Appetizers

Ingredients
For the dressing
1 cup olive oil
¹⁄₄ cup balsamic vinegar
¹⁄₄ cup rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
4 tablespoons ginger, peeled
2 teaspoons sesame oil

For assembly
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head cabbage, cut into wedges
3-4 carrots, peeled or scrubbed
1 zucchini
1 package wonton wrappers (My package had around 48.)

Instructions
1. Combine all dressing ingredients in immersion blender cup or food processor and process until smooth.  Likewise, you could mince ginger and garlic and whisk all ingredients together. 

2. Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken about 10 minutes a side or until cooked through.  Cool, then chop or shred. 

3. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spray two mini muffin tins with cooking spray. 

4. Using knife, box grater, or food processor with shredding disk, shred cabbage, carrots and zucchini.  Mix vegetables, chicken, and dressing together in large bowl. 

5. Place wonton wrappers in muffin tins, one wrapper per cup.  Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until crisp and starting to brown.  Let cool in muffin tins 5 minutes before removing cups and filling with slaw mixture. 

Comments
The recipe for this dressing is from epicurious.com, the rest Is of my own creation.  This is a fairly simple recipe and the baked wonton cups are so much easier to make than dealing with hot oil and frying.  These would make a great appetizer or light lunch.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
³⁄₄ cup pepper sauce (such as Frank’s)
1 ¹⁄₂ cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat.  Cook chicken 5-10 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.  Cool chicken until it’s cool enough to handle then chop or shred into small pieces. 

3. Mix chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese, dressing and half of cheese in casserole dish.  Bake 20 minutes, remove from oven, and stir well.  Top with remaining cheese, return to oven, and bake until hot and bubble.  Serve with crackers, celery sticks, or tortilla chips. 

Comments
This recipe is from everywhere since it’s a pretty standard appetizer for gatherings.  I’d never made it before so I read a few recipes and ended up with this.  I forgot to reserve some of the cheese to top the dip with, so it all got mixed in.  It was delicious in all of its orange glory.

Unknown

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ pound goat cheese log, cut into 16 rounds
Zest of 1 lemon
¹⁄₄ cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil, finely minced
1 teaspoon capers, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
3-6 rosemary sprigs (My sprigs were huge, so I used 3.)
²⁄₃ cup olive oil
Pinch of sea salt or kosher salt

Instructions
1. Arrange goat cheese slices in one layer in a shallow dish. 

2. Sprinkle with zest, tomatoes, capers, thyme, and salt.  Tuck rosemary around cheese. 

3. Pour olive oil over cheese and marinate in refrigerator for 2 to 6 hours.  Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices. 

Comments
This recipe is from Nutritious Eats and I served it with toasted baguette slices as an appetizer.  The goat cheese was delicious and was quickly devoured.  You can easily halve this recipe if you don’t want to use a half pound of cheese.

Internet - Nutritious Eats

Ingredients
1 pound loose sausage (I used sweet Italian.)
2 cups Bisquick
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. 

2. Combine sausage and Bisquick in mixing bowl on low speed.  Mix until well combined.  Add cheese and continue to mix until fully incorporated. 

3. Place wire rack in rimmed baking sheet.  Cut small holes in a piece of parchment paper and place paper on top of wire rack.  Roll dough into walnut size balls and place on baking sheet.  (I was able to fit all of the balls on one sheet, they don’t spread out much.) 

4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until sausage is completely cooked through. 

Comments
This recipe is from allrecipes.com but it’s also a pretty traditional one both in Art’s family and in the South in general.  I used Italian sausage which were nicely spicy.  The cheddar crisped up on the edges and we gobbled these up.  Cooking these on the rack and parchment paper kept the balls from sticking but also allowed the extra grease to drain through onto the baking sheet. 

I can see these working well with other types of sausage, but they could also end up bland if your sausage isn’t well spiced on its own.  Keep that in mind when making them yourself, you might want to add extra spices if you opt for a less flavorful sausage.

