And a healthy dose of feline insanity
If I were an organized person, this recipe would have appeared during the holiday season. After all, that’s when people indulge in cheese and puff pastry and bread and all those things that we immediately eliminate from our diets once Jan. 1st rolls around.
But I’m not, so it didn’t.
I haven’t been cooking much lately. It’s actually been really difficult for me. See, the past couple weeks, I’ve been involved in a benefit for the Children’s Theatre of Annapolis, an organization that is near and dear to my heart (I actually am on the Board of Directors there).
Fun fact about me: I spent my high school years performing at a youth theatre in Arizona, and even minored in theatre at Penn State. However, I have not performed onstage — unless you count karaoke — since my senior musical, Honk!, in which I played Maureen, a chatterbox hen. Anyway, when an organization from the community college approached the board at CTA about potentially pairing up for a fundraiser involving a musical review, or cabaret, I thought it would be a fun way to step back onstage and see if theatre was something I still wanted to do.
So, what’s the answer to that? It’s hard to say. I loved being on stage again, and every second I was performing was fantastic. However, I discovered it’s much harder as an adult to fit rehearsals, particularly tech week, into my schedule, balancing it with work, other charity obligations, exercise, cooking, my friends, and — oh, yeah — that guy I call my husband, who I barely saw for about 8 days. Another lady who was in the benefit performance with me asked if I would audition for a local production of “A Christmas Carol” with her this week, and for a myriad of reasons — including my scheduled Thanksgiving trip to Arizona — I had to turn her down. But perhaps in the spring, I’ll revisit the idea of auditioning for another local production.
Wow, that was a tangent. All I meant to say was that I haven’t been cooking lately, so I had to reach back into my archive of photos to find a recipe that I’ve never blogged before. And this is it, pumpkin pie dip, a recipe that works well for an afternoon snack, a dessert, a football party food, or the perfect dish to bring to a holiday potluck.
Oh, and it’s cuter if you hollow out a little pumpkin to use as it’s own serving bowl!
A few weeks ago, one of my best friends came to visit. While I tend to take over the kitchen at all times (Because I’m selfish like that), Lauren made an appetizer for us that was so easy and so delicious that I definitely wanted to share it.
Buffalo-flavored anything has been a hit for a long time, but I think its popularity is really off the charts now. Of course, there’s the delicious Buffalo Chicken Dip, but now everywhere I turn, I see something new that’s been flavored with Buffalo sauce. And, hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
I served these at our Super Bowl party, and people went crazy over them. The photo is horrible, but the recipe is good, so try it anyway.
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Makes about 30 medium-sized meatballs
2 pounds ground chicken
1 white onion, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 bottle Buffalo wing sauce
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Mince the garlic and onion as finely as you can (or grate it), and then combine it in a large bowl with the chicken. Add the parsley. Making sure your hands are washed well, mix the chicken together thoroughly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the meat mixture into small meatballs and place them on the baking sheet, 12 at a time. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.
Because I needed to keep the meatballs warm for the party, I added combined the butter, wing sauce, and meatballs in a Crockpot and left it plugged in on warm. If you’re serving immediately, combine the butter and wing sauce in a saucepan and cook until the butter is incorporated. Toss the meatballs in the sauce and serve.
Warning: Ugly photo ahead.
Congratulations to all Giants fans out there for another win over the Patriots. I enjoyed the Super Bowl and its corresponding commercials, but all night, I had something much more important on my mind — food.
It’s not strange to hear Buffalo Chicken Dip referred to as “crack dip.” That’s basically what it is — so good that you just can’t stop eating it.
At my recent holiday party, I wanted to include the dip on the menu. However, I already had crab dip and spinach dip on the menu, so I needed to do something a little different with it. My solution was to spoon it into phyllo cups, making it into a one-bite appetizer. And because the phyllo cups didn’t use all the dip, I was able to keep the rest of it warm in the oven and pull it out to serve once the other food was running low.
Buffalo Chicken Cups
2 packages miniature phyllo cups (12 to a package)
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, to taste
2 cups cubed chicken
Mix the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and cheese together. Add the hot sauce until it reaches your desired level of spiciness. Fold in the chicken.
Add a tablespoon of dip to each phyllo cup and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the cups are browned. Spoon additional dip into a baking dish and either save for later or serve with tortilla chips.
I try really hard to make elegant, sophisticated dishes. This is not one of them.
However, it is easy, delicious, and has wide appeal. I made it for an Oktoberfest party, but it would be perfect for a football-watching gathering or any type of party.
Stuffed Pizza Rolls
Pizza crust dough (homemade or storebought — I used the kind of dough in a tube that you roll out)
1 package mini pepperonis
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza or tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
Dried basil
Olive oil
Roll out the dough. Using a pizza cutter, slice it into squares about 2 square inches. In the middle of each square, place two to three mini pepperonis, a sprinkle of mozzeralla cheese, and a dollop of tomato sauce. Wrap up each square, pinching it tight to close the roll securely.
Place each bundle in a pie pan. The unbaked rolls will not fill up the pan, so just space them evenly. They will rise and expand during baking and fill the whole pan. Brush oil on top of the rolls and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and basil.
Bake at 350 degrees until the tops of the rolls are browned. Serve with additional pizza sauce.
