Living 2 Eat |

… from one of my favorite ‘foodies’, Linda Mathieu

Midland, Michigan

Hot Roast Beef Party Sandwiches

*WINNING RECIPE

Prep: 20 min., Cook: 6 min., Bake: 30 min. Get ahead of holiday parties. Plan to stash a few batches of these casual, three-bite sandwiches in your freezer.

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 (9.25-oz.) packages dinner rolls
2/3 cup peach preserves
1/2 cup mustard-mayonnaise blend
3/4 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef, chopped
1/2 pound thinly sliced Havarti cheese
Salt and pepper (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Heat walnuts in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 5 to 6 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant.

3. Remove rolls from packages. (Do not separate rolls.) Cut rolls in half horizontally, creating 1 top and 1 bottom per package. Spread preserves on cut sides of top of rolls; sprinkle with walnuts. Spread mustard-mayonnaise blend on cut sides of bottom of rolls; top with roast beef and cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover with top halves of rolls, preserves sides down, and wrap in aluminum foil.

4. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Slice into individual sandwiches. Serve immediately.

Note: To make ahead, prepare recipe as directed through Step 3, and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator, and bake as directed in Step 4. For testing purposes only, we used Rainbo Dinner Time Rolls, Hellmann’s Dijonnaise Creamy Dijon Mustard, and Boar’s Head Londonport Roast Beef.

Yield:  Makes 12 to 16 servings

From Southern Living, 12/2008

This recipe is for the Martha Stewart types that believe in creating homemade Halloween goodies.  Although I am not a big fan of candy corn, I am told this is an incredible recipe…   if you attempt this, be sure and take a few pictures and send so that I can post as a follow up.   Ben

Candy Corn

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup white corn syrup

1/3 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup powdered milk

food coloring (optional)

Combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup in pan and bring to a boil stirring CONSTANTLY.

Turn heat low and boil 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

In a separate dish, combine powdered sugar, salt, and powdered milk.  Add all at once to the mixture in the pan.

Add food coloring if desired.

Stir until cool enough to handle.

Shape into creative pieces.

I had forgotten how good plain old wings can be, till I ate them with the Deerfield Fire Dept. Station 4 cooks on Sunday.

It is a nice touch to serve these with a “bone” bowl and warm towels for cleaning fingers — there’s just no way to eat these with a fork. They are truly finger food!

Jan Norris

www.jannorris.com

Original Buffalo Wings

1.5lbs chicken wings; tips snipped from wings and wings halved
salt and pepper
oil for frying
1 - 1 1/2 sticks butter (no margarine or spreads)
1/2 - 1 bottle Crystal hot sauce (or your choice of hot sauce)

Clean, wash and pat-dry the wings. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a skillet to 355 degrees or until it sizzles when wings are dropped in. Fry wings until golden; remove and drain on paper towels.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt butter together with hot sauce. Place wings in a shallow casserole dish and pour sauce over cooked wings — toss well to coat. You can hold wings in warm oven in sauce; or serve immediately. I like to leave them in the sauce for a while, and serve them dripping with it.

Serve with blue cheese dressing, and celery and carrot sticks.

From the kitchen of Sarah Ryan – Parkview Church of God

Caramel Apple Dip

1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Apple slices

Beat cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla together until smooth.

Serve with apple slices.

Sprinkle chopped nuts on apples, if desired.

Pineapple Grilled Chicken Thighs                             

1 cup (6-oz.can) pineapple juice
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 large pineapple, cored and sliced 1-inch thick

Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic in a small bowl.
Pour over chicken thighs; refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, over medium heat 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 170 degrees.  Place pineapple slices on grill during last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Mrs. Meredith Appleton
Macon, Georgia

Blue Corn Chips with Goat Cheese, Corn, and Tomato Salsa

Quick to prepare and lighter than standard nachos, this dish is especially good with corn fresh from the garden or farm stand. What makes these nachos truly stand out is the innovative use of goat cheese. If goat cheese isn’t available at your supermarket, try looking in a health food store.

1/2 cup white corn, frozen or freshly cooked

1 cup tomato salsa (bottled or homemade)

30 blue corn chips

8 ounces creamy fresh goat cheese (such as a fromage blanc)

1 head lettuce, shredded

Mix the corn with the salsa. Spoon into a small serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Place the corn chips on a foil-lined baking sheet. Dot each chip with 1 teaspoon of goat cheese. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Shortly before serving, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Bake the chips for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Mound the shredded lettuce on a serving platter. Place the bowl of salsa in the center of the platter. Arrange the chips on the lettuce in a circular pattern.

Recipe from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

This recipe has been brought to me by one of the best cooks in America, Mrs. Donna E. Godfrey.

Southern Sweet Potato Chips

1 cup honey roasted peanuts

2 large sweet potatoes

10 tablespoons melted butter
salt

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and grease well.

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice thinly. Set aside.

Process the peanuts in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until they are a fine powder. Place the powder on a plate.

Place the butter in a bowl and dip the potatoes into the butter until well coated. Dip the potatoes in the peanut powder and coat both sides. Arrange the slices in one layer on the prepared pans.

Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned. Make sure not to overcook as they will burn easily. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, if desired, and serve warm.

Serving: 6

Foodie Denise Plunkett tells me that Sean Dean of Fort Myers, Florida introduced her to a delicious appetizer… “It is simple and everyone raves about it.”

Trust me on this, if Denise gives it her stamp of approval, you must try it!

Sausage Cheese Dip

1 pound sausage

1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 - 10 oz. can Rotel Tomatoes

Brown sausage and drain on paper towels.  While the sausage is still warm, add cream cheese and stir until melted.  Add Rotel tomatoes.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Quick and Easy Chicken Appetizer

  
One 10-ounce can chunk breast of chicken, drained and shredded
One quarter cup chopped celery
One quarter cup chopped onion
One half cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
Shredded cheese
Crackers
  
Mix all ingredients, except cheese and crackers, until blended.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture onto crackers. Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.  

Open-Face Cucumber Sandwiches
  

Three ounces cream cheese, softened
One-quarter teaspoon finely grated sweet onion
Dash of salt
One-third cup finely diced cucumber, peeled
One-half teaspoon white vinegar
Green food coloring to tint
  

Mix all ingredients together and spread on white bread.

Cut into desired shapes and garnish with a tiny wedge of fresh cucumber with peeling.