Hot Artichoke Dip

Back before the holidays, I tasted the most delicious Hot Artichoke Dip that I had ever tasted. I'm embarrassed to say that I started off with a small sampling with crackers, but then returned for a more generous portion which I ended up eating with a fork. Needless to say, I asked the hostess for the recipe, which she generously shared, God bless her!

Like so many great recipes that I've gathered over the years, after I got it, I tucked it away and promptly forgot about it. Well, I pulled it out on two occasions recently, and both times it was a huge hit. Best part of all is that it literally takes about 3 minutes to prepare -- and one batch makes a very generous portion.

I figured with Superbowl XLIV just around the corner, now was the perfect time to share it. However I'll forewarn you though -- if you're watching your calories or fat intake, you may want to avoid it -- it's super rich.

You'll Need

• 1 14oz. can artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated or shredded
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese (this dip is better if you a high quality cheese like Parmesan Reggiano)
• 1 cup mayonnaise (I’ve used light and regular, and it is much richer tasting with regular mayo)
• a sprinkle of garlic salt

Step By Step

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Place in fairly shallow baking dish (8 x 4 loaf dish, or a pie plate works well)
3. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.
4. Serve warm with crackers or crusty baguette slices.

ENJOY!!

Apricot Cranberry Chutney

We're busily (read that - frantically) getting ready for Thanksgiving. Looking forward to a house full of loved ones...and already missing the ones who won't be here with us.

The next two days will prove to be crazy ones, as we ready the house, finish the last of the shopping, bake, and cooking, and set the table in preparation. I'm not complaining, it's really my favorite holiday of the year!

Anyhow, later tonight I will be making Apricot/Cranberry Chutney. It's a recipe I found a couple years ago, and is a delicious (and festive) option to traditional cranberry sauce. I thought you might enjoy it as well. I wish I could take credit for it, but I found it originally on allrecipes.com

You'll Need

• 1/4 cup diced dried apricots
• 1 (12 ounce) packaged fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar

Step-by-Step

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the apricots, cranberries, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves.
2. In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Add the dried fruit mixture and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a covered container.

The last time I made it, I did let it chill, but I tasted it while it was warm, and it was delicious. I bet it would be fabulous poured over cream cheese and served as a spread with crusty bread.

Oh my...my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Enjoy!

Graduation Party Recap

Wow -- I can hardly believe that this time last week I was scurrying around with all the last minute details for Amy's graduation party. It was a great day -- tons of fun, lots of food, even more laughs and a great celebration with family and friends!

In all of the preparations I rediscovered my love of party planning -- and cooking! I'm not a crazy gourmet cook but I think we pulled together a pretty good shindig, if I do say so myself! I really struggled with figuring out what to make -- so I hope you don't mind, I'm going to dedicate this post to a party recap, just on the outside chance that you're looking for some party inspiration!

The menu for the day included:

A 6-foot sub from Three Men & a Bagel in Trexlertown. It was 1/2 Italian and 1/2 Turkey and I have to say -- it was fabulous. I didn't make a lot of dips and appetizers for the party, so the sub was perfect -- and what a presentation! We had it out right from the beginning so people took whole and half pieces to hold them over while the hot food was being warmed up. Each slice was loaded with cold cuts...and they sent along all the fixings on the side (mayo, oil & vinegar, pickles, onions...plus a huge container of potato salad!).


If you're a Lehigh Valley local and you're not familiar with Three Men, you have to check them out. Absolutely the best bagel sandwiches going. Boar's Head meats, homemade bagels, everything made fresh for you! YUMMY. (Sorry about that diversion, but my mouth is watering just thinking about it).


Like I said, we kept snack foods pretty simple. I made a couple dips (Absolutely Onion, Dill, and Roasted Red Pepper) -- served with fresh veggies (celery, carrots, and fresh peppers from the garden) pretzels and potato chips. Friends filled in with Spinach Dip as well as a hot Tex-Mex Queso. Yum.

One of the great tips I picked up with all the party-hopping this summer was to use a small inflatable kiddie pool as an ice bath for the dips and "cold" foods. That worked like a charm. I also heard of someone using one of those under-the-bed plastic storage bins to do the same. People are so creative~ I was just happy to be able to borrow the idea (and the kiddie pool....thanks Lisa!!).


The main dishes were pretty simple. The hardest thing for me when I'm planning a party is to figure out how much food to make, so I'm including reference to how much I made, as well as how much was leftover. Hopefully this gauge will help someone down the road -- and if anyone has advice for portion planning, please share in the comments below. I figured on about 75 people (adults & kids) -- and I think that is about how many people were there through the course of the day.

We had:

• Italian Meatballs in sauce (15 lbs of beef yielded 240 meatballs, we ate about half)


• Roasted Turkey BBQ (like a pulled turkey in gravy) (I had about 20 lbs of turkey breast only, so very little waste vs. a whole turkey. There were about 5 servings left)


• Stuffed Shells (4 boxes of shells made -- only a half a pan leftover)


• Gram's Baked Macaroni & Cheese (5 lbs...only 1 pan leftover)


• Caesar Salad (one huge bag of romaine lettuce -- zero leftover)

...and lots and lots of rolls. I went WAY overboard on the rolls (10 dozen), thinking that everyone would have at least one, maybe two. Needless to say, we did a lot of creative things with sandwich rolls this week (stay tuned for "100 ways to use a brat roll." Just kidding).
For dessert we had the cake to top all cakes. It was, truly, the largest cake I had ever seen at a home party-- and positively delicious! It was 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla (with a slight almond flavor)...double layer with icing that was was light as air.
I wish I could direct my Lehigh Valley readers to the bakery that made it -- but the truth is it was made by a local teacher who does cakes as an occasional side business. Feel free to email me if you're in need of a cake, and I'll be happy to see if she can accommodate. I promise you won't be disappointed.


Friends and family rounded out the "dessert table" with a fresh fruit salad, brownies, heavenly chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, ...and a huge bowl of M&Ms.
For drinks we kept it simple -- beer, wine, Mike's Hard Lemonade, soda...and LOTS of water to combat the summer heat.
As for the highlights of the day --Amy's photo boards capturing 13 years of school and fun were AWESOME. She did a great job (especially considering my photos are in such disarray!). There were horseshoes going all day, as well as wiffle ball, kickball -- and the graduation party favorite -- ladder ball.



You can see one of the two photoboards in the background. Amy found photos of her with almost everyone who was coming. Hopefully two who didn't "make the boards" will be happy to know they "made the blog!!"



Thanks to all the family and friends who made the celebration so special!


Do you have entertaining tips you'd like to share? Post them here in the comments, or submit your best ideas at bhappy100.rtkt@blogger.com and you may just find your ideas in a future post on 'Round the Kitchen Table!

Debbie's Turkey BBQ

This is a definite crowd-pleaser. Melt-in-your mouth turkey that everyone loves -- even the kids!! I wish I could take credit for coming up with this recipe, but this is the specialty of my wonderful friend Debbie. (Thanks for sharing!!)

You'll Need

• One whole turkey (about 18 lbs)
• 2 chicken boullion cubes + water
• 1 can Cambells Cream of Celery Soup
• 1 jar Heinz Oven Roasted Turkey Gravy
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Step by Step

1. Roast turkey and let rest.
2. Save turkey drippings overnight in refrigerator (or if you're pinched for time put in a sealed container in the freezer).
3. Shred turkey and set aside.
4. When you're ready to prepare turkey, skim the fat off the drippings. Warm drippings in sauce pan, add remaining ingredients, and then stir in turkey.
5. Slow cook in crock pot.

NOTE: Catsup & vinegar can be added for more BBQ flavor. Add water/boullion if turkey gets too dry.

Great alone or serve on a crusty rolls for sandwiches.

Festive Fruit Pizza

We knew we were going to a friend's house for a Memorial Day BBQ on Sunday -- but the weather was so nice on Sunday that we spent the bulk of the morning working in the garden and completely lost track of time. Needless to say, when we checked our watches and saw it was 1:00, and we were supposed to be at the party at 3:00, I went into scramble mode to pull together a dessert to contribute to the celebration.

A quick run to the store for the ingredients and I was ready for action.

I really wanted to do something festive (aka red, white and blue). Since time was not on my side, I almost cheated and bought cupcakes from the bakery, but then I saw how beautiful the strawberries and blueberries looked and I decided to make a Festive Fruit Pizza.



You'll Need

1 tube of ready to bake sugar cookie dough
1 container of blueberries
1 quart strawberries
1 container of ready-made cream cheese icing


Step-By-Step

1. Remove from oven and let cool completely
2. Use large knife to loosen cookie from pizza stone for easy serving
3. Spread icing in thin layer on cookie
4. Rinse and drain fruit
5. Slice strawberries lengthwise, arrange on iced cookie
6. Add blueberries in the center and to fill in gaps
7. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar

NOTE: To avoid the cookie getting soggy, be sure it is fully cooled before icing, and be sure fruit is well drained.

Substitute (or add) kiwi, banana, raspberries and blackberries for variety.

ENJOY!!

Sticky Buns

These Sticky Buns are absolutely out of this world. They are super easy to make and positively yummy. Even though they're so easy, we usually only make them for special occasions like Easter or Christmas -- but these would be a great addition to a breakfast buffet or for overnight guests (they'll think you were up with the birds to make this special treat!).

If you're planning on making breakfast for your mom this Mother's Day, why not give them a try?

You'll Need

• 2 loaves frozen white bread dough
• 1 stick butter
• 1 large pack vanilla pudding (NOT INSTANT)
• 2 Tbs. milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans/walnuts/raisins (optional)

Step by Step

1. Let bread dough thaw and begin to rise in refrigerator. (I usually take it out of the freezer in the afternoon on the day before I want to serve the sticky buns).
2. Grease 13 x 9 pan
3. Sprinkle bottom of the pan with nuts and/or raisins
4. Pull bread dough into walnut-sized pieces and arrange in single layer in pan.
5. Melt butter, add pudding mix, brown sugar and milk, stirring over low heat until well mixed
6. Pour mixture evenly over bread dough
7. Let rise overnight on countertop or in refrigerator (I typically let it rise in the oven and set the delayed start/timer for a half hour before I expect we'll get up).
8. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
9. Let stand for 5 minutes in pan, invert onto a serving platter to serve.
10. ENJOY!!

If you're a coffee drinker, pre-program your coffee maker before you go to bed the night before and you'll awake to the smell of coffee and fresh-baked sticky buns.....oh what a heavenly morning!