Appetizers
1. Quesadillas
Note: Fill them with refried beans, cheese, leftover shredded turkey, chicken
or beef and add some shredded Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, and pepper flakes and
serve with guacomole or salsa. A 1993 Gourmet
Magazine recipe calls for boiling 2 red onions in some water, draining, and adding
some cider vinegar, garlic cloves and seasonings (crushed black pepper, coriander, cumin
seeds). The mixture is layered on the tortilla with some Monterey Jack cheese.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Brush 2 tortillas with oil.
Place tortillas, oil side down, on baking sheet.
Add fillling, leaving 3/4-inch border.
Top each with 1 tortilla, pressing to adhere; brush top with oil.
Bake till filling is heated through and edges begin to crisp, about 10 minutes.
Using large metal spatula, turn each over and bake until bottom is crisp, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to plates and cut into wedges.
2. Veggie Pizza Appetizer
Note: Our oldest daughter found this one: "It was online, but I don't remember where. Probably at one of the Bed and Breakfast sites. A lot of them have recipes on their pages. It wasn't terribly involved though." This is her humble version of the recipe (with a little massaging from the editor!). Very popular at Christmas dinners. She recommends sticking with the croissant dough.
1. You get a thing of Pillsbury Tube Croissants, and pinch them all together into a pizza crust like shape. They come out of the tube in triangles and they're kinda sticky so its a pain to get them all together. A few shots of tequila make the process a bit easier.
2. Bake it according to the instructions on the tube. The topping was a pkg of cream cheese and like a 1/2 or 1/4 c (can't remember-- wasn't much though) of mayo mixed together.
3. Add dill weed I think. And maybe onion powder and garlic. Whatever those spices were that we bought at the store.
4. And then just cut up the veggies and put them on top. You can use any veggies you want. I grated the carrots to simulate cheese and spread them over the entire thing, and cut the other veggies flat. But the cook can certainly use his or her artistic license. Keep in mind that it won't turn out as well as mine, so there's no point in even trying.
3. Jalapeno Poppers
Note: An eye-popping hors d'oeuvre for any occasion. Because the skin
on jalapenos is so shiny, it's tough to get the batter to stick. One recipe
recommends drying for 15 minutes after dipping in flour and egg and flour and repeating
the coating another two times. See also Batter Recipe and Seasonings for batter.
Alternative to the cheese filling: crabmeat blended with minced onion and green
pepper and some mayonnaise (Bon Appetit, 1992). Martha Stewart uses beer
instead of milk for her batter. Serve with some of Mom ('Ralph') Dorrington's Buffalo Wing Dips or Dipping
Sauces.
12 large jalapenos, slit down middle with stem intact (seeds can be scraped out if
desired)
1 cp Monterey jack cheese, shredded
4-6 oz cream cheese
1 egg
4 T milk
1/2 cp flour
1 cp fine bread crumbs
salt
pepper and other seasonings
1. Stuff jalapenos. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.
2. In shallow bowl, mix egg and milk. Place breadcrumbs with seasonings
a flat dish and flour in a separate dish.
3. Dip jalapeno in egg mixture then dip in flour. Place peppers on lined
cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
4. Dip jalapenos in egg mixture again, then in bread crumbs. Place on cookie
sheet and refrigerate another 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° during this period.
5. Place on a greased baking dish, cut side up and bake about 30 minutes, till
filling is runny and crust is browned.
4. Blue Cheese Dip Note: Inspired by Foodtv and Epicurious.com recipes. 1 cp sour cream 1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, room temp 1 t fresh squeezed lemon juice 1/2 cp blue cheese, crumbled 1 1/2 T honey finely chopped chives to taste Combine all ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste.