I wasn’t going to post any “bad for you” recipes; but I was looking through my recipe index and came across this recipe.  My Grandma used to make it for us when we were kids.  The ingredients sound a little strange; but give it a chance and you’ll be asked to make it again and again! 

I have over the years tried to “lighten” it up by using low fat cream cheese, low fat sour cream and sugar substitutes like Splenda in place of the brown and white sugar.  I will post the original recipe the way Grandma made it and you can decide which way you prefer to make it!  I am heading to Sunflower and buying seedless grapes as they are 99 cents a pound this week!  This salad will be a hit on the Superbowl spread!

GRAPE SALAD:

 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 pounds seedless red grapes

2 pounds seedless green grapes

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons chopped pecans

Directions

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until blended. Add grapes and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans just before serving. 

Be sure to bring copies of the recipe to your Superbowl party…you will be asked for the recipe!

Cheers!
Chef Kathy

I recently bought tomatoes from Safeway when they were on sale, the really good vine ripened ones!  I’m not sure if anyone else does this; but sometimes I get so excited about grocery shopping that I over buy.  Well that is what happened to me with the tomatoes, bought way too many of them!

So the day was filled with watching football, more football and we love to munch while we watch football.  So I thought lets make a margarita pizza!  I had never made one of these before; but used to order it all the time when I frequented an Italian restaurant back in the Midwest.

So I started with my old standby thin pizza crust recipe.

1 pkg.  yeast

1/4 tsp. sugar

3/4 cup water

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix the sugar, yeast and water (make sure this is warm enough so the yeast starts) let set for 10 minutes.  Then mix in the flour and salt.  Knead for 5 minutes and spread out on a pizza pan that has been lightly oiled.  Let the crust rest for 10 minutes before piling on the toppings!

I then took the tomatoes about 8 and sliced them really thin.  I gave them a sprinkle of kosher salt so they would “sweat” out some of their juice!  I don’t like a soggy crust!  I then took the tomato slices and placed them in a colander to drain off the liquid.

While the tomatoes were sweating, I lightly rubbed the crust with olive oil and then minced 3 cloves of garlic on top.

The next step was carefully placing the sliced tomatoes on top of the crust.  Go ahead and place them all the way to the edge of the crust.

Then I took a 1/2# of fresh mozzarella chesse that I bought with the intensions of making caprese salad and placed that on top of the tomatoes.  If you can buy the fresh mozzarella, it really is best for this pizza!

The final step is taking a lot of leaves of fresh basil and slicing them into ribbons and sprinkling over top.  Then I didn’t think I had enough cheese so I took a handful of fresh Parmesan and topped it off!

The trick to a good thin crust pizza is:  Move your oven rack to the lowest shelf and preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Bake the pizza for about 10 minutes on the bottom rack then move it to the top rack and broil for about 2-3 minutes or until the desired amount of browning is done!

Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before slicing!  Pour yourself a glass of vino and enjoy!

I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with pre made Phyllo Cups; but they are AMAZING! I started using them for parties and entertaining about a year ago. You can find them in most grocery stores in the freezer section next to the pie crusts. These little guys are so versaltile! I have filled them with cheesecake filling, lemon curd, chocolate cream – the list goes on and on!

Recently I was making some carmelized onion jam to top some grilled burgers and thought this would make a great appetizer in those little phyllo cups! And…if you added some brie cheese as the base = YUM!

If you’ve never tried Brie cheese, it is so creamy and yummy! The first time I tried it…embarassed to say; but I was trying to cut off the rind…I guess you are supposed to leave it on! However for this recipe, I suggest cutting it off because we want all the creamy brie and carmelzed onions to meld together! For this recipe, I used an 8 ounce wedge of garlic and herb brie! It was the bomb!
The most time consuming part of this recipe is making the CARMELIZED ONION JAM. I make 2 batches of this jam at a time, it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and it is great on sandwiches, grilled burgers or just scooped up with chips!
Here is the recipe for the CARMELIZED ONION JAM:
1- T. Butter
1 – T. vegetable oil
2#’s onions, halved and thinly sliced (1/4 inch thick)
1 tsp. brown sugar
salt and pepper
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1/2 cup red wine
Melt butter and oil in a 12 inch skillet over high heat. Add onions, sugar and
1/2 tsp. salt and cook until onions begin to soften and release some of the moisture, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook stirring often, until onions are deeply browned and slightly sticky; about 40 minutes. (reduce heat if onions begin to sizzle or scortch) Increase heat if onions are not browning after 15 – 20 minutes.
Stir in the thyme and cook until fragrent, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine and cook until it reduces to a glaze – about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Now just take however many of the Phyllo cups and place them on a parchment papered lined sheet pan. Place a 1/2 inch or so piece of Brie in each cup and top with a generous amount of the onion jam. Bake on the middle rack at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes or until cheese has melted and cups are golden brown. Give them a small sprinkle of parsley and serve warm with the rest of the red wine you didn’t use for the jam
Cheers!

As I am sitting here, I was thinking about the menu for Christmas Eve..Just going to have appetizers as we’ll save the spread for Christmas day.  Being addicted to food or a “foodie” is sometimes really mind boggling as I think I always should have one more thing..But a must on the appetizer list are these chicken wings – easy to make and they are ALWAYS a hit!

The first tip to these being so good is to TRIM, TRIM, TRIM off the excess skin.  I hate biting into a chicken wing and getting skin that is soggy. 

The second tip is:  don’t get the baby wings…get the big ones that are in the freezer section already with the tip discarded. 

The third tip is to marinate at least 2 hours – overnight is best…

And the final tip is to BASTE, BASTE, BASTE.

Here is the recipe:

MAHOGANY CHICKEN WINGS:

15 chicken wings – about 3#’s

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

2 T. chili sauce

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 cloves garlic – finely chopped

Red Pepper Flakes – optional

Thaw and trim the wings of excess skin.  Mix all ingredients but the red pepper flakes and pour over chicken.  Refrigerate, turning chicken often to make sure all the wings get equal treatment.  (A freezer gallon zip bag works good)

Line a large sheet pan with sides with foil (make sure to line the pan or you’ll be soaking this pan for days)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove chicken from marinade and place wings in a single layer.  Brush with marinade.

Bake for 30 minutes, turn, brush with more marinade.  Bake another 20 minutes.  But don’t forget to baste, baste, baste.  Depending on how large your wings are, it may take longer.  You will know when the wings are done when they are falling off the bone & sticky.

At this point, if you like a little spice in your life, sprinkle on some red pepper flakes and your outcome will be a sweet and spicy wing!

Now get a wet wash cloth for your fingers…cuz you’re gonna need it 

Happy Wing Eating!

Every year around the Holiday time, I get the craving for beef summer sausage(I miss hanging out with my friend Jodi, I could always count on her to have a stick of summer sausage and a chunk of cheese on hand for happy hour) and Dried Beef Cheese balls on Ritz crackers.  I try to justify eating these in my mind as cheese is a dairy product and we as women need a couple servings a day to prevent osteoporosis.   I don’t have photos for all of the recipes that I post, as this blog is going to be a work in progress; but I guarantee you will not be disappointed after you taste this!  Best of all it is a simple recipe; but keep in mind if  you can stand it; let it set in the refrigerator a couple of days before digging in.

DRIED BEEF CHEESE BALL

2 -8 oz pkgs. cream cheese*

1 teaspoon hot taco sauce (If you don’t like a lot of spice, don’t worry, you won’t notice that it is too hot)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4# Cured Smoked Dried Beef (this is kind of expensive; but worth it, be sure not to buy deli roast beef, not the same)

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

8oz. finely shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp cheddar but any kind will do)

*I have tried this recipe using Neufchatel cheese (low fat cream cheese) & the cheese balls didn’t set up like they should have.  I figure if you only make them one time a year, it is okay to splurge.  If you want to know the difference between cream cheese and neufchatel cheese just click on the highlighted link.

Let your cream cheese come to room temperature.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together all ingredients until well blended using a stand or hand mixer.  The consistency will be very soft, so put refrigerator for a couple of hours to let “set-up”. 

After making so many of these I figured out the best way or least messy way to roll these.   Tear off 3 medium size pieces of waxed paper.  Divide the cheddar cheese onto the 3 sheets.  Distribute the cheese ball mixture into 3 separate piles, using the waxed paper roll the cheese ball into the shredded cheese.  Roll each ball up in the waxed paper and refrigerate.

These freeze really well – you just have to roll the cheese ball in a little more cheese after thawing.