Sweet and Spicey Chicken Wings

These are so fantastic the recipe should be a bit more difficult. This was the main attraction (besides the commercials) for this year’s Super Bowl game. We served them up with various other frozen appetizer type things…….

1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
¼ cup Honey
½ tsp. ground ginger
12 chicken wings (tips removed) or 24 chicken drummettes


Stir the picante sauce, honey and ginger in a large bowl.

Cut the wings in half at the joints to make 24 pieces. Toss the wings with the with the Picante sauce mixture. Place them in a foil-lined baking pan.

Bake at 400 degrees…for 55 minutes or until they are glazed and cooked through, turning and brushing often with the sauce during the last 30 minutes of baking time. Discard any remaining sauce.

Note…….they like to stick to the aluminum foil. Next time a glass baking dish or baking stone will be in order…..

Endive Stuffed With Goat Cheese and Walnuts

1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 T. Honey, divided
Cooking spray
¼ cup Baslsamic Vinegar
3 T. orange juice
16 Belgian endive leaves (2 heads)
1/3 cup (1 ½ oz) crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese
16 small orange sections (2 naval oranges)
1 T. minced chives
¼ t. black pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine walnuts and 1 T. Honey. Spread on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Stir halfway through.

Combine 1 T. Honey, vinegar, and orange juice in small saucepan. Bring mixture to boil over high heat and cook until reduced to 3 T. (about 5 minutes).

Fill each endive leaf with 1 orange section. Top each section with 1 t. cheese and 1 t. walnuts.
Arrange on a serving plate.

Drizzle vinegar mixture over leaves and sprinkle with chives and pepper.

Pimento Cheese

I wish I could say I found this recipe, and I whipped it up as a quick appetizer to have while we were waiting on our steaks to grill this past Friday night but……it was the husband.

He found it in the April/May issue of Garden and Gun magazine…..one of our favorite publications.

This recipe makes about 1 pint and can serve 4 as an appetizer

2 cups shredded orange cheddar cheese (8 oz)
½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
½ cup pimento peppers, drained and chopped (7 oz. jar)
¼ cup green onions, chopped (use both the green and the white parts)
1 tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne
Dash of Tabasco

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and stir with a rubber spatula. Serve immediately with crackers or cover, refrigerate, and let flavors marinate.

Best to refrigerate first for a bit, but that’s our opinion.

Goat Cheese and Spinach Tartlets

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Vegetable oil, for brushing
1 large shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 1/2 ounces mild goat cheese, softened
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 large eggs, separated
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Chopped chives, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Place 1 phyllo sheet on a clean surface (cover the other sheets with a damp towel), brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon parmesan. Cover with another phyllo sheet, brush with more butter and sprinkle with another teaspoon parmesan. Top with the remaining phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Cut the phyllo stack into 24 squares, about 3 inches each. Brush a 24-cup mini muffin tin with oil, then firmly press a phyllo square, buttered-side down, into each cup. Bake until golden, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until translucent. Stir in the flour, then add the milk and stir until the mixture is smooth, 1 minute. Add the nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in the goat cheese, lemon zest and vinegar until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat and mix in the egg yolks, then the spinach.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the spinach filling. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into each phyllo cup and top with the remaining parmesan. Bake until the filling is set, 15 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan; remove and top with the chives

Warm Southwest Vegetable Dip

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatos, drained

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn

¾ cup diced green pepper

1 small jalpeno, seeded and chopped

1 small garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp tex-mex seasoning

Blue and yellow corn chips

3 oz cheddar cheese, grated

2 T. fresh chopped cilantro

Place drained tomatos, corn, diced green pepper, jalapeno pepper and garlic and seasoning mix in a bowl. Mix well. Crust 8 corn tortilla chips distribute in bottom of mini-baker. Spoon vegetable mixture eveningly over the crunbs
Sprinkle cheese over top of vegetable mixture. Place in microwave. Microwave on high 5-7 minutes till cheese is melted. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over cheese. Serve dip with remaining tortilla chips.

This is a Pampered Chef recipe.....

Snappy Cheese Wafers

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup butter, soft

¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper

½ teaspoon dry mustard

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup self-rising flour

2 cup crisp rice cereal

Combine cheese and margarine. Cream till smooth using an electric mixer. Add pepper, mustard, and flour; mix well, stir in rice cereal

Form dough into small balls.

Flatten with fork to make wafers. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet

Bake at 300 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Store in an airtight container.

Sausage Balls

1 pound hot sausage

3 cups Bisquick

1 (10 oz) package shredded, sharp cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients….Shape into balls and bake at 375 degrees.

