Appetizer #3 - Cheese Crackers

The Year of Appetizers 

Appetizer #3 - Cheese Crackers

    Published in 1991, this Whipping Up Something Good Cookbook was compiled by the Dallas School Food Service Association. Secretary, Jean Campbell from William Anderson Elementary, submitted this appetizer.  It took a little while to thoroughly mix up the ingredients and then to spread it on a cookie sheet, but it was worth it. These are yummy. Like Cheez-Its, only better, because these are homemade with butter and cheese. I would make these again. You could use them as crackers like the name suggests, or even use them in place of croutons on a salad (I've done that with Cheez-Its). 

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 stick butter (4oz)

red chili pepper flakes or Italian seasoning (Optional for an extra touch of flavor)

Directions:

Thoroughly combine ingredients (The original recipe says just use your hands, but I used both my clean hands and a wooden spoon) and roll into a ball. Flatten on a greased cookie sheet (I forgot to grease the stoneware cookie sheet I used and with the cheese and butter in there, they turned out just fine). I actually ended up breaking up the ball into chunks spreading it out so it covered the sheet. It took some time, but it.  was kind of fun. I lightly scored the dough, before baking, so it would be easier to cut and I think it helped, but you could probably wait to cut until you take them out of the oven. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and cut into squares. I made mine small, but cut whatever size you like. 

Cheese Crackers

Uncut Cheese Crackers

Carrot & Cabbage Noodles with Sweet Chili Sauce

 Carrot  & Cabbage Noodles with Sweet Chili Sauce

    This yummy recipe comes from the Thai Kitchen Cookbook - The Essential Guide To Thai Cooking copyrighted in 2000. If you're like me, trying to eat out less and you like Chinese and Thai food, you try and learn how to make it at home. This is a nice little cookbook and I look forward to trying more recipes. 

Ingredients: 

7oz rice noodles (stir-fry or thin)

3 tbsp peanut oil (I used canola oil, because the peanut oil I found was so expensive)

1 tbsp finely minced garlic

1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped (I used red shallots)

2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 cup carrots, coarsely grated (I had baby carrots and grating those was impossible; I thinly sliced them lengthwise and they were just fine)

1 cup green cabbage, coarsely chopped (I think I used a little more)

2 tbsp Thai Kitchen Spicy Thai Chili Sauce (I used a crispy chili pepper in oil)

2 tbsp soy sauce

Optional: Crushed peanuts

Optional: Cucumber, thinly cut like matchsticks (I did not use cucumber until I tried it with leftovers)

Optional: Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Dipping Sauce (recipe from the book below)

    1 tbsp fresh red chili, minced (again, I used the crispy chili pepper in oil)

    1/2 cup rice vinegar

    1 tsp salt

    1 tbsp sugar

    1 tsp garlic, minced

Instructions For Noodles:

Bring two cups of water to boil. Turn off heat and place rice noodles into the hot water for three to five minutes or until the noodles are soft, and cooked through, but not mushy. Rinse with cold water for thirty seconds. Drain well and set aside. Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large wok or skillet. Add garlic and stir fry for one minute.  Add onion and brown sugar. Sit fry for two to three minutes until the onion is soft. Add carrots, cabbage, chili sauce/chilis and soy sauce. Stir fry for five minutes. Add the noodles, mixing well and stir fry for three to five more minutes.  Serve immediately with sweet red chili dipping sauce and crushed peanuts if desired. Serves three to four. 

Instructions For Sweet Red Chili Dipping Sauce:

Into a small pot, add all ingredients and stir constantly over low heat, until the mixture thickens to a syrupy consistency. I somehow didn't cook this sauce and served it cold. Although it was thin and not syrup-y, I really liked it, so try it without cooking if you like. 