Internet - allrecipes

Ingredients
2 pounds ground lamb, beef, or a mixture of the two
1 medium onion, grated
1 bunch parsley, chopped
3 eggs
Salt and pepper
2 packages wonton wrappers
1 stick butter, cut into thin pats
1 cup beef broth

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 325*F.  Spray two 12 by 9-inch baking dishes with cooking spray.

2. Mix ground meat, onion, parsley and 1 egg in large bowl.  Beat remaining 2 eggs in small bowl. 

3. Working about 6 wonton wrappers at a time, place wrappers on cutting board and brush two opposite sides with beaten egg.  Place approximately 1 tablespoon of meat mixture inside wrapper and fold brushed edges over on themselves.  (You want the sides with egg to be sealed and the top to be open so you can still see the filling.)  Arrange manti in prepared baking dishes. 

4. Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove dishes from oven and top with pats of butter.  Pour ¹⁄₂ cup beef broth into each baking dish.  Return to oven and cook 15 minutes longer. 

5. If the tops of the manti aren’t golden brown, transfer dishes to broiler and broil until nicely browned. 

Comments
I saw this recipe on My Barbarian Table a few weeks ago and I’ve wanted to make the delicious looking dumplings ever since.  They were, indeed, delicious.  I had Art’s help in assembling the dumplings and it was much faster than we both had feared it would be.  He spread the wrappers out and brushed them, I filled and sealed them, and into the dishes they went. 

I served these with Tzatziki and they were scrumptious.  I think it would be easy to tweak the recipe for other fillings, perhaps pork with ginger and garlic?  Or other, more exciting, flavor combinations?  This seems like a super flexible, and simple, way to make dumplings.  Yum.  We finished off the leftovers yesterday and already I’d like to make them again.  I used ground beef because my grocery store failed at supplying me with non-rancid lamb yet again.

You should be sure to check out the recipe source linked above because the blogger’s pictures are grand.

Internet - My Barbarian Table

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ pound bacon, cut into pieces
2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¹⁄₂ cup topping such as parsley, almond pieces, or crisp crumbled bacon

Instructions
1. Heat large skillet over medium heat.  Add bacon and sauté until fully cooked and starting to crisp.  Drain on paper towels or in sieve set over bowl.

2. Process bacon, cheddar, cream cheese, horseradish, Worcestershire, garlic, and cayenne in food processor until smooth.

3. Transfer cheese mixture to center of large sheet of plastic wrap and tightly wrap, shaping cheese into rough ball. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. (Cheese ball can be refrigerated for 2 days.)

4. Once cheese ball is firm, reshape as necessary to form smooth ball. Unwrap and roll in topping to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Serve with crackers, bread, etc. 

Comments
Art’s favorite holiday treat, aside from Pumpkin Bread, is the cheese ball.  He requested that I make one for Junk Food Day 2011 and, lucky for him, I’d just seen a recipe for cheese balls in the 2010 Cook’s Country Annual.  I modified the recipe a bit since we wanted it to include bacon and horseradish.  I also neglected to coat the ball in the end since I didn’t want to cook up more bacon having used the other half pound in Deviled Eggs.  When I make these again, I’ll cook up a pound of bacon just for the cheese ball, or pick up some parsley for the coating. 

While not very pretty without the coating, Art tells me that this is the best cheese ball he’s ever had and I’d have to agree.  It was grand and I predict it will become a holiday tradition in our family.

Edit: You can also just spread this into a container, like a bowl, instead of making it into a ball.

Cook’s Country 2010

Ingredients
12 eggs
¹⁄₂ pound bacon, cut into pieces
1 bunch green onion, cut into 2 inch lengths
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Instructions
1. To hard-boil eggs: Place eggs in a large pot. Add water to cover by two inches. Add baking soda. Bring water to a boil and boil for 12 minutes. Immediately remove pot from heat, pour off hot water, and cool eggs with cold water and ice. Cut in half and remove yolks.