TRUe Friends Meeting

I hosted my ladies' Bible study this past Thursday night. We began a new study using actual episodes of the old Andy Griffith shows.

After Christmas I like to go very casual and basic.....but I still keep my dining table set. It keeps us from trashing it up with mail, school papers, and just "stuff".

My iron cake stand inverts and turns into a server for appetizers. I fashioned a centerpiece with it using small apples and grapes.

I had bought the gold dishes before Thanksgiving, but liked them so much I went back and got them in the red color as well, so I could mix and match them.

After I cleaned off all the Christmas decor and garland I changed the look of the buffets as well....I bought smaller lamps. The tall vases were a Christmas present from Dear Daughter. The picture in the stand was taken on a trip to Savannah....it's a boardwalk extended out over a marsh.

The picture on this buffet was taken at my father's place.....it's my great grandfather's old tractor with the lake in the background. The tractor has just been left in the same place for years and years. We wouldn't think of moving it.

Tonight's menu included slices of cheesecake....

Tortilla chips with artichoke-spinach dip....

Pasta salad....

Savorings....philo dough filled with spinach and cheese. In front of the pasta salad bowl are crackers with pinapple-pecan dip

Mixed fruit with a choice of chocolate dip or cream cheese dip....

Yep, there I am.....

Donna and Antonette chowing down....

Katie....out newest member

and finally, there's Barbara....Look, she has a plate. She's eating something. :)

Hot Chicken Dip

1 package(8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

2 cans (9.75 oz) chunk chicken breast, drained

½ cup hot sauce

½ cup blue cheese salad dressing

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Assorted fresh vegetables or crackers

Stir cream cheese into deep baking dish until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Stir. Serve with fresh vegetables or crackers.

Carabbas Bread Spices

1 T. minced basil

1 T. chopped parsley

1 T. minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon chopped rosemary

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

½ teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Combine everything but the lemon juice and olive oil

Put into small food processor and chop briefly.

Stir in olive oil and lemon juice.

To serve: combine 1 ½ teaspoons spice blend to 3-4 teaspoons olive oil in small dish. Use pieces of bread to dip up the spices.

Private Quarters Party

I hosted a Private Quarters party last night. I had been to a couple and decided to host my own to share the wonderful products with more people. Several ladies in my circle of friends are familiar with Private Quarters, so we keep having the parties to provide each other the opportunity to purchase items on our wish lists.

My theme for the evening was Tuscan…..When I looked up Tuscan foods I discovered the dishes included a lot of beans and meat….not what you generally think of when you think “Italy”, so I went off the menu a bit and had things that were simple and easy.

Mainly I opened up a bunch of packages and jars.

I purchased some Classico brand bruchetta, and I served with Garlic and Parmesan toasts I got from Publix. The bread slices were very hard, but after spreading the Bruchetta on and allowing it to sit for a bit it was very chewy.

I used a long skinny basket I've had for years to fashion a centerpiece. I used a tupperware container in one end to hold some crackers. I draped a cloth napkin over the tupperware to hide it. In the other side of the basket I used a couple of small silk ivey bushes.

I used my “Taste of Home” appetizer server/cake server to hold some fresh fruit and I mixed up some Ricotta Fruit Dip in my blender. Mix ½ cup low fat ricotta cheese; 4 oz. cream cheese, softened; 3 T. orange juice; 2 T. powdered sugar in the blender. Add mixture to one 6 oz. container vanilla low fat yogurt. Stir well and transfer to serving bowl. Serve with cut up fruit.

For the marinated mozzarella I took a pound and a half of cheese and sliced it into chunks. I mixed up 6-8 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 T. chopped basil ( I used dried, but the recipe called for fresh), ½ t. crushed red pepper, and ¼ t. ground sea salt. I put the cheese in my serving bowl and drizzled the olive oil mixture over it. Very pretty…very good.

The chickpea salad came from the Publix deli.

I also sliced up some salami and had some garlic and herb cheese spread for the crackers.

Lemon Glazed Poundcake from the Publix bakery.

We had tea and coffee to drink, and since the invites stated I would have wine (the Private Quarters representative did the invites for me) I picked up a bottle each of white and red suitable for light appetizer fare including fruits.

I purchased Beringer California collection. The red wine was actually a white merlot (2007). The white was a Moscato (2008) and the label states it is a floral-scented wine with the aroma of honeysuckle and fruity flavors.

It was not to be, however. I didn’t have any takers for a glass of wine, so hubby and I will enjoy it over the weekend as we finish off the leftovers.

Our tea....

Savory Spinach and Cheese bites from the freezer section....

....and some coffee all set up and ready to go if someone wanted it.

Here are some of the party guests: