mushrooms, leaving only the caps. You can dice up the mushroom stems and add to the filling if you wish. I chose not to this time.


Place the mushrooms in a baking dish.










Fill the mushroom caps with the stuffing. Make sure they mound up nice and high because you want to have enough filling so when you bite in it should be 50/50 in flavor.


Cut up 1/4 stick of butter and place strategically around the mushrooms. It will melt as the mushrooms bake and keep them from sticking to the baking dish. Put in a 350* oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ-Z_fQXybIkZGcydmZqcW1fMTYzZnE2bXpmZjI&hl=en

.crab cakes.

I have to admit that I was never a big fan of crab cakes. I know! What's wrong with me? It's probably been in the last 3-4 years that I have actually grown to love them. I have even gotten over my fear of mustard... but only enough to use it in this recipe.

There is no wrong or right way to make a crab cake. There are a bazillion different variations out there. If you have a tried and true recipe, then stick with that one. This is one I have used quite a lot and we like it well enough. Serve with a lemon-dill cream sauce (not pictured).


Begin by making the bread crumbs. What I do is set 5 slices of bread on the counter. Let them sit out for at least 5 hours. It's better if you can let them sit overnight to dry out.

You can make these a couple of days in advance. Grate and put in a ziploc baggie.

If you have a food processor, break the bread apart and pulse away until they're "crumby". Otherwise, you have to do it the old fashioned way like I do and use a box grater.


In a blender, put 2 Tbsp parsley, 1 Tbsp red bell pepper, 1 Tbsp onion, 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper, 3 egg yolks, 1 tsp Tabasco, and 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard.

Blend blend blend. With the blender still on, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil.













Transfer the mixture from the blender to a bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup sour cream.











I like different layers of flavor and texture. I put 1 lb lump crab meat (blue crab is the best, but any will work well, except for king crab), a little chopped parsley, a little minced red bell pepper, and a little minced onion. Basically the same stuff I put in the blender, but this gives the crab cake some texture.







Dump in the aioli mixture and stir everything together.











Dump in 2 cups bread crumbs and mix everything together well.











I don't have a picture of me making the cakes because my hands were all gunked up. Not too difficult to figure out though. Just patty up some crab, then coat with the remaining bread crumbs. Put on a baking sheet.

Put these in the fridge and let firm up for at *least* 1 1/2 hours. It's better if you let them set up more than that though. They will be a little firmer before frying.



Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Carefully place your crab cakes in the pan and fry for 4 minutes on each side.

Super blurry picture. Flip and cook on the other side.

What I did was fry them up and then put in a low temp oven on a plate while I fixed the rest of the meal.

If you're making these for your Valentine dinner, I highly suggest you do it like I did above. You'll want all of your meal ready and held in a warm oven. That way all you have to do is pull things up to plate as you need to.

I didn't get any pictures of the lemon-dill sauce. Here are the directions:

Lemon Dill Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp capers, drained

1-2 tsp fresh dill, chopped

2 lemons, zested and juiced

Mix all of the ingredients together and put in the fridge to set. Can be made 1-2 days ahead of time.

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_137gsvd49gz

.chicken cordon bleu pockets.

I love Chicken Cordon Blue. Traditionally it's a pounded out chicken breast a layer of ham and a slice of swiss cheese all rolled up. Then breaded and baked. I was in the mood to try something a little different and take these three ingredients but wrap them in bread dough.

Recently, another company contacted me asking if I would try their product too. This company is J.B. Dough. They're located in Benton Harbor, Michigan and I have to say, their bread mixes are pretty tasty. You can make them by hand, or using a bread machine, but with this recipe, I used my Kitchen Aid.


Open the package and put the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Dissolve the yeast packet in warm water. Follow the directions on the package.


Knead out on a floured counter and cover to let rise until almost double. Punch dough down and knead again.


Chop up some slices of ham.


Cut up some swiss cheese.


And then chop up some chicken breasts. You want to cut them into chunks to ensure they're baked thoroughly. If you used whole chicken breast, you run the risk of the bread pocket overbaking and having raw chicken in the middle. Ick.


Divide the dough into 4-6 pieces. You can make some larger and some smaller for kids if you want.

Take each piece and roll out into a circle.


Put some chicken, ham, and swiss cheese in the center. Season well with salt and pepper.


Pull all the edges up into a little pouch and pinch closed.


Turn the pouch upside down so the seam is on the bottom. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Repeat until all the dough and filling ingredients are used up.


In a bowl, put one egg and one Tablespoon water. Mix up.


Brush the eggwash on top of each of the bread pouches. Make sure you get as much of the surface as you can. Place the sheet in a 350* oven for about 40-45 minutes. If the tops start browning too much, put a sheet of foil on top.


The tops will be beautifully golden. Pull from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.


See how yummy that looks. The chicken was so tender and moist. The swiss cheese coated the chicken and ham and the fresh baked bread surrounding it soaked in all of the flavors. A perfect twist on a traditional meal.

Something that would be really awesome? Make these mini sized for parties! I think you'll have people inviting themselves to your get togethers if you start serving these. Enjoy!

.behold the power of ....cheeseball.

One of my friends in Virginia, Alisha, used to make this killer cheeseball for our scrapbook nights. I asked her once what went into it and wow.. so easy!!!

I grew up hating cheeseballs because they tasted so gross but this one is delicious. So the next time you want to have a little get together and need something quickie quick, throw this together!


Here's what you're going to need:

cream cheese, chopped olives, red bell pepper, green onion, cheddar cheese, and pecans.


Finely chop up some red bell pepper. You only need about 2 Tbsp.


Finely chop up 3 green onions.


Chop up about 1 1/2 cups pecans and toast in a 400* oven. Once toasted, pull from the oven and let cool.


Grate about 1/2 cup cheese. Use the fine grate side.


Put the cream cheese, olives, green onion, cheese, and red bell pepper in a bowl. Use your hand to smoosh things together. Form everything into a large ball.


Roll the cheeseball in the pecans until completely coated.

Wrap with saran and put in the fridge to set. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

You can easily add more to this to kick it up. Add some smoked salmon, or finely chopped cooked shrimp for a different flavor.