2. Heat large skillet over medium heat.  Add bacon and sauté until fully cooked and starting to crisp.  Drain on paper towels or in sieve set over bowl. 

3. Process egg yolks, bacon, green onion, mayonnaise, dry mustard, and vinegar in food processor until smooth.  Transfer mixture to ziptop bag, remove corner with knife, and pipe mixture into egg whites. 

Note: Store egg carton on its side in the fridge the day before hard boiling to help center egg yolks. 

Comments
I really love deviled eggs but I haven’t made them in at least 5 years.  I wanted something more exciting than the basic deviled eggs recipes I was finding, so I decided to give bacon and green onion a try.  According to Art, these were the best deviled eggs he had ever eaten.  I think I’d have to agree!  These were very scrumptious eggs, lots of great flavors.

Person - Gwen

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ cup panko
³⁄₄ cup sesame seeds
1 ¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

For the sauce
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
¹⁄₄ cup honey
¹⁄₄ cup mustard

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425*F.  Place parchment paper on baking sheet. 

2. Mix panko and sesame seeds in large shallow dish.  Combine mayonnaise, mustard, onion, and chicken in a large bowl.  Stir to coat chicken.  Transfer chicken to panko mixture and toss to coat. 

3. Spread chicken pieces on prepared baking sheet, working in batches if necessary.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through. 

4. Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl.  Serve sauce with chicken bites. 

Comments
This recipe is from allrecipes.com and I found it while searching for an appetizer recipe involving chicken for Junk Food Day 2011.  I didn’t see a reason to pre-cook the chicken and that worked out just fine.  The chicken bites were delicious and we gobbled them up.

Internet - allrecipes

Ingredients
4 pints grape tomatoes, quartered
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced (Optional)
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt to taste

Instructions
1. Combine the tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro, garlic, bell peppers, onion, and lime juice in a large bowl.

2. Stir the mixture to combine all the ingredients. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving.  Taste, and add salt as needed.

Comments
This recipe is from epicurious.com and it’s the first time I’ve made pico before.  Truth be told, I’m not completely sure what the difference between pico and fresh salsa is, but this was still great even if I don’t know the distinction.  I had a bit of trepidation about the amount of bell pepper in the recipe, but I’m glad I followed it as written because the bell pepper was quite lovely. 

Be warned, this recipe does make quite a lot of pico.  I’d say we ended up with at least 4 cups, probably closer to 6.  The red bell peppers I used were huge…

Shown here with Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced into ¹⁄₂-inch-thick rounds (or half moons)
3 cups beer
2 teaspoons vinegar (I used red apple balsamic vinegar.  Cider vinegar or malt vinegar would work well.)
Salt and pepper
2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil
³⁄₄ cup all purpose flour
³⁄₄ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions
1. Place onion rounds, 2 cups beer, vinegar, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper in zip-top bag; refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350*F. While oil is heating, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Slowly whisk in ³⁄₄ cup beer until just combined (some lumps will remain). Whisk in remaining beer as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until batter falls from whisk in steady stream and leaves faint trail across surface of batter.

3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200*F. Remove onions from refrigerator and pour off liquid. Pat onions rounds dry with paper towels and separate into rings. Transfer one third of rings to batter. One at a time, carefully transfer battered rings to oil. (Tongs work well for this.)  Fry until rings are golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes, flipping halfway through frying. Drain rings on paper towel-lined baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to oven. Return oil to 350*F and repeat with remaining onion rings and batter. Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual and the onions were delicious.  I cut the slices into half moons, because I think they’re easier to deal with.  I also tossed the little onion bits from the center of the onions with the remaining batter at the end and dropped them into the oil in spoon-sized clumps.  The onion batter was nice and crisp, even at the end of all the frying.  The onions were soft and scrumptious.  We ate them with a variety of sauces – my favorite being honey, mustard and mayonnaise all mixed together.

Cook’s Country 2009