Party food
This week I have a couple of great Taste of Home recipes for you! Every once in a while all of the Volunteer Field Editors are asked to make and review various TOH recipes. Last week we were put to that challenge. We were given a number of recipes to chose from, make them and share our thoughts. I picked three recipes and absolutely loved two of them. Third recipe just did not come together for me but I will be trying it again as I really like the flavors in the recipe. The first recipe I made and am sharing with you is the Cinnamon Pecan Bars. These are really simple and the cinnamon chips adds a great flavor to the cake.
NOTE– A number of volunteer editors had difficulty finding the cinnamon chips. I found them at my local Walmart, but I was unable to find the butter pecan cake so I used a butter cake mix.
INGREDIENTS
1 package butter pecan cake mix or butter cake mix
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup cinnamon baking chips
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine cake mix, brown sugar. Add eggs and melted butter, mix well. Stir in the pecans and baking chips. Spread into a greased 13 x 9 baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire cooling rack. Cut into bars when cool.
Enjoy!
I don’t know about you, but I feel like this year is already flying by! It’s almost May! I don’t know where the time goes. Easter was just a short time ago and Mother’s Day is just around the corner. I made this sheet cake for Easter and shared it with a couple of my neighbors as it definitely made more than we could eat. I also made another dessert for my Easter table. But, if you are hosting Mother’s Day this cake would certainly make a nice addition to your menu. It’s easy to make, large enough for a crowd, and sweet, but not over the top sweet.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, not drained
CREAM CHEESE ICING
1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine cake ingredients, beat until smooth. Pour into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
FOR THE ICING
Combine the cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with nuts.
Enjoy!
I recently had the chance to do a small catering job for my Mom, Lydia Williams who is an amazing photographer. She had many of her award winning photographs on metal and also featured on puzzles, Christmas cards, calendars, magazines and pamphlets at an exhibit held at our local library. One of the dishes I made was a goat cheese whip. It was a huge hit; everyone enjoyed this and it was a fabulous addition to my cheese board! So next time you are putting together a cheese board add this you will not be disappointed !
INGREDIENTS
5 ounces of goat cheese, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon honey, more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup pomegranate arias, plus more for garnish
Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.
DIRECTIONS
In the bottom of a stand mixer bowl add goat cheese and cream cheese. Using the whisk attachment, whisk on high until light and fluffy, this takes a couple minutes. Add honey, salt and pepper. Whip again about 30 more seconds. Add pomegranates and fold into the mixture. Transfer to your serving container, sprinkle with additional pomegranate, drizzle with a bit more honey and serve with crackers or baguette slices.
If you would like to see some beautiful photographs please feel free to visit my Mom’s website at http://www.lydiawilliamsphotography.com
Enjoy!
This is another terrific recipe from“The Chew”
but this recipe comes from Daphne Oz. I made a number of finger foods on New Year’s Eve and this is one of the recipes I made. This was so simple to make and had that sweet and spicy combination that we love so much. The ketchup and honey bring the sweet and the Sriracha brings the heat to the dish! I would say the most difficult part of this recipe is slicing the flank steak really thin. That’s why I asked my butcher to do it and he was more than happy to do so!
NOTE: 1/2 pound of flank steaks makes about 12 skewers depending on how thin the meat is sliced. You can easily double or triple this recipe. You will need wooden or metal skewers. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes so they do not burn under the broiler.This can also be prepared the day before a party and place skewers into the broiler before guests arrive.
BEEF INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
3 cloves of garlic, minced and peeled
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 lime, cut into wedges for serving
SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce with the cornstarch until it is completely dissolved. Add the remaining soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and sesame oil. Add the beef to the mixture, turn to coat the beef. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes or overnight.
For the sauce- in a small bowl whisk together ketchup, honey, Sriracha, salt and pepper.
Line a baking sheet with foil, remove the steak from the marinade and blot dry with a paper towel. Thread one piece of meat onto each skewer and set them on prepared baking sheet.
Adjust the oven rack so that is about 3 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler to high. Brush both sides of the skewers with the sauce and broil skewers for about 3 minutes (could be longer depending on the thickness of the steak). Turn the skewers and broil another 3 minutes or longer. You want the beef to be browned and cooked through. Serve beef skewers warm with lime wedges.
Enjoy!
If you have followed me only for a short time you know how much I love the show “The Chew” with Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz and celebrity chefs Michael Symon, Mario Batali and Carla Hall. I have this show on my DVR so I don’t miss it!! Over the holiday I made three recipes that I saw on the show and I have to say, I loved all of them! This particular recipe comes from chef Michael Symon and we just loved these meatballs! I served them over egg noodles, but you could also serve them as is, with mashed potatoes. If you are entertaining after you cook them and make the sauce, place in a slow cooker and serve as an appetizer. This became a family favorite after just one bite!
INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups white bread, finely diced
1/2 cup of milk
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
Pepper
SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cups mixed mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed (shiitake and cremini, thinly sliced)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 cups low sodium beef broth
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup sour cream
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Preheat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter, onions and garlic. Cook stirring occasionally until the onions have softened and start to brown slightly. Season with salt. Pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. In another bowl add the bread and pour the milk over the bread, soaking the bread. When the bread has soaked up the milk strain the liquid out of the bread and set aside. When onions are cooled, add the ground beef, ground pork, soaked bread, bread crumbs, nutmeg, eggs and salt. Stir to combine and season with pepper. Roll about 2 Tablespoons of the meat mixture into round balls and place on a foil lined baking sheet. When you have rolled all of the meat mixture, place in the oven and bake until almost cooked through about 20 minutes.
For the sauce-
Preheat a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden and crisp. Add the remaining butter and once that has melted add the flour and stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the beef stock trying not to break up the mushrooms too much. Bring the mushroom mixture to a gentle boil, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally and cook for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper add the Worcestershire sauce and whisk in the sour cream. When the meatballs are done baking add them to the gravy to finish cooking, just a few minutes.
Serve warm.
Enjoy!
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