Holiday Appetizer - Phyllo Puffs with Camelized Onions & Goat Cheese

Here is yet another handy recipe that can be prepared a week in advance and frozen. I always buy frozen Phyllo pastry...as making this from scratch would be a disaster...and a lot of work.

 First Caramelize 1 large Vidalia onion over low heat with a tsp of butter and 1/2 tsp olive oil. This should take about an hour...stirring every so often. Set onions aside and allow to cool. Defrost one package of Phyllo dough, keeping a damp clean cloth handy, brush one sheet of dough with melted butter and lay a second sheet over it. Wrap the rest of the dough in the damp cloth. Slice the sheets into long strips about 3 inches wide. On one end of the Strip add a Tsp of Onions and a sprinkle of Crumbled Goat Cheese. Fold over the strips crosswise until you have neat little triangles as shown below. Brush triangles with more melted butter. You can freeze these between layers of Parchment paper for up to one week.

 On the day of your party defrost the triangles by laying them out on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes. Then, bake at 350F for about 15-20 Minutes or until pastry is a nice golden brown.

These can be served warm or at room temperature. Lovely little pillows of goodness!

Holiday Party Recipe-Turkey Sliders with Brie and Cranberries

Today I am featuring another appetizer that can be started up to 1 week in advance. This saved me a tonne of time come party day...I only had to defrost the burgers, grill them, make the sauce and assemble. Took about 15 minutes total for a truly yummy burger!

 First you need to prepare the burger patties. I use about 1 Lb of Ground Turkey, 1 Onion, finely chopped, 2 Garlic cloves, minced, 2 Eggs, 1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs, 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard, 1 Tsp Soy Sauce, and a mixture of my favourite Spices (Dried Parsley, Red Chilli Flakes, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper)

 Mix thoroughly and form patties slightly smaller than the palm of your hand.

 Arrange the patties on a parchment paper lined pan that you are able to seal. Freeze for up to 1 week.

 On the morning of your party remove the patties from the freezer and allow to defrost. Heat up your grill (I used my indoor grill) and grill until cooked through.

 While the burgers are grilling you can make your cranberry sauce. I used 1 package of fresh cranberries, 2 tbsp Orange Juice and a 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar. Simmer until cranberries have broken down and the sauce starts to thicken.

 To assemble use small dinner rolls, sliced in half. Add your burger patty, some cranberry sauce and 2 slices of Brie Cheese. I stick the whole platter of completed burgers into the oven at 300F for about 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt a little.

There you have it...Turkey Sliders with a little bit of Christmas flare!

Holiday Party Recipe-Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

I have been making these babies for years now...obviously they are catered to people who enjoy a little spice in their life...but are usually a huge hit with everyone (With a large glass of eggnog!). They are also a great appetizer to make in advance and freeze.

 Wash about 20 fresh Jalapenos...the bigger the better.

 Slice the jalapeno in half...being careful to wear a pair of gloves...you do NOT want to touch your face after handling these.

Using a small spoon, scrap out the seeds and membranes from the jalapeno halves.

Spoon some softened cream cheese into the jalapeno halves. This was a huge one.

Next, wrap 1 slice of bacon around each jalapeno. If your jalapenos are on the small side then only use half a slice of bacon.

At this point I put all the prepped jalapenos in a sealed container and into my deep freezer for the week. Come party day morning I removed them from the freezer to defrost. 30 Minutes before guests arrive arrange the jalapenos on a broiler pan (the one with the slots in it for the bacon drippings to drip down into). Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until bacon is super crispy.

Serve to your hungry guests!

5 Days of Holiday Party Recipes!

I hosted a holiday party this past weekend for about 40 guests. It was a mad flurry of cooking and baking for the whole week but well worth it! All the treats were well received and we barely have any leftovers (yay that they loved it...boo that there is nothing leftover for lunch today!). This week I will be posting a different recipe every day leading up to the main event.... CHRISTMAS!!

Hope you enjoy!

Chili Lime Shrimp

Super fast and easy, these were whipped up right when the guests started to arrive. They were also the first appetizer to go!

 Take one package of raw medium sized de-veined shrimp (about 24-30 pieces). Remove shells, rinse and lay on paper towel to dry.

 Next, make your spice mixture. 1/2 Tsp Salt,  1/4 Tsp Black Pepper, 1/8-1/4 Tsp Cayenne, depending how spicy you like it, 1/4 Tsp Dried Parsley, 1/4 Tsp Garlic Power, 1/4 Tsp Onion Powder, 1/4 Tsp Paprika, 1/8 Tsp Dried Thyme. Set this aside.

 In a large saucepan melt 2 Tsp butter on high heat.

 Add your shrimp and 1 clove of minced garlic. Saute to combine and add the juice of 1 Lime.

Once the shrimp start to turn pink and start to slightly curl add your spice mixture. Saute until shrimp are fully cooked and serve hot.

I garnished with a few lime wedges for presentation...a HUGE spicy hit!

Baked Goat Cheese with Spinich Salad

I made this appetizer salad a couple weeks ago for a friends Birthday dinner. Overall it was really well received (except for the non-goat cheese eaters..lol! Or my husband that doesn't like beets!) So if you like Goat cheese and beets..this is a great salad option for you!! (although the beets are totally optional!)

To make the baked goat cheese parcels, take some thawed phyllo pastry and roll it out, removing only 2 sheets at a time.

Have about 3/4 cup melted butter handy with a brush.

Wrap the unused phyllo in a damp clean dish cloth as it dries out very very easily. This step is important.

Lay the first sheet of phyllo on a clean surface. Brush the butter over the whole sheet.

Lay the second sheet over the first sheet and gently press down to remove all the air bubbles.

Using a sharp knife divide the dough into 3 1/2 - 4 inch strips

Add a dollop of good quality goat cheese to the bottom of each strip of dough

and fold over using the entire strip until you are left with a nice neat triangle.

Brush the triangles right away with butter and lay on a baking sheet. Repeat with more sheets until you have enough for 3 per person.

Bake in a 375F oven until dough is a nice golden brown (about 10-12 minutes). Set aside to prepare your salad. Or you can prepare the salad in advance and serve the triangles warm...both ways are delicious!

For the dressing I used 1/4 Cup Honey, 1/2 Cup White Wine Vinegar, 1 Tsp Honey Dijon Mustard, 3 Tbsp Whole Grain Mustard, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Pepper, 1 Cup Olive Oil. Whisk well to combine and leave in the fridge until ready to use.

For the salad I used Fresh Baby Spinich, Shredded Carrots

Sliced pickled beets (again..totally optional!!)

And a generous handful of chopped walnuts.

Dress your salad with the dressing and lay the goat cheese phyllo triangles over the salad. Delish!

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms!

I have been watching marathons of the food network lately and noticed on an episode of Iron Chef that not only are zucchini blossoms edible...they are supposed to be delish. And boy are they right. They have a slight zucchini flavour to them and when stuffed with ricotta and deep friend...you have hit a completely new level of food love.

 So after doing a little research on zucchini blossoms I learned that there is a female blossom and a male blossom. The female blossoms will taste a little stronger than the males, as the females turn into the actual zucchini. You can tell the difference in the stems as the male blossoms have a thinner stem than the females. I used all males in this dish.

 Because I picked all the blossoms in the evening the flowers were closed. I just carefully pulled down the flower petals one by one to open...and snipped out that stem in the middle of the flower.

 To prepare your filling, take 1/2 Cup Ricotta cheese, 1 tbsp Romano cheese, 1 tsp minced fresh basil and 1 minced garlic clove. Stir to combine and set aside.

 Prepare your batter. I used 1/2 cup flour to 1 cup water. You want the batter to be kinda soupy and not thick at all. Add more water if you like.

 Using a piping bag stuff your blossoms with the ricotta mixture and twist the petal tips together.

 At this point you want to get your oil heating up in a deep saucepan or pot. It is hot enough when you drop a bit of batter in the hot oil and the drop rises and floats on the oil. I had my heat set to medium-low.

 Dip your stuffed blossom in the batter

And carefully place in the hot oil. cook for about 2-4 minutes or until batter has turned a light brown. No need to play with it while it is frying as you don't want the stuffing to fall out. When complete lay on a sheet of paper towel to drain off any excess oil and season with sea salt. Serve immediately!

 I didn't even let my husband try any of these...I ate them all myself they were that good!

Corn on the Cob with Chipolte Butter

Since its Wednesday

And I am tired and lazy and wish it was Friday

I am going to post a super easy mid-week side dish!

Enjoy!

 Prepare and cook your corn as desired. I usually enjoy grilled corn, buuutttt we ran out of propane...so boiled it is!

 Take a 1/4 cup of butter at room temperature and whip it until light and fluffy.

 Add the juice of 1 Lime

 And one of these babies. I found them in the Mexican aisle at my local grocery store.

 Mince it up. This adds a rich smokey flavour to the butter. So yum!

 Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.

 Happy Wednesday!