Perhaps you've been thinking about what tasty tidbits you'll be serving at your New Year's Eve party. Maybe you're like me and have been wondering what you'll take to a friends party.
I was looking for things that didn't look too difficult to make but that would be delicious and something different than anyone else would be bringing.
You know, pigs in a blanket and meatballs in a chili and grape jelly sauce are tasty, but I'd rather go in a different direction. One that will thrill my fellow party goers.
Here are a dozen recipes that I'm considering. Maybe they'll be on you list of possibilities too.
If you want more information, click on the link above the recipe name to be directed to the blog.
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French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 whole Large Onions, Halved And Sliced Thin
1/4 cup Beef Broth
7 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
Splash Of Red Or White Wine
1/2 cup Grated Gruyere Cheese (can Use Swiss)
Kosher Salt
24 whole White Or Crimini Mushrooms, Washed And Stems Removed
Minced Parsley
Directions
In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add onions and saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very soft. Splash in wine, broth, and Worcestershire. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until liquid is cooked down. Set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Throw in mushrooms and toss around for 2 minutes, just to start the cooking process. Sprinkle mushrooms with salt.
Place mushroom caps face down in a baking dish. Heap cavity with sauteed mushrooms, then sprinkle Gruyere over the top. Bake at 10 minutes on 325 degrees. Turn on broiler and broil for a couple of minutes, until the top of the Gruyere starts to bubble and slightly turn brown.
Sprinkle minced parsley over the top and serve.
Avocado Pesto Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
30 cherry tomatoes (about 1-1/4 pints)
1/2 medium avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut up
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons homemade or purchased basil pesto
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Snipped fresh basil (optional)
Directions
1. Cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato. (If desired, cut a thin slice from bottoms of tomatoes so they stand upright.) With a small spoon or small lemon baller carefully hollow out the tomatoes. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Invert tomatoes on the towels. Let stand 30 minutes to drain.
2. Meanwhile, for filling, in a food processor bowl combine avocado, cream cheese, pesto, and lemon juice. Cover; process until smooth. Spoon filling into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or open star tip.
3. Place tomatoes, open sides up, on a serving platter. Pipe filling into the tomato cups. Serve immediately or cover loosely and refrigerate up to 4 hours before serving. Sprinkle with snipped basil before serving. Makes 30 appetizers.
Caprese Bites
Ingredients
12 Cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
12 Boconccini (cut in half)
12 Large basil leaves (cut lengthwise)
12 Salami, deli slice (cut in half)
Olive oil
Fleur de sel
Toothpicks
Directions
To assemble, place half of a tomato and half of a boconccini together. Wrap with a half of basil leaf and then half of a piece of salami. Secure with a toothpick. Lay on a platter and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fleur de sel.
Southwestern Bruschetta Bites
Ingredients
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon water
1/2 (17.3-ounce) package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar- Jack cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained & rinsed
2 Tablespoons finely chopped red onions
2 Tablespoons finely chopped red bell peppers
1 teaspoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice, divided
1 medium avocado, pitted & peeled
1 Tablespoon sour cream
ground black pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Beat egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
2. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the cheese and cilantro to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Starting at a long side, roll up like a jelly roll. Press the seam to seal. Cut pastry roll into 20 (1/2-inch) slices. Place the slices, cut-side down, onto 2 baking sheets.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Gently flatten the hot pastries with a spatula. Let cool on baking sheets on wire racks for 10 minutes.
4. Stir corn, beans, onion, red pepper, jalapeño pepper, cumin and 1 teaspoon lime juice in a medium bowl.
5. Mash avocado in a medium bowl. Stir in sour cream and remaining lime juice. Season with black pepper.
6. Top each pastry with about 2 teaspoons avocado mixture and 1 Tablespoon corn mixture. Garnish with additional fresh cilantro, if desired.
Blue Cheese and Walnut Grapes
Ingredients
Red grapes (or green grapes if desired)
1/2 cup light cream cheese
6 Tbsp – 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles, to taste
Chopped walnuts
Directions
Rinse the grapes and let them dry completely on a pan, patting them dry with a paper towel if necessary.
Mix the cream cheese and the blue cheese, adding enough blue cheese to taste and mashing the two cheeses together to form a creamy spread.
Spreading the cheese mixture with your fingers, coat each grape with a thin layer of cheese. Then roll the grapes in the chopped walnuts. Serve them immediately.
Ricotta, Gorgonzola, and Honey spread
Ingredients
1 15 ounce carton whole milk ricotta cheese
6 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon snipped fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1/8 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 tablespoon honey
36 toasted baguette slices
Sliced apples, fresh thyme, and/or toasted walnuts
Honey
Directions
1. Place ricotta in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in Gorgonzola, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon rosemary until combined. Fold in 1 tablespoon honey until just combined. Spoon mixture into a serving bowl. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours. Makes 36 appetizer servings.