Carrot & Cabbage Noodles with Sweet Chili Sauce

    

Butterscotch BonBons

 Butterscotch BonBons

    I wanted to make something sweet to take to work this week and this is what I tried.  The recipe is in 1959's The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook. The recipe uses butterscotch pudding mix, hence the name, but you could easily make these with chocolate or vanilla.  It does call for peanut butter and nuts (I used peanuts), so skip this recipe if you have a nut allergy.  I also added some generic Rice Krispies cereal, because I thought the mix was a little sticky. I liked how these turned out and everyone at work liked them. 

Ingredients: 

2 pkgs instant butterscotch pudding mix (the small box which is about 3 oz)

1 cup chopped dates or nuts (I used chopped peanuts)

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth, since I was adding chopped peanuts)

1/2 cup light cream (I used half & half, which may be partly why the dough was so sticky)

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or 10 squares candy-making chocolate (Use chocolate bark like I did; you could do vanilla bark also)

1/2 cup Rice Krispies (brand or generic)

vegetable shortening

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips/chocolate bark/candy-making chocolate. Ensure all ingredients are well combined. After this step, I felt the dough was too sticky, so I stirred in 1/2 cup of generic Rice Krispies. Melt your chocolate chips/chocolate bark with a little bit of shortening to help with thinning the melted chocolate. You'll stir all the melted stuff together. Use a spoon to scoop out a bit of dough and roll into balls (1 inch or so). Dip carefully into chocolate, coating the ball and placing it gently on a tray with lightly greased (I used a spritz or so of cooking spray) parchment paper or waxed.  paper. When you've dipped all of the balls, place your tray in the refrigerator to set. When you're ready to serve, remove tray from the refrigerator and break off any little odd bits from the bottom of the balls. 

Enjoy!

Butterscotch BonBon

A bowl of balls (lol). Butterscotch BonBon balls.

Appetizer #2 - Amy's Crazy Corn Dip

The Year of Appetizers 

Appetizer #2 - Amy's Crazy Corn Dip

    This recipe is in The Women's Council of Realtors - Southwest Dallas and was submitted by Amy Deckert of First American Home Buyers Protection. There is no date, but I'd guess it's either in the 90's or early 2000's. It calls for white and yellow corn, but there's nothing wrong with using two white or two yellow (Like I did). Get as close to the size for the cans as you can. I liked this. Initially I ate the dip with crackers, but I also ended up enjoying it over rice and even by itself. *I actually made this two weeks ago, but just haven't been able to post until now.

Ingredients:

15 oz can white corn, drained

15 oz can yellow corn, drained

10 oz can Rotel, spicy or mild (I used a generic brand)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used 1 tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

one handful or as (much as you want, really) cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Mix together the corn, Rotel with the seasonings and stir in the cream cheese. Make sure everything is well combined and stir in the cilantro. Pour into your baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers, tortilla chips or even use it on top of rice like I did. 

Amy's Crazy Corn Dip

Appetizer #1 - Potpourri Cheese

 The Year of Appetizers

Number One: Potpourri Cheese

    This recipe is in my second printing copy of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, published in 1963. All I can say is this definitely is a 1960's era dip.  The consistency I ended up with was like a Pimento Cheese. I didn't know what to expect over all, but I think it tasted fine and I was good with the consistency (I just kept mixing until I liked it).  I am hoping that it tastes good after sitting covered in the refrigerator. You know that some things just taste better after the flavors have had a chance to "settle"? I am curious to see how it tastes on Tuesday.  I made this for my church ladies group potluck on Tuesday, so I will report back on how they like it (or not) and if I like it better after the flavors have "settled".  The original recipe says you can keep this in covered jars and that it keeps for weeks.  I tried it out on some crackers. I'm not sure that I would make this again, but I am glad I tried it (that is the goal of this blog; to try out recipes from my collection of cookbooks). You may like it a bit more than I did.  My notes in italics. 

Ingredients:

12 oz beer

1 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 lb crumbled blue cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tbsp butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp Tabasco (I didn't have Tabasco, so I used the hot sauce I had on hand)

crackers for serving

Directions:

Open beer and let stand. Mix cheeses, salt and mustard. Blend in butter, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. Add beer slowly, with an electric hand mixer, until creamy. Store in a covered jar or dish. Makes about 5 cups. Serve as a dip with crackers or you could possibly use this as a sandwich spread. I am intrigued by the thought of making a grilled cheese sandwich using this in the middle.

The mixing did not go easily. After mixing the butter, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, cheeses, salt and mustard, I used my mixer, but I was making a mess, so I ended up using my potato masher to blend the ingredients a little better and then I used my hand mixer on medium to high until I was "happy" with the consistency. It is creamy, but with little chunky bits.  I think the consistency is a lot like that of Pimento Cheese. I tested this with butter crackers and it was fine. Even though this has not been my favorite recipe, you might like it! So, if you try it, let me know what you think.  

Potpourri Cheese 

Potpourri Cheese 

The Year of Pie

 The Year of Pie

    Well, this was a fun year. I discovered that I have problems with cream pies. Most of my cream pies didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped; it was the too soft consistency of the filling. I learned that I am still no better at pie crusts than I was at the beginning of the year, but I had fun trying. I made one pie (Peanut Pie) twice; once for the blog and once for my church ladies' group and found several that I really liked. I made both savory dinner pies and sweet dessert pies. I wanted a mix of flavors/fillings and crusts. I feel I succeeded with that goal. Most were pastry crusts, but there are a few graham cracker/cookie crusts. On tap for next year's blog theme is "Appetizers".  Follow along as I make at least two appetizers a month next year. It's going to be interesting!

My top five favorite pies in order are:

#1 - Chocolate Brownie Pie (Pie #24)

#2 - Bacon Cheese Pie (Pie #10)

#3 - Peanut Pie (Pie #1) 

#4 - Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie (Pie #14)

#5 - Pork and Tater Pie (Pie #3)

Honorable Mentions: Sweet Potato Praline Pie (Pie #20), Buttermilk Pie (Pie #2), To Die For Chocolate Chip Pie (Pie #7), Lemon Icebox Pie (Pie #19)

 

Pie Number 24 - Chocolate Brownie Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie Number 24 - Chocolate Brownie Pie    

    This final pie in the Year of Pie is in the 1967 Betty Crocker's Pie Parade. The recipe says that it is a "rich, chocolatey version of pecan pie", but it didn't occur to me that it was actually going to turn out like it did with two separate layers; a pecan pie type layer on the bottom and brownie layer on top. This pie was easy. I recommend melting the butter and chocolate first, so it can cool a bit before mixing it with the other ingredients. The original recipe says to melt the chocolate and butter together over hot water; you can do this with either a double boiler or by adding the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl, fitted snugly onto a pan with hot water in it. I don't think it's really necessary, because as long as you heat on low, your butter and chocolate won't burn. Remove from heat and cool while you make the crust. 

I made this in a 9-inch pie pan. The pie "puffs" up while baking and you don't want the liquid filling to spill out when transferring to the oven. I thought the 9-inch pie pan was perfect. Finally, the recipe calls for pecan halves. I used chopped pecans, If you have chopped walnuts, that would work well also. 

    I made this pie for my New Year's Eve dessert. I served it with a nice dollop of whipped cream and a shaving of dark chocolate for decoration. This pie was really good. If you like brownies and if you like pecan pie, you really need to try this pie, because it was a delicious combination of the two. 

Ingredients:

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons butter (I used unsalted)

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

3/4 cup chopped pecans (a good substitute would be walnuts)

9-inch pie shell (make your own or use store bought pastry)

dark chocolate bar (optional for decoration)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a pan on low, melt butter and chocolate. Prepare pie crust and line pie pan. In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, sugar and corn syrup, until just mixed (I used a hand mixer). Add the cooled chocolate mixture (If your chocolate mixture is too warm, it could cook the egg and you don't want that) and blend on low until well incorporated. Stir in chopped pecans or walnuts. Pour filling into prepared pie pan. Bake until set. Remove from oven and cool. Serve while still slightly warm or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream. Shave chocolate over top for decoration.

Chocolate Brownie Pie