Best cheese platters: 10 tips and suggestions for your appetizer or dessert tray - Long Island grocery Standard fare at an informal, or formal gathering usually involves a cheese platter. Yet, unless you are a cheese expert, it can be rather intimidating choosing what goes well with each other. We recommend asking your favorite local, Long Island grocery or specialty store's cheese monger what he or she suggests. Wherever you feel comfortable to shop, keep these tips in mind and take along these suggestions. Cheese platter tips Serve at least 3 types of cheese on a tray. Cheese platter suggestions Italian inspired appetizer: Ricotta (the freshest you can find) mixed with a bit of pesto; Fontina; Reggiano-Parmesan or Pecorino Romano chunks; fresh mozarella balls (or baby pearls) and/or Gorgonzola. REMINDER: The Holiday's are now upon us. Think of helping by donating an extra non-perishable item to the needy in your local communities Synagogue, Church or school drive. Looking for something specific on Long Island?
Baked Zucchini Sticks and Sweet Onion Dip: that bloomin’ zucchini! Today, class, it being late July and all, we’re going to examine our zucchini facts: •Zucchini is always at the end of any A-to-Z food list; •Zucchini and fruitcake are the undeserving targets of many a joke; •The zucchini plant literally grows like a weed, making it absolutely ubiquitous in vegetable gardens across America; •And for that reason, enterprising cooks have discovered ways to turn it into muffins, and cake, and pancakes, and… Baked Zucchini Sticks. You know that onion appetizer that came into bloom back in the late ’80s? These zucchini sticks, with their melty-soft interior and crisp crust, are reminiscent of those onions – and equally addictive, especially when served with their special onion-mustard dip. Ready to go beyond muffins, bread, kebabs, and frittata? First, find yourself 3 medium-size zucchini, about 9″ to 10″ long. That won’t be hard at this time of the year, right? Cut each zucchini into 3″ sticks about the diameter of your finger. Process until fairly smooth.
Individual Seven-Layer Dips These Individual Seven-Layer Dips are individually portioned dips perfect for parties and get togethers. No double dipping here! We keep it pretty minimal when it comes to toys for our kids on Christmas but yet somehow I feel like there’s STUFF everywhere! We’re swimming in Legos over here and just when I think I’ve cleaned up the last of them, I’ll step on one or one of my boys will drop their ships and Lego pieces go flying everywhere. I think my husband spent 6 straight hours on Christmas helping them build Legos. Seven layer dip is one of my favorites. All the pretty layers turn into an unidentifiable, unappetizing pile. My sister told me about the idea of individual seven layer dips as a party idea. The great thing about seven layer dip is that you can adjust it to your personal tastes. Now, you could make these in glass tumblers too, but we are pretty casual over here so plastic tumblers are the way we roll. These would be great for watching a football game or for a New Year’s party.
Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets Chunks of all white meat chicken breasts coated in breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese then baked until golden. An easy chicken recipe your whole family will love. What can be more kid friendly than chicken nuggets, even the pickiest kids like them. Serve them with ketchup, bbq sauce or whatever you like to dip your nuggets into. Adults can serve them over your favorite salad for a satisfying lunch. Kids love finger foods or anything you can eat with toothpicks so when my daughter was young I would make her a dish of bite sized goodies she liked such as tomatoes, olives, pasta, etc. and served them with toothpicks and she always cleaned her plate! Once I'm in breading mode I usually make breaded zucchini sticks as well and bake them all at the same time along with some pasta and a salad for a complete meal. Double these for more or make half for less servings. Ingredients: Preheat oven to 425°. Put the olive oil in one bowl and the breadcrumbs, panko and parmesan cheese in another.
Fried Dough Mozzarella Bites These weren't as crazy amazing(cramazing?) as they look and sound, but they were still very good. They definitely need a few tweaks though to become a perfect recipe. The main issue which I knew might be a problem from the start is that the cheese explodes out of the dough well before the dough is finished cooking. Not really a huge issue because the burnt cheese tastes great, but I have a few different ideas to make these a bit more awesome next time I make them. Little Cubes of mozzarella. I just used store bought pizza dough to wrap the cheese in. Right away I dunked them into a bowl of flour so they wouldn't be sticky. You can already see the cheese explosions. Still, really fun and really tasty. I'm gonna revisit this idea, it might not be for awhile, but it's gonna happen.
Skinny Queso Dip A zesty chunky cheese dip with chunks of tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic, onions, lime juice, cilantro and spices. Get the chips ready, this stuff is good while it's hot! Skinny queso, it sounds like an oxymoron, right? I stumbled on this recipe on Slender Kitchen and curiosity got the best of me so I decided to try it out. I served it with Beanitos black bean chips, love them! A few things to note: I personally thought this was best right after making, it was all cheesy and stringy. Skinny Queso DipSkinnytaste.com Servings: 11 • Size: 1/4 cup • Old Points: 2 pts • Weight Watchers Points+: 3 ptsCalories: 92.5 • Fat: 4.5 g • Protein: 6.5 g • Carb: 7 g • Fiber: 0.7 g • Sugar: 2 gSodium: 143 mg (without salt) Ingredients: Directions: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the milk with 3 tbsp of cornstarch to create a slurry; set aside. Heat a large saucepan on medium heat; when hot add oil. Add the chicken broth and the rest of the milk. Makes 2 3/4 cups. Adapted from Slender Kitchen.
Lemon-Basil Ricotta Stuffed Shells in a Champagne Cream Sauce: Can you EVEN believe I almost forgot to share with you this delicious baked pasta recipe? It was back in November when I made this pasta… and I remember the day perfectly… It was real sunny. My hair in a scrunchy, the stretchy grey comfy-pants are on, I was totally rocking the whole I-don’t-give-a-care-what-I-look-like-it’s-my-day-off look like nobody’s business. POW {that’s the sound it makes in my brain when a recipe happens}! Please don’t think I ran out and bought champagne. Butter a baking dish and set aside. On the large holes of your box grater; shred a cup of Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese. Season the ricotta with a little extra salt and pepper if you haven’t already. Combine half of the pecorino with the ricotta and set aside. Measure out 3/4 cup of champagne. Cook the pasta just short of al dente in salted water. Drain and spread them out onto a rimmed sheet pan or some parchment paper. Stuff each shell with some of the cheese and place them in your prepared dish. Ingredients:
Appetizer Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn Okay, we're not going to win any awards for thinking up this combination, but hey — these potato bites are easy, delicious, and perfect for a sports-loving crowd, should you find yourself surrounded by one this weekend. They even remind us of sports-bar food ... like little deconstructed potato skins. (Image credit: Emma Christensen) We decided to make these after countless evenings munching on these bacon-wrapped dates, which are also very yummy, but got us thinking about other things we could wrap in bacon. Potatoes? Potatoes could be perfect. If you can find tiny new potatoes, those would be even more aesthetically precious. With the creamy wedge of potato and the crunchy bacon, the sour cream dip is what pushes this appetizer over the edge. Makes about 3 dozen bites Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wash and dry the potatoes. Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Cut the strips of bacon into thirds. Cook the potatoes for 15 minutes, then flip each piece.
183. Jalapeno Popper Dip Game day! That's right, it has become a huge deal in our home to sit and watch football. It only took my husband 44 years to finally decide that he likes football. I thought I was one of the few wives left on earth that was lucky enough to not have my Sundays and Mondays ruled by a football schedule. It is a schedule because the NFL has the gall to play more than two teams on any given day…LOL I am saying this all in tongue and cheek because I love football. I have enjoyed having the time to spend with my hubby and with our kids. This dip is popular throughout the web and can be found on numerous blogs, Pinterest accounts and feeds. The dip can be made up the night before and the topping can be ready to go in a baggie. Recipe: Jalapeno Popper Dip 6-8 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crispy 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, soft 1 cup of mayonnaise 4-6 jalapeno's, chopped and deseeded. 1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded 1/4 cup diced green onion Topping:
Batter Licker » roasted butternut squash, caramelized onion and goat cheese tart Hi, my name is Kristen, and I’m a butternut squashaholic. When those beautiful, light orange gourds start showing up at the market, I can’t help myself. I pile them into my shopping bag, week after week. Sometimes, I just roast cubes of squash and pop them into my mouth straight out of the oven. But what I really want to share right now is a tart so good that I actually made it twice last week. The nice thing about this tart is that it’s easy and everything can be prepared in advance. Come Thursday night (and then Saturday – I had doubled the onions and squash when I prepped them originally), all I had to do was load the already-prepared filling into the tart pan and shove it in the oven for just over half an hour while I enjoyed a glass of wine with friends. Side note: if your friends are anywhere near as fun to be around as mine are, I highly recommend setting a timer. Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart Preheat oven to 400F.
Cheese Pinwheel Rolls Sooner or later, all my conversations inevitably turn to food. Don’t believe me? Call me up sometime and try to, say, sell me some insurance. I guarantee that before we get off the phone, I’ll be giving you my recipe for blackberry jam. Perfect example: I was in a meeting a few weeks ago at the office. What was the best way to make them? Ah, the Frankenroll This recipe borrows heavily from two fairly unrelated things. To make these rolls, spread pizza dough liberally with melted butter, sprinkle it with cheese and spices, roll it up like a stromboli—then slice and bake like a pan of cinnamon buns. The result? Fill them however you like The best part about these rolls? This is what I always refer to as a Sliding-Scale Recipe. You can toss it together with a ball of pre-made dough and a bag of shredded cheese from the grocery store—or you can go all out and make the dough from scratch and grate your favorite cheeses by hand. I like to throw these rolls together on a weeknight. Bake the rolls
Jalapeño Popper Dip I love any excuse I can come up with for making, and subsequently devouring, all sorts of delicious dips. You might remember that back right before Christmas my friend Beth held a “dip party” at her house. That gathering brought us the Buffalo Chicken Dip, Hot Reuben Dip, and the Sausage Dip. It was a seriously genius idea. This dip is everything that makes jalapeño poppers so addicting, and then some. One year ago: Salted Chocolate Shortbread CookiesTwo years ago: The Signature SaladThree years ago: Black-and-White Banana Loaf Ramen Hacks: 30+ Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Instant Noodles SLIDESHOW: Ramen Hacks: 30+ Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Instant Noodles [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Ramen in the U.S. has come a long way. That said, my tastes have changed and expanded considerably over the years, and sometimes that little flavoring packet just isn't enough. As a card-carrying member of the Ramen Transmogrification Society of Greater New York,* it is my duty, my honor, and my privilege to share with you some of our methods and recipes. For full, step-by-step instructions on any of these dishes, please click through the slideshow above. * Our membership is pretty thin right now—care to join? Simple Add-ins Mix-ins. The easiest way to quickly upgrade a bowl of instant noodles is with ingredients that require no extra cooking. Miso pasteChili bean sauceThai curry pasteJapanese curry powderFish sauceHarrisaVinegarPonzu Here's the answer: Just crunch up the noodles in the bag, tear off a corner, add the seasoning packet, hold the torn corner and shake it up, then consume. Eggs
cheesy baked artichoke dip in college i was a waitress and bartender at The Loring Bar & Cafe in Minneapolis. it is where i met alex, so it will always hold a very special place in my heart. it was a really great place to work - cool co-workers, great customers and excellent food. the one thing that we were known for was artichoke dip. i can't tell you how many times i ate that for dinner. it was incredible but since The Loring closed no other artichoke dip has even came close to replacing it. i have tried several recipes for artichoke dip that really sucked. too dry - to heavy - not enough flavor - i have covered them all. but this recipe is the last artichoke dip recipe i will ever need. it is similar to the Loring recipe - dare i say - it might be even better. let me put it this way - this is THE BEST artichoke dip! i apologize for the weird measurements - i doubled the original recipe because it just didn't make enough! alex did a beautiful job of modeling the dip :) Yield: Makes about 2 2/3 cups Preheat broiler.