2. To serve, spread on baguette slices and top with apple slices, thyme, and/or walnuts. Drizzle with honey.
Raspberry Yogurt Cheese with Gingersnaps
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups raspberries, plus extra for garnishing
4 tablespoons honey
3 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
12 gingersnaps
Directions
Place the raspberries and 2 tablespoons of the honey in a medium bowl and stir gently. Add the yogurt and carefully fold in the berries until thoroughly combined; some berries should remain whole.
Place a large strainer or colander in a medium bowl and line it with 4 layers of cheesecloth or plain white paper towels, allowing the cloth to extend beyond the edge of the strainer. Spoon the yogurt mixture onto the cloth, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
Turn the yogurt cheese onto a serving plate and remove the cloth. Discard the drained liquid. Drizzle the remaining honey over the yogurt cheese. Use the gingersnaps as crackers, topping them with the cheese and extra berries.
Lemon-Parsley Gougeres
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoons coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
3 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh curly-leaf parsley
Directions
Bring 1 cup water, the butter, salt, and cayenne to a boil in a heavy 4-quart saucepan; boil until butter has melted. Remove from heat; stir in flour. Return to burner; cook, stirring, until mixture comes together and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes more.
Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, beat in 4 eggs, 1 at a time, until they are incorporated and smooth. Stir in zest, scallions, and parsley.
Transfer mixture to a piping bag, and cut a 1/2-inch opening. Pipe 1-inch rounds onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Alternatively, drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment. If not using immediately, freeze up to 1 month in airtight containers or resealable plastic bags.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together remaining egg and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl; lightly brush on top of each puff. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Garlic Chicken Puffs
Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken
2 cans refrigerator crescent rolls
Directions
1. Mix cream cheese, garlic and chicken until well blended.
2.Unroll crescent rolls and cut each triangle into 2 triangles (when you unroll the crescent rolls, 2 triangles are attached making a big square, I just cut from there following the perforation for one cut and made another cut from the other corners = giving you 4 little triangles)
3. Place 1 tsp of chicken mixture on the center of each triangle and fold the corners in over the creamy mixture.
4. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 12-14 mins. (Ovens vary...keep an eye on them!)
Johnny Jalapeno's Mexican Bacon and Cheese
Filling
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 tablespoon blue cheese , crumbled
2 tablespoons green onions , diced
1 jalapeno pepper , seeded and diced small
1 tablespoon roasted red pepper , diced small
1/8 teaspoon black pepper , to taste
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder , to taste
Other ingredients needed
2 large flour tortillas (low-carb)
6 slices lean bacon (or turkey bacon)
Directions
1. Mix all filling ingredients well. Spread filling over each tortilla, spreading to the edges. Tightly roll up tortillas to form a log. Wrap each tortilla securely with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to set.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and set aside. Unwrap the rolls from the plastic wrap and trim off ends and discard (or eat). Slice the rolls into 8 slices.
3. Cut bacon slices in half and wrap around each appetizer overlapping just a bit. Secure the bacon to the wraps with toothpicks going thru just to the other side (this also serves as holders to pick up the appetizers later). If the bacon slice does not go all the way around the roll, place the loose ends facing down onto the parchment paper.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove from the oven and arrange on a serving platter.
Blue Cows in a Blanket
Ingredients
1 pound Ground Beef
1/2 cup Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup Bleu Cheese, crumbled
1/2 tsp Salt
1 package (2 sheets) Puff Pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently combine ground beef, bacon, cheese, and salt with hands, just enough to evenly distribute the bacon, cheese, and salt. Form the mixture into about 18 small meatball-sized balls. Gently flatten into small patties. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Keep the oven at 400 degrees.
Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the thawed puff pastry sheets into squares that measure approximately 12 x 12 inches. Use a pizza cutter to cut each sheet into 9 equal-sized squares. You should have 18 squares that measure approximately 4 x 4 inch each. (Don’t worry if they aren’t exactly square or equal-sized. The dough will stretch when you wrap the burgers.)
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place one cooled patty in the center of each square. Wrap the pastry around the patty and press the dough together on the bottom. Place each wrapped patty on the baking sheet, seam side down. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush each pastry with the beaten egg. Return to oven and cook for 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.
Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Two Mustards
Ingredients
1/4 cup crème fraîche
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or Cognac Mustard $
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard or Seeded Agave Nectar Mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 green onion, minced
2 ounces smoked salmon, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
6 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon finely snipped fresh chives
Directions
1. Stir together crème fraîche, mustards, garlic, lemon juice, cayenne, paprika, green onion, and smoked salmon in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Scoop out egg yolks and put in a bowl. Mash yolks with a fork and stir in crème fraîche mixture.
3. Spoon yolk mixture into egg white halves and sprinkle with chives.
I hope these recipes will get you started. My next blog entry will be dedicated to dips.
No, not that kind of dips!
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