Day 9: Holiday Party Appetizers

Day 9 of the Twelve Day of Christmas Celebration continues with a couple Holiday appetizer ideas.  Last night we went to a Christmas party that some friends from work had.  They have it every year and it's always a blast. Jen made some delicious appetizers (my favorite are the bacon wrapped dates), so I thought today rather than posting more cookie ideas I would post some of my favorite appetizer recipes. These are all dishes I have come across over the years so I am not sure where they all came from originally.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

12 strips bacon, cut in half crosswise
24 pitted dates
1/4 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, cut into small chunks

1.  Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until it has rendered some fat and begins to turn translucent; don't let it brown at all. Remove from pan and drain thoroughly on paper towels.

2.  Make a slit in each date (you can also pop out the pit very easily if you couldn't find pitted dates!) and stuff with a small piece of cheese.  Wrap in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.  Place wrapped dates in a baking dish.

**At this point, you can cover and refrigerate up to 36 hours.

3.  Preheat oven to 375 and bake the date until the bacon is crisp, 10-12 minutes  

 

Lump Crab Dip

This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make and it's always a big hit.

1 container of lump crab meat

1 8oz package of cream cheese,softened (I usually use the light)

1 jar of cocktail sauce

Place the block of cream cheese on the platter  Pour some cocktail sauce over the cream cheese you want a good amount on these so that everyone gets some of the cocktail sauce with the spread; I would say 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Place lump crab meat (drained if there is any liquid in the container) over the top of the cream cheese/cocktail sauce.  Eat on crackers, surprisingly enough Ritz crackers are the best with this. You can even by the ones that look like snowflakes if you want to be more festive.

Artichoke Dip

1 can artichoke hearts, drain and chop

1 cup mayo (I use light)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Mix everything together and place in an oven safe dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Serve with crackers.

Caprese

I always find a tomato and mozzarella salad to be a great holiday party appetizer not only because it's tasty but it has the colors of the season.

Slice tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls and place on a platter alternating the slices of tomato and mozzarella.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil. Add a little fresh ground pepper.

And I am always came for an antipasto platter with fine cheeses and meat, marinated olives and mushrooms. Served with assorted crackers and breads.

Day 8: Kolachky

Day 8 of the Twelve Days of Christmas Celebration continues with Kolachky. I never realized that publishing Christmas cookie recipes was going to take me down memory lane.  Here is another recipe my mom makes every year. This recipe is apparently one she got while I was in grade school because the name on the recipe card is the mom of one of the kids I grew up with, so thank you Mrs. Bolz for sharing this recipe with my mom.

Ingredients
1 lb margarine
8 tablespoons sugar
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Solo pie fruit filling

Mix margarine sugar and vanilla with beaters.  Add the flour and milk and mix with hands. Take about a teaspoon of the dough and roll it into a ball. Place on cookie sheet using the back of a spoon make and indentation. Fill this will about 3/4 teaspoon of Solo pie fruit filling.  Bake on 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar once they have cooled.

I apologize about not posting yesterday; we were busy with work and holiday parties.  I also wanted to be sure to include a photo of these so I had to wait for my mom to drop off a few of the ones she made.  Thanks mom, you're the best!

Day 7: Toasted Cecchi, Almonds, and Pistachios

Day 7 of the Twelve Days of Christmas celebration continues with another homemade holiday gift idea.  I saw this recipe a couple years ago during one of my marathon Food Network viewing sessions.  Oh, those were the days...I use to thoroughly enjoy lazy weekends where I had nothing to do and could just veg on the couch watching endless hours of television.  This recipe is courtesy of Giada de Laurentis and makes a wonderful gift.  It is also a great snack to have out during a cocktail party. I have made it a number of times and it is quite tasty!


Toasted Cecchi, Almonds and Pistachios

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo (cecchi) beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

• 
  

  Directions

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

  Place the garbanzo beans on a foil-lined baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spread the beans in a single layer. Place in the oven and bake until golden, about 30 minutes.

  Remove the garbanzo beans from the oven. Add the remaining ingredients to the garbanzo beans and carefully stir to coat all the beans and nuts. Spread the mixture out to a single layer. Bake for 10 more minutes. Let cool slightly and place in serving bowls.

  
  

Day 6: Lemon Almond Bars

Day 6 of the Twelve Days of Christmas celebration continues with Lemon Almond bars.  This is another recipe that my mom makes and they are delightful! She doesn't recall where she initially found the recipe because she has had it for years but it is from Kay Galbraith.  My mom made a batch of these this week and brought me a few, yum!

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

In bowl, cream together butter, sugar and salt until light; stir in flour. Press into ungreased 9" x 13" baking pan; bake at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes or until golden.

Topping: In bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour, lemon rind and juice until smooth; pour over base. Sprinkle with almonds; bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until set. Let cool on rack; cut into bars.

Makes 30 bars.

On another note, I got to go to the hospital to meet my adorable nephew.  He is precious!

Day 5: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day 5 of the Twelve Days of Christmas continues with Jean's Chocolate Chip cookies. The key ingredient to this recipe is Crisco Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening.  My mom received this recipe when they lived up in Wisconsin from one of Megan's friend; prior to that she had always made your standard Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies.  You have got to try this recipe if you like Chocolate Chip cookies, they are delicious!

I would like to wish my mom a Happy Birthday today and Congratulations to my sister and her husband on the birth of their son Lucien Joseph!!  We are so excited to meet you!

Ingredients

1 cup Butter Crisco
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 large egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8ox or more of chocolate chips (we use 12 oz)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Blend Butter Crisco, sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla to mixture, continue to blend.  Slowly add your dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder to mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop rounded tablespoons full of dough to cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.  Let cookies cool slightly before removing from sheets.

Day 4: Candied Pecans

Day 4 of the Twelve Days of Christmas is Candied Pecans.  If you are looking for a gift idea, fill a cute holiday tin or bowl with this delicious treat!


Ingredients
4 cups pecans
1 cup sugar
1 dash of salt
2 egg whites
1/2 cup butter

Directions
Stiffly beat egg to form peaks. Fold in sugar and salt. Fold in pecans. Melt butter in 9 x 12 pan. Place nuts in pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees stirring every 10 minutes. Let pecans cool, you may need to break apart them if any stuck together in large chunks.

Turkey Chipotle Chili

Yesterday I decided I was going to make Turkey chili and to mix things up a bit I figured I would just make up the recipe as I went along.  Thankfully it turned out really well. I will warn you ahead of time,  the chili has quite a kick to it.  You could always use less chipotle pepper or adobo sauce if you would like something a little milder.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey thigh
1/2 lb ground turkey breast
2 cups diced red onion
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 tablespoon Montreal Steak seasoning
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced
4 teaspoons of adobo sauce
28 oz can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
14 oz can Diced Tomatoes with Sea Salt
6 oz can of Tomato paste
18 oz water
1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Grated White Cheddar for topping

Directions
In a dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil, saute the red onion and garlic and brown the turkey meat.  Season the meat and onions with Montreal Steak seasoning and salt and pepper.  Once the meat is cooked add the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Mix well.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.  Stirring occasionally.  Add kidney and cannelloni beans.  Stir and place the lid on the dutch oven.  Reduce heat to low and cook for a couple of hours.  Be sure to continue to stir occasionally. Serve with White Cheddar cheese as a garnish.

I made some corn bread to eat with the chili rather than crackers.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears