Buffalo Chicken Dip

When I went home for Christmas, my stepsister made this really yummy dip for us to munch on before dinner.  It was so good that I had to share it here.  We made a little change to it by baking some extra mozzarella cheese on top of it.  I could've just had it for dinner!

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
8oz package of cream cheese
1/2 cup of ranch dressing
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (with an additional 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top)
2 cans of chicken breast (drained)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix all ingredients except for the extra 1/4 cup of cheese in a large baking dish.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese on top.  Return to the oven to bake for another 10 minutes.  

Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with a Chipotle Ranch Sauce

Last night, Rick and I had planned on grilling out, but instead, we decided to stay indoors.  It's starting to get darker earlier and a wee bit cooler, too.  I wanted to do something with some shrimp that I needed to use, and I was also leaning towards doing something with the canned chipotle peppers that I've had in pantry for a while.  After browsing foodnetwork.com and myrecipes.com, I decided to wrap my shrimp with bacon and broil them.  For the dipping sauce, I wanted to make something similar to the chipotle ranch sauce that they have Longhorn.  Man, I miss that stuff.  By combining ranch dressing, light sour cream, and a little bit of the chipotle peppers, I made an awesome sauce!  Rick loved it, and I can see us having this one again!  By using a pound of shrimp and a whole package of bacon, we had enough to enjoy tonight, too!  Here's what we did...

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with a Chipotle Ranch Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1 pound 21-25 count shrimp, peel and deveined

1 package of low sodium bacon

5 Bamboo skewers

1/4 cup lite sour cream

1 cup ranch dressing

1 1/2 tablespoons diced chipotle peppers from a can with adobo

Directions

Soak the bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes. While the skewers are soaking, combine the sour cream, ranch dressing, and chipotle peppers in a bowl and mix.  Cover and refrigerate until time to serve.

Preheat broiler (or grill if grilling).  Take the bacon and cut all the pieces in half.  Cook the bacon in a large pan until halfway cooked.  Wrap the bacon around the middle of each shrimp and skewer.  Place 5 shrimp on each skewer. 

Broil (on a foil lined baking sheet) or grill for 5 minutes per side until shrimp is done.  Serve with sauce and enjoy!

Bacon- Wrapped Shrimp with Basil-Garlic Stuffing

Rain, rain, go away!!!  It's basically rained all weekend.  I've found myself trapped in my car three times as I have oh-so-patiently waited for the rain to slow down a bit so that I could dash to wherever my destination was.  The last time happened this afternoon when I was on my way to Publix.  When I left the house, it was dark, but by the time I made it to Publix, it was pouring!  I sat in the car and then moved it to a closer spot so that I could run inside to get some ingredients for the app that I wanted to do for dinner tonight.  Rick and I were planning to grill out, but it turned into steaks in the oven on a cast iron skillet.  We did some baked potatoes, too.  Publix had their large shrimp on sale which I thought would be a perfect starter that I found on myrecipes.com.  This recipe was originally found in Coastal Living magazine.  I adapted it with one of the suggestions from the reviewers and mixed light cream cheese (my goat cheese had mold :( ) with Parmesan cheese for the stuffing.  I did 10 shrimp since there is just the two of us. The recipe called for a fruit-based BBQ sauce, and when I saw the Sweet Baby Ray's Raspberry Chipotle one, I knew that was the one for us! 

The shrimp turned out to be a perfect appetizer to hold us over while our potatoes baked and before we did the steaks.  We probably could've done just 3 each because the large shrimp were filling.  Definitely a keeper!

Here's what I did...

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Basil-Garlic Stuffing

Ingredients

10 large pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied

10 pieces of bacon (cutting 1/4 of each slice off)

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon light cream cheese

1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese

1 clove of garlic, minced

 Sweet Baby Ray's Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix cheese, basil, and garlic together in a bowl.

Cut slit deeper into the shrimp (but not totally through). Stuff cheese in the slit and press closed.

Cook bacon over medium heat until partially cooked. Drain on paper towels.

Wrap one slice of bacon around the each shrimp.  Place shrimp on a greased baking sheet.  Brush the shrimp with the BBQ sauce.  Bake in the oven for 9 minutes.  

Enjoy!!!

Crab Wontons

In honor of the season premiere of Deadliest Catch, we are having crab night.  This season is the last one that Captain Phil of the Cornelia Marie will be on since he passed away in February.  My heart goes out to his family, and I hope that they know how special he was to those of us loved the show.  When Rick and I first started dating, he introduced me to the show, and I fell in love with it (much like him!).  Tonight, it's crab legs and crab wontons!  I kinda made it up as I went as far as the wontons go, but here is what I did for them!  I used the sauce that we used for the shrimp on Thai Night the other night.

The wontons themselves were really tasty, but I did run into a small problem....as they got hot, some of them busted!  I don't know if I put too much crab-cream cheese mixture or what, but quite a few of them blew up!  I have to admit that I was rather distraught when this happened, and I apologized to Rick several times for ruining dinner.  Rick came up with the great idea to put holes in them before we fried them, and that seemed to work (most of the time...a few still busted).  So if anyone out there has any suggestions on how to do this successfully, I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Crab Wontons

Ingredients

3/4 cup crab meat

3/4 cup light cream cheese

1 tablespoon basil, chopped

1 tablespoon green onion, chopped

1 glove of garlic, pressed
20 wonton skins
1 egg

Directions

Mix first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. In another small bowl, beat the egg.

Take one wonton skin and brush the edges the egg.  Scoop 1 over-sized teaspoon on mixture into wonton skin.  Fold the wonton over to form a triangle and fold the edges over to seal it.  Repeat with the remaining wonton skins and crab mixture.

Heat oil to 350F in a large, heavy bottomed pan (I used my deep cast iron skillet), with enough oil to cover the wontons.

Fry wontons until golden about 2-3 minutes per side. To avoid lowering the temperature of the oil, do not attempt to fry too many at once. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Enjoy!

Thai Night!

About a month ago, Rick brought over a Thai cookbook called Greatest Ever Thai, and I've been wanting to do something out of it ever since.  Rick came over earlier this evening, and we were talking about what to make for dinner. He was flipping through the latest Cooking Light and Food + Wine, but nothing seemed appealing.  I mentioned doing something out that cookbook as an appetizer and then making Pad Thai.  Apparently, I had never made Pad Thai for us before, and I was looking forward to it. I will post that recipe tomorrow.

The appetizer that we picked out was for shrimp wrapped in won ton skins.  It sounded similar to one of my favorite appetizers Basil, a Thai restaurant in downtown Charleston.  Basil is another one of those must-go-to places here.  The food is excellent, and the prices aren't too bad for a downtown restaurant.  We decided tonight that it has been too long since we went, but luckily, we had tonight's dinner to hit the spot.  I've never worked with won ton skins before, and while my shrimp rolls didn't look as good as the ones in the cookbook, they turned out great! Rick was on frying duty, and he opted not to deep fry them but he flipped them after about a minute or so.  I made some other changes from the original recipe (omitted red curry paste and subbed garlic-chili sauce for 1 small fresh red Thai chili). 

Here's what we did.

Jumbo Shrimp Rolls with Sweet Soy Sauce

Ingredients
Dip
2 tablespoons of Garlic-Chili Sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
4 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce


Shrimp Rolls
2 tablespoons of cilantro leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced
16 won ton skins
1 egg white, lightly beaten
16 jumbo shrimp, shelled with tails left intact
Corn oil for frying


Directions
To make the dip, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

For the shrimp rolls, brush the won ton skins with egg white and place a few cilantro leaves and a little bit of garlic in the center of the won ton skin. Place shrimp on top.  Fold the won ton skin over the shrimp and leave the tail exposed.  Roll the shrimp in the won ton.  Repeat with the remaining shrimp.

Heat oil for frying in a large, heavy bottom pan to 350-375F.  Fry the shrimp in small batched until golden brown (around 1-2 minutes).  Drain on paper towels and serve with the dip.

Enjoy! 

Caramelized Onion Tartlets

I've been trying to get into the habit of having some sort of hors d'oeurve for Rick and I to snack on while I'm preparing dinner so that by the time dinner is ready we aren't starving which leads to overeating.  For tonight's treat, I found this recipe on epicurious.com for caramelized onion tartlets.  I changed it up a little bit, and I ended up with a delicious snack.  My only complaint with the tartlets is that it takes FOREVER (or so it seems) for the onions to caramelize.  Because I knew that this would be an issue, I started on them prior to Rick's arrival. 

Here's what I did.

Caramelized Onion Tartlets

Ingredients

• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 oz soft light cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon  finely sliced green onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 1 package of mini-phyllo shells (around 15 per package)

Directions

Cook onion, butter, water, salt, and pepper, covered, in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, 10 minutes. Remove lid and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is deep golden brown and very tender, about 30 minutes.

Heat shells on a baking pan for 5 minutes.

Stir together cream cheese, sage, and green onion and divide among shells, then top with caramelized onions.

Enjoy!

Monday Night Italian

Last night when Rick came over (with chicken in hand), he said that he wanted us to do chicken parm again soon.  While I do love that dish, I am trying to eat better these days so I decided to try to lighten it up a little bit by not frying it, and instead, I would bake the chicken first.  I found this Cooking Light recipe on myrecipes.com and thought that it would be perfect.  As you know from my success with cooking steaks inside, I love using my cast iron skillets in the oven, but when I was looking at the nutritional information, I realized that it wasn't all that great for you so I opted to go with my original recipe. I did, however, serve it over whole grain pasta and halved the chicken breasts which meant more meals for us!

The new challenge, however, was to find something to go with the chicken parm.  I decided that I wanted to do a little appetizer to serve while the main dish cooked.  I decided that I wanted to roast some garlic and serve it with a sliced baguette as a crostini.  I also wanted to make it similar to the crostini that I made a while back but with a tist.  I'd never done roasted garlic myself, but I started it first.  We were really impressed with the final product. I love it when that happens.

 Roasted garlic straight out of the oven!

Here's what I did.


Roasted Garlic Crostini
Ingredients
2 heads of garlic
1/2 baguette, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning Grinder
3 Cheese Blend (Shredded)
Basil leaves
Balsamic Vinegar


Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F.

While the oven is preheating, mix olive oil with Italian Seasoning.  Place the sliced baguette pieces on a baking sheet.  Brush the pieces with the olive oil, saving some.  Set aside.


Peel the white skin off of the garlic heads.  Cut the top of the garlic head off (about 1/3 inches off the top).  Place the garlic heads in aluminum foil squares, and place them in a muffin pan.  Cover the garlic with the olive oil mixture and wrap the garlic heads with the aluminum foil.  Place the pan in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes.  When the garlic is cooked, take it out of the oven and let it cool. 

While the garlic is cooling, toast the baguette pieces in the oven for around 5 minutes.  Once the garlic has cooled, removed the garlic from the skin with a small fork and place it in a bowl.  Spread 1-2 cloves of garlic (depending on the size of the clove) on each piece of toasted baguette.  Sprinkle with cheese and balsamic vinegar, and top with a small to medium basil leaf.  Enjoy! 

Fun with Puff Pastry

I know, I know, I know...I haven't been blogging a lot, but as between studying for NCLEX and cooking our favorites (ribs one night, Italian Beef for a potluck at church) and no new recipes, I haven't had anything to write about.  Luckily, I had an inservice at work coming up so I decided to try a new puff pastry snack for the occasion!  I had a jar of roasted red pepper and artichoke tapenade in my pantry, and I thought that it might be interesting to mix it with some 3 cheese blend and make pinwheels similar to the prosciutto, cheese, and basil ones we love.  They were a hit at the inservice, and they so very easy to make!



So here's what I did...

Ingredients

1 jar Harris Teeter Trader Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade

1 cup 3 cheese blend

1 sheet of thawed puff pastry

Directions

To thaw the puff pastry sheet, let it sit out for 40 minutes.

In a bowl, mix the Tapenade and cheese.

Dust a cutting board with flour and unfold the pastry sheet.  Cut the pastry sheet vertically to make two sheets.  Spoon half of the mixture onto one of the pastry sheets.  Starting with the side closest to you, roll the pastry jelly-roll fashion into a log, pressing gently to seal long edges. Wrap the log in plastic, and repeat with the other half of the puff pastry. Chill the pastry logs, seam side down for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F and spray two baking sheets with cooking spray.

Cut logs crosswise into 1/2 inch thick pinwheels and arrange with the cut sides down, 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake pinwheels in batches in the middle of the oven for 14 to 16 minutes, until golden brown. Use a metal spatula to transfer pinwheels to a rack and cool. Serve warm.

Gettin' crazy with the pimento cheese: Pimento Cheese Cheese Straws

Part of the reason that made the pimento cheese Friday was not only to take care of my craving but also to try out a nifty recipe that I had stumbled upon here when I was searching for how to make my own pimento cheese.  Last night, Rick and I headed over to a friends' house for a holiday party, and even though I was told that I didn't have to bring anything, I just couldn't resist making something!  When I received our invite, I just knew that it was the perfect opportunity to try to make the Pimento Cheese Cheese Straws!  How awesome could that be?  I figured, too, that the fact that the pimento cheese that I made Friday was a little on the peppery side would translate well with this project.  The cheese straws turned out really good, and they were a hit at the party.  In the future, I may forgo making the pimento cheese with mayo and do a regular cheese straw recipe with the pimentos added.


So here's what I did....

Pimento Cheese Cheese Straws
Ingredients

1 cup pimento cheese
1 cup flour


Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix pimento cheese and flour together to form a dough.  Roll the dough into a ball and press out on a floured cutting board.  Using a knife, cut the cheese mixture into 2 inch long rectangles and place on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before serving.  


Enjoy!!

A Katie Hors d'oeuvres Classic: Prosciutto and Cheese Pinwheels

Back in July, I shared two hors d'oeuvres that took to a surprise baby shower for my friend Kim. Another of my favorite hors d'oeuvre to serve are Prosciutto and Cheese Pinwheels. The first time that I made them was for a Christmas party that Kristin and I had at my home back in 2003.

I have made them using all different kinds of cheeses including Gruyere, Parmesan, Provolone, Cheddar...basically whatever I have had on hand and sometimes I have even combined different types. They are really quick and simple to make and delicious warm. This is the original recipe that I used, but over the years, I've made a couple of changes.  In the picture, I didn't half the puff pastry.  Rick actually likes it better this way!

Prosciutto and Cheese Pinwheels
Ingredients
3/4 cup packed, grated cheese (such as Gruyere, cheddar, Parmesan, Provolone)
2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped
1 thawed puff pastry sheet (1 from a 17 1/4 oz package of frozen puff pastry)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 oz of thinly sliced prosciutto
Flour

Directions
In a bowl, combine cheese and basil. Lightly flour a cutting board and place puff pastry on it. Cut pastry to make two rectangles. Arrange one half of the sheet with the long side facing and brush the edge of the far side with some eggs. Put 1/2 of prosciutto on the pastry (avoiding the egg-brushed edge. Top with half of the cheese-basil mixture. Starting with the side closest to you, roll the pastry jelly-roll fashion into a log, pressing gently to seal long edges. Wrap the log in plastic, and repeat with the other half of the puff pastry. Chill the pastry logs, seam side down for at least 3 hours and up ot 3 days.

Preheat oven to 400F and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.

Cut logs crosswise into 1/2 inch thick pinwheels and arrange with the cut sides down, 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake pinwheels in batches in the middle of the oven for 14 to 16 minutes, until golden brown. Use a metal spatula to transfer pinwheels to a rack and cool. Serve warm.

A late entry: Lemon Chicken with Crostini

As my final semester in nursing school speeds forward and NCLEX gets closer and closer, my time to blog gets smaller and smaller. I may end up "creatively" utilizing some time during a certain time period on Thursdays in order to share some of the recipes that Rick and I have been enjoying on Wednesday nights. If you know me, you know that I'm pretty good (for the most part) at making the most of my free time. With two early morning clinicals this semester, Rick and I have learned which nights we can see each other and which ones we can't. Wednesdays and Thursdays have become our week nights together. Last week (yes, I know, I suck ;) ), we used some chicken that Rick had thawed out to make this recipe. Instead of doing the crostini that is included with the lemon chicken, we did a different version. I made the different version again over the weekend when my dad and stepmom were in town. I don't have pictures of these because, well, the chicken didn't look as yummy as it is in real life. Hopefully, however, my dad and stepmom will send me a picture of the stack of meat that we grilled out this past weekend. We used that awesome, awesome, awesome seasoning that Rick got from his parents and took advantage of the great sale that Food Lion had on t-bones!

Cooking has become somewhat dangerous with the kittens playing in the kitchen floor. As I sit here and compose this post, little Ty is "chasing" the little squares in the kitchen tile...and then in a flash, he and Weezy are off to terrorize some other part of the condo. What amazes me about the pets that I have had in my life is that the smell of sauteing garlic can bring them in the kitchen within seconds. Can someone please explain that to me???

Here are the recipes for your culinary enjoyment....

Katie's Crostini
Ingredients

• One baguette of bread (I like to get my cut at Publix, but if your grocery store baker won't do it, cut to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
• olive oil (extra virgin)]
• Parmesan cheese, shredded/grated
• Italian seasoning grinder
• Garlic powder
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Balsamic vinegar
• A splash of white wine
• Cooking spray

Preparations
Add drained can of diced tomatoes, minced garlic, diced onion, fresh basil, three-four twists of the Italian seasoning grinder in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray. In a small plate, pour some olive oil. Add two to three twists of the Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste and stir.

Place pieces of baguette on the sprayed pan (you may have several pieces left over). Brush pieces of bread with olive oil mixture and place back on the pan. Toast bread for 4-5 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from oven.

Change oven setting to broil.

Spoon a little bit of balsamic vinegar on each piece of baguette toast. Next, add a spoonful of the tomato-onion mixture to each piece of baguette toast. Sprinkle each piece with Parmesan cheese. Broil until cheese melts about 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.



Here is the original recipe for Lemon Chicken with Parmesan Crostini
IngredientsFor crostini

• 12 1/4-inch-thick French bread baguette slices, toasted
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 12 thin slices plum tomato
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

For chicken

• 4 4-ounce skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (white and pale green parts only)
• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions
Make crostini:
Place bread on baking sheet. Spread tomato paste over. Top each with 1 tomato slice. Sprinkle cheese atop.
Make chicken:
Pound each chicken breast between sheets of plastic to 1/4-inch-thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Lightly coat 2 chicken with flour; shake off excess. Transfer to skillet and cook until brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil. Repeat with 1 teaspoon oil, flour and remaining chicken.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in same skillet over low heat. Add green onions and garlic; sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth and wine scraping up any browned bits in skillet. Add lemon juice and 2 tablespoons parsley. Increase heat to high; boil until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Mix in lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to skillet; simmer until heated through, turning to coat.
Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Broil crostini until cheese melts, watching closely, about 1 minute.
Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon pan juices over chicken. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with crostini.



The only change that I made was breading the chicken in my favorite mix: Parmesan cheese, panko, and Italian bread crumbs.

Tailgatin' at home

College football season is upon us, but unfortunately, neither Rick nor I live close to where our teams playing this weekend. The Heels played at noon, but since the game was on ESPNU, I didn't get to watch it. Rick's game, however, was on Saturday night so we watched it here. I decided to do appetizer/hor d'oeuvre type dishes for dinner to give us a kinda tailgating feeling.

For our finger food feast, I made Bratwurst Bites with Beer and Mustard Sauce and Mini Provolone Popovers. Once again, I didn't make homemade bratwurst but instead picked some up at Publix. I did have an amusing conversation with the checkout guy about the difference between hot dogs and bratwurst. The poor kid thought that they were just expensive hot dogs while his friend who was working in the checkout lane beside of him and I just shook our heads at him. Ahh, to be young and clueless again! I also cheated on the beer and horseradish mustard sauce and used the test kitchen's tip at the bottom of the recipe to save some time and energy. I didn't have the whole grain Dijon mustard so I used 1/2 cup of stone ground mustard and 1 cup of regular Dijon mustard. The mini-provolone popovers were featured as the recipe of the day on epicurious.com, and being the cheese lover that I am, they definitely caught my eye. Rick suggested that I make some in the Tar Heel muffin pan that he got me so some of them were done in the mini-muffin pan and six in the larger Tar Heel pan. The ones in the mini-muffin pan got a little overdone, but they were all yummy. How can you go wrong with all that cheese?

Here are the recipes that I used:

Bratwurst with Beer and Mustard Horseradish sauce

Ingredients
Bratwurst
1/2 cup beer

Directions
Cut Bratwurst into 1to 1 1/2 inch thick pieces. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add Bratwurst to skillet and cook until browned on bottom, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup beer to skillet; cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until beer evaporates, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn patties over and cook until brown on bottom and cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.

Serve with:

Beer and Horseradish Mustard Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 cup stone ground mustard
1 cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup beer
1/4 cup prepared horseradish

Directions
Mix all four ingredients in a small bowl and chill for one hour before serving.



Mini Provolone Popovers

Ingredients

• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup finely chopped provolone
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

Whisk together milk, eggs, flour, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, and pepper until smooth, then stir in cheeses and chives. Chill 1 hour to allow batter to rest.

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third.

Butter muffin pan with remaining tablespoon butter, then heat in oven until butter sizzles, about 2 minutes.

Gently stir batter, then divide among muffin cups (they will be about two-thirds full). Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Suprise shower snacks!

My friend Kim is in town this week. I haven't seen her since around Christmas, and since then, she has moved to West Virginia. She is expecting her daughter, Chloe, in November. Some of our friends had planned a surprise baby shower for her on Sunday. Kim thought that she was going for dinner on Shem Creek, but we had other things in mind!

I was asked to make my shrimp bruschetta that I had brought to Kristin's party in December. I came up with the idea for these snacks by combining two bruschetta recipes from epicurious.com. Over the years, I have taken them to showers, parties, and on road trips. I even made them for Rick as a comfort food after he had a really bad day at work a couple of weeks ago. He loves them. One thing that makes this recipe even easier is having the baguette sliced at the bakery at Publix. It not only saves time, but it also saves me from having to deal with those messy crumbs!

I also decided to make these cheese puffs from epicurious.com that I have made several times for Rick and I. They are one of our favorites. Since I knew how much Kim (and everyone, too) likes hot things, I thought that they would be perfect! I like to do half habanero cheese and half sharp cheddar to give them a little spicy bite. This time, I made them a little bit bigger than normal. At first, I had a mild freak out moment when they didn't seem to be poofing enough, but I think that happened due to the size. Why is it that when you make something for a bunch of people it never seem to come out as well as when I make them at home? I was also worried that they weren't done. After they came out of the oven, I sampled one, and it was a-okay. My mouth was definitely on fire from the habanero cheese!

I'm happy to report that I came home with two empty platters. Luckily for Rick, there were two puffs and two pieces of bruschetta that didn't make it on either plate!

The recipes:

Spicy Shrimp Bruschetta
Ingredients

• One bread baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil
• Two cloves garlic
• 2 shallots, chopped (I have also been known to use 1/3 cup of onion if I don't have shallots)
• 1/2 pound shrimp (each shrimp cut into thirds)
• 3/4 cup light mayo
• 1/2 container of shredded 3 cheese blend
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teapsoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• Shredded cheddar cheese to put on top of each piece of bruschetta
  

Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat, and sautee shrimp, basil, garlic, and shallots until the shrimp is opaque. Place mixture on a plate that is covered with a paper towel.

Place the slices of baguette on a baking sheet.

Turn on oven to broil. In a medium bowl, mix mayo, cheese, paprika, cayenne pepper, and parsley. Add shrimp mixture to bowl and stir. Taking a tablespoon, add one scoop of the mixture to each slice of bread. If you need to make the mixture go a little farther, just add a little bit more mayo and cheese. Put a pinch of shredded cheddar cheese on top of each piece of bruschetta and broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese starts to broil. Enjoy!


Here's the original recipe again for the cheese puffs.

And then the one that I use

Habanero-Cheddar Cheese Puffs

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for sprinkling
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (packed) grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup (packed) grated habanero cheese1
• 1 cup minced green onions

Directions
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Bring 1 cup water, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat; mix in flour. Stir over medium heat until mixture becomes slightly shiny and pulls away from sides of pan, about 3 minutes; transfer to stand mixer fitted with paddle. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition to form sticky dough. Mix in cheese and green onions.

Using 2 teaspoons, form dough into 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch ovals; drop onto baking sheet 1 inch apart. (Can be made ahead. Wrap in plastic, then foil. Refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake cheese puffs until golden, about 30 minutes if at room temperature and 35 minutes if chilled or frozen. Serve immediately.