Apps and Wine Party Wrap Up

The weekend before Christmas, we hosted an Appetizers and Wine party. It all stemmed after Mr. Tote and I attended a client appreciation event where they served us shrimp cocktail shooters in shot glasses. Now, I've seen this done many times before, but I had put the idea in the back of my mind. Seeing these beauties at the party reminded me that I never did make those darn things. Hence, the reason for the holiday get together. So we had 11 of our friends over, along with three children under the age of 2. We asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine, while we supplied the food goodies. Below is the menu we served...

Roast Beef and Sharp Cheddar Sandwiches
Ham and Aged White Cheddar Sandwiches

Stone Ground Honey Mustard - recipe follows

Creamy Horseradish - recipe follows

Shrimp Cocktail Shooters with a salt and pepper rim - recipe follows

Pesto Pinwheels from Ellie at Vintage Victuals

Buffalo Chicken Dip, aka Chicken Shit

Baked brie with walnuts and apricot preserves inspired from Vintage Victuals

Veggie tray with ranch dip

For desserts we had:

Rocky Road Fudge

Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies from Shelby at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

Hershey Pretzel Bites

I added some fun DIY touches to our "counterscape." To avoid having to use regular old plates for serving, I grabbed a few spare tiles and used other items around the house to raise them up. This worked great for the shrimp cocktail shooters because I hid a big bowl of ice in the shadow box frame to keep the shrimp cold.

I also picked up some holiday colored paint swatches from Lowe's and used a white pen to put signs up for all of the food. This really came in handy for when folks were wondering what the heck was wrapped up in dough (the brie with walnuts and apricot preserves).

Mr. Tote was so helpful!

The sandwich platter took a reeeaaaallllly long time to make. I purchased rolls that had to be baked and sliced in half. Then I had to slice the cheese thinly off the blocks I bought. It was really time consuming, but they turned out so cute.
With the sandwiches, I served some stone ground honey mustard and creamy horseradish.

Stone Ground Honey Mustard
1/2 C stone ground mustard
2 Tbsp honey

In a small bowl, microwave the honey for 20-30 seconds, or until thin. Mix in the mustard with a fork until fully incorporated. Refrigerate until serving.

Creamy Horseradish
1/3 C mayonnaise
1/3 C sour cream
1/3 C horseradish

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving.

As I mentioned earlier, the inspiration for this party came from some cocktail shrimp shooters I had at a client appreciation party. Their shrimp were served in a tall glass shotglass with WAAAAAY too much cocktail sauce for one little shrimpy. So I headed to Party City to pick up some 1.5 oz. clear plastic shot glasses.

I wet the rims of the cups with a sponge and dipped them into a mixture coarse kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper in a shallow dish. Now I know how bartenders feel when they have to rim margarita and daquiri glasses with sugar or salt.

I made the cocktail sauce with about a cup of ketchup, a third of a cup of horseradish and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Here are some additional pictures of the food.
The rocky road fuuuuuuuuuuuudge...

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I feel so blessed that I was able to spend lots of time with my family and friends.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

First, let me say thank you to my brother in law. Without Calvin, I wouldn't have pounds upon pounds of venison to use in my cooking. Sausage, brats, ground venison, steaks. You name it. He shares it. So, thanks Cal! Keep it coming!

I like my spaghetti sauce light on the meat and FULL of veggies. I threw this recipe together using Joelen’s recipe for guidance.

1 lb venison sausage
4-5 lbs brandywine tomatoes (6-8 large ones)
1 zucchini
8 oz. mushrooms
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 C packed fresh basil
1 C fresh packed spinach
1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs

Brown the sausage and set aside, draining any excess liquid.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, but only fill the pot half way full. Blanch the tomatoes, two at a time, by cutting an “X” in the bottom of the tomatoes and then cooking them in the boiling water for 15-30 seconds. Set them aside to cool on a cutting board. When cool enough to the touch, peel the skin from the tomatoes and discard.

Quarter the tomatoes and place them in batches into a blender. Puree until most of the chunks are broken up. Feel free to leave it chunkier or less chunky, depending on your preference.

In a sautee pan, add a little olive oil and sautee the onions and garlic together. Ready your sauce pot(s). I needed two because this sauce produced over 10 cups of finished product.

To the pureed tomatoes, add the venison sausage and sautéed garlic and onions. Chop up the bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms. Finely slice the basil. Add all of these, plus the spinach and dried herbs to the pot.

Simmer for at least three hours or until the sauce reduces and thickens.

Serve however you’d like! I froze this in two heaping ladle increments, which produced 6 freezer bags worth of sauce.

Pork Scallopini with Butter White Wine Caper Sauce

We'll be adding this one to the "Meals Fit for Guests" list. So yummy!!! I was inspired by this recipe, but since I couldn't actually find the recipe, I just kinda guessed on ingredients and amounts. Good guesses because this dish ROCKED!

1/2 Pork Tenderloin
1 Tbsp capers
1/3 C white wine
3 Tbsp butter
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1/3 C Flour
1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground pepper

This recipe can easily be doubled to use a whole pork tenderloin for 4 people, or two extra hungry peeps.

Slice the pork tenderloin into ½ inch slices on a diagonal. Pound thin between plastic wrap with a meat mallet or other suitable device. In our case, a large iron skillet worked great.

In a shallow dish, mix the flour, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp butter. Coat the pork pieces in the flour mixture and then place in the bubbly butter. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side and then transfer to a warm plate. If needed, do this in two batches, depending on the size of the skillet.

Heat an additional tablespoon of butter in the same skillet. Add the chopped shallot and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add the capers and white wine. Allow to reduce just a little before adding the final tablespoon of butter. Mix slowly to incorporate and remove immediately from the heat.

Spoon the sauce over the pork medallions and serve. I served this with two "white" sides. I know, food plating "no no" but we are still getting back in the groove since our return from Mexico, so I used what I had on hand. This included some smashed potatoes and some leftover cauliflower mash that my mom gave us. Yummy!!! If I can get her recipe, I'll be sure to post!

Green Goddess Dressing

*Image from Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes

Another fabulous find from Gina’s Weight Watchers Recipes! With basil coming out of my ears and hesitancy to make high fat pesto, I was eager to make this salad dressing. I apologize for not having a good picture of it. It turned out fantastic and was gone before I could get a good picture of it.

1/2 cup light mayonnaise, such as Hellman's
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, packed
1/8 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp anchovy paste – I skipped this
1/2 cup light sour cream

Place all ingredients except for sour cream in a blender and blend until smooth. Add sour cream and process until blended. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette

Earlier this summer, when the berries were plentiful, I attempted Ellie's Fresh Blackberry Vinaigrette over at Vintage Victuals. Her recipes are very savory; you should definitely check her out. With raspberries on hand, I used them instead of the blackberries. I also used my favorite Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar.

4 ounces of fresh raspberries, washed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
Apx. 2 tablespoons red onion, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a blender or small food processor, puree the raspberries with the lemon juice. Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer to remove the seeds. Pour the resulting raspberry juice back into the processor.

Add the vinegar, the garlic, and the red onion. Pulse to blend. Next, stream in the extra virgin olive oil with the processor on medium speed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh salad greens.

Creamy Chicken with Cilantro

This recipe was inspired by Mary Ellen's Creamy Dill Chicken. I pretty much took all the ingredients she used and modified them to what was in my pantry. Instead of lemon juice, I used lime. Instead of peas, I used corn. Instead of dill, I used cilantro. Etc, etc.

Matt absolutely loved this dish and told me to add it to our normal rotation, whatever that means :-)

Juice of 1 lime
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided, plus more as needed
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
3 tablespoons finely minced fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
1 tablespoon corn starch

Combine lime juice and cream in a small bowl. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Don't be afraid if it starts to separate. I was worried, but it turned out just fine.

Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels.

Dredge lightly in the 1/2 cup flour, seasoned with pepper and salt, shaking off any excess.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken. Cook, turning once, until nicely browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total.

Add 1/2 cup broth, reduce the heat and cover. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. (Check to make sure the pan juices don’t run dry. If necessary, add more broth, a tablespoonful at a time, to prevent scorching.) Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board and tent with foil.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup broth to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 2 to 4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium, add the reserved lime cream and bring to a simmer.

Mix the corn starch with 2 Tbsp COLD water. Gradually whisk in the corstarch mix, until the sauce coats the spoon, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in thawed corn.

Reduce the heat to low and return the chicken to the pan along with the cilantro. Turn to coat with the sauce and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Slice the chicken and serve with the sauce, garnished with sprigs of cilantro, if desired.

Like Mary Ellen, I served this over egg noodles. It was excellent!

Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette with Roasted Hazelnut Oil

I have this amazing Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar from Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars in Traverse City. I could drink the whole bottle, but I think Matt would be a little suspicious if it all just disappeared. Around Christmastime, I received some Roasted Hazelnut Oil from a gal up at Shanty Creek Resorts. Her husband is a chef and she was able to pick some up for me. The aroma of this stuff is heavenly.

2 Tbsp Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbsp Roasted Hazelnut Oil
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

We bought some fantastic looking filet mignon the other day. They were each about 8 oz., so they didn't need any sides. We served it with some fresh green beans and one of my favorites, creamy horseradish.

Check out the grill marks on those babies! My husband is an excellent griller!

All measures are approximate. I always just do it to taste.

3 Tbsp reduced fat sour cream
1 Tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Reese creamy horseradish - this is the hottest horseradish I have found. If you use jarred horseradish found in the refrigerated section at the grocery store, you will probably need to use some extra if you like your sauce spicier.
Italian parsley, chopped - I used this only because I had it on hand. I don't feel it did much to enhance the flavor, but it added a nice color.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes or longer to allow flavors to develop.

New York Strip with Blue Cheese Sauce and Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Our local market had a great deal on some fantastic looking New York Strip steaks. We bought a larger steak, trimmed it of all fat and made two perfect morsels of steak. We also bought some brussel sprouts from Meijer because I was craving them... note that I have never had brussel sprouts in my life. We roasted them and they were excellent! I can't wait for our local farmer's market to open for the summer so we can buy some locally made brussel sprouts!

But the real highlight of the dinner was the blue cheese sauce. This sauce was so simple, yet complemented the steak so well.

We pan seared the steak to the perfect medium-rare preparation that I love so much. After removing the steak from the skillet, I added some roughly sliced button mushrooms and sauteed until soft. Then I added 1/2 cup half and half and brought it up to temperature. Then I added 1/4 cup of Treasure Cove reduced fat blue cheese crumbles. The sauce needed just a moment to thicken before we poured it over the steak.

I can't say enough about the simplicity of this sauce. With the delicious steak and my new-found treasure in brussel sprouts, this was a hit. Matt couldn't stop raving about it between bites. We can't wait to make this one again!

Almond Crusted Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

What a healthy, yummy treat this was! I found this recipe in the April 2009 issue of Eating Well magazine. It called for pork tenderloin medallions which I bet would be equally tasty. Baking these strips kept them nice and healthy and the honey mustard sauce provided a complementary tangy zip.

1 eight oz. chicken breast, cut lengthwise and then into thin strips
1 C coarse dry breadcrumbs
1/2 C sliced almonds, crushed
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg white, beaten (or 1/4 C Egg Beaters)
1/4 C honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place breadcrumbs, almonds, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and mix well.

Place egg white in another shallow bowl. Dip both sides of chicken pieces in eggs white, then evenly coat with almond mixture. Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and coat both sides with cooking spray.

Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 16 to 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the honey, soy sauce and mustard in a small bowl (I used too small of a bowl. I couldn’t break apart the mustard. Be sure to use a big enough bowl that the whisk can break apart the mustard).

Serve the chicken strips with the honey mustard sauce.

WW Points per serving (half the recipe): 6 Points

Chicken with Scallion Sauce

8 oz fat-free chicken broth
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, (two 4 oz pieces)
1/3 cup(s) scallion(s), finely chopped, divided
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine broth, garlic and thyme; set aside.

Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Toss the chicken with the flour, then add to the skillet and cook 6 to 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Add scallions to the pan and sautee until slightly soft. Pour broth mixture into the pan and bring to a boil, then simmer. Mix the cornstarch with 4 Tbsp. COLD water. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture until the broth thickens to a sauce.

Pour sauce evenly over chicken. Serve with choice of sides.

Weight Watchers Points per Serving: 4 Points

The Mustard Sauce... aka St. Patrick's Day Wrap Up

One of my absolute favorite holidays is St. Patrick's Day. It doesn't get any better than overflowing pints of Guiness (one of my favorite beers) with lots of corned beef and cabbage. My mom always used to make a big feast to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and it's one of my favorite memories.

Matt and I started a "tradition" a few years ago by hosting a St. Patrick's Day party for our friends. So, this year, we planned our 3rd Annual St. Patrick's Day event. We purchased 11 pounds of corned beef, 2 heads of cabbage, 2.5 pounds of carrots and 3 pounds of potatoes. 16 of our friends turned out to watch Purdue win the Big Ten tournament (Booooooo!) Not surprisingly, when all was said and done, all of the corned beef had dissapeared and all that was left was cabbage. That's fine by me... I love the stuff.

But the meat and veggies would be meaningless without The Mustard Sauce. For me, I can't imagine the meal without the sauce. The recipe dates back at least to my great grandmother (my mom's mom's mom). Without further ado, what follows is the recipe for the sauce.

Mustard Sauce
2 eggs
2/3 C apple cider vinegar
1/3 C brown sugar, packed
1/4 C white, granulated sugar
1/4 C mustard

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan BEFORE turning the heat on. Turn the heat on low and stir constantly to avoid the egg scrambling. The sauce will begin to thicken after 10 minutes or so. Keep stirring until sauce fully thickens. Remove from heat until the rest of the meal is ready.

Below are my tips for making the corned beef and related veggies. I would recommend reading the whole list before doing anything, just to get a feel for the flow of getting everything cooked properly.
1. Wash the corned beef brisket VERY WELL before cooking
2. Put the brisket in a large pot and cover with water, at least 1-2 inches above the top of the beef. Put a lid on the pot and simmer for hours. I cooked mine (each 3-4 pounds) for 7 hours on low heat.
3. Remove the corned beef, reserving all of the liquid. You can keep the corned beef warm in a 225 degree oven, covering the corned beef with foil. If there is fat on one side of the corned beef (there probably is), leave it... for now.
4. Return the reserved liquid to a pot and place the peeled, quartered potatoes in the pot. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes seem done.
5. Reserve the liquid. Add the potatoes to the pan in the oven with the corned beef. Return the liquid to the pot and add the carrots. Boil them until they're soft (abotu 10-15 minutes).
6. Add the carrots to the oven, reserving the same liquid.
7. Add the quartered, cored green cabbage to the liquid and boil for abotu 10 minutes, or until soft. Once the cabbage is done, you can finally discard the liquid.
8. When you're ready to serve, place the corned beef on a cutting board, fat side up. Using the side of a sharp knife, scrape the super soft fat off the brisket and discard. I've seen this dish served at restaurants and it always looks so gross because they leave the fat on.
9. Cut the brisket against the grain and serve everything smothered with the aformentioned Mustard Sauce. Slip into a food coma. Or have another Guiness. Or two.

Shrimp Ravioli with Carmelized Shallot Cream Sauce

Still recovering a bit from our night out on Friday, I was craving something carb-y and cheesy. I googled shrimp ravioli and found this easy recipe, using wonton wrappers for the ravioli. I completely modified the original recipe's sauce, which was for a basil cream sauce. Carmelized shallot just seemed like it fit better for the mood I was in. The sauce was absolutely fantastic. The carmelized shallot had such a sweet, rich texture.

The wonton wrappers worked good, but didn't have the "authentic" ravioli texture, like real pasta would. That being said, I don't have a pasta press, so the wonton wrappers were a very nice substitute. And I had planned to shred some fresh parmesan over the pasta, but like I said, Friday was a rough night and I totally forgot to add it.

Now, I want to make wonton soup. Too bad I used the rest of our ground pork on the Thai Noodles and Pork dinner from a few nights ago... I'm a mess.

My modified recipe is below...

1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 lb deveined, peeled, shrimp (if you have cooked shrimp, even better!)
4 oz fresh goat cheese
1 large egg yolk, reserve the egg white
1/2 half and half
1 shallot, sliced
1/4 C white wine
24 wonton wrappers, or as many as you need

If your shrimp are uncooked, cook up in a skillet with the clove of crushed garlic and a little butter until no longer translucent.

Chop the shrimp into tiny pieces. Mix shrimp, goat cheese, egg yolk and garlic (if you didn't cook it with the shrimp) in bowl.

Sautee the sliced shallot for 8-10 minutes, or until the shallot is medium to dark brown. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan.

Add the creamer and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced.

Place half of wonton wrappers on work surface. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon shrimp mixture to each. Brush edges with egg white (or water) and fold over to form triangles. Repeat with remaining wontons. Cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water about 3 minutes.

Serve with warm sauce. NOTE: I may toss the pasta with the sauce next time to prevent the ravioli from sticking together when plated.

Oven Baked Parmesan Tilapia with Dill Tartar Sauce

So, I am trying to branch out and create more of my own recipes instead of duplicating ones found online or in cookbooks. I browsed a number of tilapia filets today and came up with the recipe below. I am trying to incorporate more fish into our repertoire of meals and Matt has been somewhat leery of the dreaded “fishy” taste. Well, he loved the fish tacos and this one definitely passed the test, too! This fish was delicious and we both loved the intense flavor of the parmesan cheese with the seasoned bread crumbs. We can’t wait to make this one again!

1/2 lb tilapia filets
1/4 C all purpose flour
1 Tbsp caribbean jerk seasoning
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 Cparmesan cheese
1/4 C lite Miracle Whip
2 tsp dill weed (fresh or dried)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Juice of one lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small dish, combine with Miracle Whip, dill, mustard and lime juice. Place in the refrigerator to let flavors meld together.

Wash and pat dry the fish filets.

In one bowl, combine the flour and caribbean jerk seasoning. In another, combine the egg and milk. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Dip the fish in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then the bread crumb mixture and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until fish is flaky.

Serve with the dill tartar sauce and sides. We served this with sliced redskin potatoes and cauliflower.

Fish Tacos with Chili Lime Cream

First, I must say how much I LOVE my new lightbox that Matt and I made tonight. The fish tacos tasted amazing, but the lightbox makes them look even more incredible! OK, back to the fish tacos. This was just about the quickest dinner I have ever made. I was able to put it all together while Matt played with the lightbox as evidenced below.

Ingredients (serves 2):
1/2 pound tilapia filets
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 fat free 6" flour tortillas
Shredded cabbage or package of cole slaw
Shredded pepperjack cheese (optional)

For the chili-lime cream (from BHG, February 2009):
1/4 C reduced fat sour cream
Juice from half a lime
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in tin foil and place in the oven until warmed through.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the tilapia filets and salt and pepper the side that's up. Sautee for 2-4 minutes per side, until fish is flaky.

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the chili-lime cream.

When the fish is fully cooked, flake with a fork. Assemble the tacos with the fish, cabbage, chili-lime cream and pepperjack cheese, if desired.

WW points per serving (two tacos, without cheese): 7 points

Back to the lightbox. Here are the two websites I used for help:
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Inexpensive-Photography-Lightbox
http://freshfodder.wordpress.com/2007/01/03/diy-ebay-photo-studio-0/

Below is the finished product and, as mentioned above, Matt's professional photograph... ha! I couldn't have done it without his help, though!