Cranberry Pecan Baked Brie

This has become my go-to appetizer to bring in December.  It is so easy and so delicious!  I get complements every time.  I found it on a website called Damn Delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 8-ounce wheel brie cheese, rind trimmed
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

FOR THE MAPLE HONEY DRIZZLE

AD
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Zest of 1 orange
• ½ cup chopped pecans 
• ¼ cup dried cranberries

INSTRUCTIONS

AD
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place brie on a rimmed baking sheet or a 5-inch cast iron skillet; sprinkle with brown sugar. Place into oven and bake until softened, about 12-15 minutes; let cool 5 minutes.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until foamy, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in pecans and cranberries.
• Serve brie warm topped with pecan mixture; serve with crackers or baguette.

Grilled Pepper Poppers

I know I haven't posted anything in forever, but this recipe is definitely worth sharing!  We had friends over and grilled last night and I decided to try these for an appetizer.  They are so delicious!  This is a Cooking Light recipe, and it came with the suggestion that if jalapenos are too spicy you can substitute with a milder chile.  I even think it would be good with sweet mini peppers.

1/2 C soft goat cheese
1/2 C light or fat-free cream cheese
1/2 C grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/2 C finely chopped seeded tomato
2 Tb thinly sliced green onions
2 Tb chopped fresh sage (I skipped this)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
16 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
2 Tb chopped fresh cilantro

Prepare grill to medium high heat.

Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well.  Spoon cheese mixture into each pepper half.  Place the pepper halves, cheese side up on a grill rack coated with cooking spray.  Grill about 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

I made this recipe yesterday for a Thanksgiving appetizer and these were SO GOOD! All the grown-ups loved them, the kids not so much.

Asparagus, trimmed

Proscuitto

Italian herbed cheese spread (near cream cheeses)

Blanch the asparagus by boiling it for about four minutes. As soon as you drain the asparagus, dip it in an ice water bath to cool it. Preheat the oven to 450. While the oven is heating remove the proscuitto from the packaging and separate the slices. I cut each slice in half to make each rectangle into two squares (this helped the proscuitto go further and made the proportions better). Spread each proscuitto slice with the cheese spread and wrap individual asparagus stalks in the proscuitto. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes.

You can skip the blanching step if you want, but I read that it helped the asparagus to not dry out while roasting. The asparagus really was perfect, moist and easy to bite into, while the proscuitto gets a little crispy on the outside. YUM!

This can also be a side dish, just gather several stalks of asparagus into each proscuitto slice.

Steamed Artichoke with Roasted Garlic Dipping Sauce

Artichokes were on sale a while back, so I decided to finally try making one myself as I knew I loved eating them!  Artichokes can seem intimidating to make for the first time (at least for me), so I found this recipe on Food.com and it was great at explaining what to do, step by step, and it was delicious!

2 artichokes
1 lemon
1 head garlic ( whole bulb)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used low fat)
2 tablespoons sour cream (I used low fat)
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Cut off the bottom stems of the artichokes with a serrated knife and rub the artichoke bottoms with the lemon. Cut about 2 inches off the top of the artichoke, drizzle some lemon juice over the top as well.

Optional: Using kitchen scissors, snip off prickly ends of each leaf for easier enjoyment later.

Place the artichokes in a steamer and steam 40 to 55 minutes, or until the bottoms are tender when pierced and the leaves pulls out easily. When it's done, quickly plunge into a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking and drain.

While steaming the artichokes, prepare the garlic for the sauce: Cut off top of garlic bulb (enough to expose tops of most garlic cloves). Drizzle enough olive oil over the cut cloves to drench the top and sides, sprinkle a pinch of salt as well. Wrap foil around the garlic bulb and seal at the top. Roast in 400 degree oven (I use my little toaster oven) for about 30-40 minutes until soft and roasted, browned around the tops and edges is a good indicator. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic cloves from their bulbs by pressing with your hands from the bottom of the bulbs to the top (cut side) into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise and sour cream, and stir with fork to blend well. Add salt if needed and black pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To eat the artichoke, pull the leaves and dip the bottom tender part into the sauce, pull the tender "meat" with your teeth on the bottom part of the leaves, don't eat (discard) the rough tops. Towards the inside you can bite off more of the tender bottoms of the leaves. Towards the heart of the artichoke, you will see pins and needle-like fuzzy stuff which you can scrape off with a spoon, then you can eat the best part of all, the center or "heart" of the artichoke.
 
Sidenote: I didn't have a head of garlic, so just seasoned the mayo and sour cream with salt, garlic powder, garlic salt, and pepper, and it was still delicious!

Asiago and Balsamic Carmelized Onion Focaccia Bread

Another Great recipe from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons honey, divided (I used agave)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 17 ounces), divided (I used white whole wheat flour)
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Asiago cheese (I used parmesean)

Preparation

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, 1 tablespoon honey, and thyme; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cool completely.

Dissolve yeast and remaining 1 tablespoon honey in 1 1/4 cups warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add onion mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 3 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Gently press dough into a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Sprinkle dough with cheese. Bake at 400° for 18 minutes or until browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack.

Maryland Playgroup Dip, aka: Black Bean and Feta Dip

This is the recipe for an awesome dip that we always had at the B-mo playgroup get togethers. It makes me happy and reminds me of some incredible women. As often happens, I brought the recipe with me when we moved and now it is sort of a signature Shelley dip, even though it isn't really mine!

Black Bean & Feta Dip

Ingredients

1/4 C apple cider vinegar

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C sugar

1 C feta cheese, crumbled

1 can whole kernel, sweet yellow corn, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 - 1/2 diced sweet onion

Diced red pepper

Frito scoops

Directions

Combine first eight ingredients and refrigerate for at least one hour. Serve with Frito scoops.

By the way, you really do need to let the dip sit before serving it!

Garlic Cheese Fondue

This really is my favorite fondue of all time, and I personally consider it even better than any dessert fondue I've had. This is the one we made last summer in California for fondue night.

Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb swiss cheese, grated
1/2 lb gruyere cheese, grated
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (or black if you don't have it)
About 2 cups white wine

3 garlic cloves, minced

For dipping:

Crusty bread

Steamed broccoli

Steamed cauliflower

Combine both cheeses, flour, nutmeg, and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Bring 1 cup of wine and garlic to a simmer in a heavy large saucepan over low heat. Add cheese mixture by handfuls, whisking until melted and smooth after each addition. Boil out the alcohol in the remaining wine, and mix in little by little until it reaches the desired consistency. Transfer to a fondue pot, and serve with bread, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, or whatever your heart desires! (although those originally suggested are MY favorites!)