RECIPES: Appetizers & Drinks

[zonetoncatfan]

From PsychoCat, sounds great!



Tortilla Roll-Ups

You may want to double the recipe

1 (8 ounce) cream cheese softened

1/2 cup mild chunky salsa

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 tsp minced garlic

12 (6 inch) flourtortillas



Beat cream cheese until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients except tortillas; mix well.
Spread 1 heaping tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on each tortilla, covering entire surface.
Roll up tightly.
Place seam side down in shallow dish or pan.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Cut each tortilla into 1-inch piecesAnchor these with toothpicks and an added black olive to each for color, makes 4-5 dozen appetizers....have extra salsa in a bowl for those that want it to dip in!

[zonetoncatfan]

A quick cool dish that's always a crowd pleaser around these parts is the following:

Mexican Dip

8 oz. cream cheese

16 oz. sour cream

1 pkg. taco seasoning

Mix all the above, spread out in a shallow dish, then topwith your favorite mexican-style garnish. I use 2 cups shredded mexican cheese, green onions, you could use diced tomoatoes, jalapenos, lettuce, just whatever floats your boat! Serve with tortilla chips.

[zonetoncatfan]

Capcat adds to the South of the Border feel...



This is a recipe I've made several times and that people seem to like:



Mexican Bean Dip

1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (12 ounce) carton sour cream (sorry, TRex)
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup picante sauce
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
Salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste
1 cup grated Monterrey Jack or Cheddar Cheese
Tortilla chips to serve

Combine beans, cream cheese, sour cream, onions, picante sauce, green chilies, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with grated cheese. Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees. Serve with chips. Serves 15. You may also cover with guacamole after removing from oven if you wish (I never do that).

[catfeverintennessee]

This is not an appetizer but I have made it for Titan tailgates and everyone loves it. (Plus it is very simple! My kind of cooking:ggrin:)

Italian Roast Beef sandwiches

1 to 2 lb rump roast
1 jar of pepperocini peppers
1 onion cutup
1 package of the dry Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

Put roast in crock pot and add dressing mix, onion and jar of pepperocini peppers including the juice. Add 1 or 2 cups of water depending on how much you want to "tame" the pepper and dressing mix. Turn on low and cook for 10-12 hours or high for 8-10 hours. Serve on hoagie buns with swiss or mozarella sliced cheese and mustard. YUMMY and easy! Plus makes a bunch!



Judy

[POEKLM]

An appetizer recipe to me should be 3 ingredients or less:)Can you say lazy?

Ham roll ups

ham slices, cream cheese, green onions ..... spread the cream cheese over the ham slice, lay a green onion down the middle of the ham slice (after you have trimmed it , of course) roll it up. Make your slices.

Chicken liver roll ups:D

chicken livers, flour, bacon slices....someone brought these to potluck dinners at work before. Just coats the livers in flour, roll a slice or half slice of bacon around it, secure it with a toothpick...Bake it til done. Enjoy

[surveyor]

Bacon Wrapped Grilled Jalapenos

Whole jalapenos (amount depends on the size of the group)
Black Diamond spreadable Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 lb of bacon, cut in half
Grill :)

Halve all the jalapenos and remove seeds (if you like your peppers hot, leave seeds in - I usually leave the seeds in half of them and save other halves for folks who aren't heat tolerant, lol).
Fill each half with spreadable cheddar cheese. Wrap with half a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
Cook on grill at medium heat until bacon is done to taste.
Serve with lots of beer (for the heat lovers) or lots of milk (for the heat novices).

[capcat]

surveyor wrote: Bacon Wrapped Grilled Jalapenos

Whole jalapenos (amount depends on the size of the group)
Black Diamond spreadable Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 lb of bacon, cut in half
Grill :)

Halve all the jalapenos and remove seeds (if you like your peppers hot, leave seeds in - I usually leave the seeds in half of them and save other halves for folks who aren't heat tolerant, lol).
Fill each half with spreadable cheddar cheese. Wrap with half a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
Cook on grill at medium heat until bacon is done to taste.
Serve with lots of beer (for the heat lovers) or lots of milk (for the heat novices).
The ingredients remind me of the way we cook doves during hunting season. We lay a jalapeno slice on each dove breast, wrap a half slice of bacon around and secure with a toothpick, then grill until bacon and dove meat are done.

[KY Blue in Carolina]

capcat wrote:The ingredients remind me of the way we cook doves during hunting season. We lay a jalapeno slice on each dove breast, wrap a half slice of bacon around and secure with a toothpick, then grill until bacon and dove meat are done.
That's exactly the way we do it down here in Carolina!

[capcat]

They're good that way...afriend of ourscalls it "Doves Diablo". I don't know if he made that up or if that's what they are called, but it seems appropriate.

[PsychoCat]

Mint Julep
A good southerner enjoys a couple of shots of bourbon in a mint julep. Try this one for your next Derby get together

Prepare at least a day in advance.

2 cups sugar
1-cup water
About 12 sprigs of mint
Crushed or shaved ice
Powdered sugar
Premium quality Kentucky bourbon

First, make simple syrup: Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan, and boil for a few minutes to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat.

Bruise the mint leaves, add to syrup and place in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

After it has chilled, run syrup through a sieve to remove the leaves.

Chill glasses in the freezer for a few hours. Remove and fill with ice (it’s vital that the ice is crushed or shaved). Sprinkle a pinch or two of powdered sugar over the ice and then pour about two tablespoons (depending on how sweet you like your drink) of syrup over the ice. Follow that with 2 oz. of bourbon.
Stir, garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy!

[PsychoCat]

The Perfect Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade

Ingredients

Makes about 2 quarts (8 servings)

1 cup water

1-1/2 cups sugar (Would like to try with Splenda)

18 – 20 medium lemons (3 cups juice)

5 cups cold water

1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

1 lemon, washed and thinly sliced (for glasses)

Preparation

1. For the sugar syrup, bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Pour into a bowl. Cool.

2. Microwave 5 or 6 lemons at a time on High 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, just until warm to the touch. Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice. Repeat with remaining lemons.

3. Pour lemonade into tall glasses over lemonade ice cubes (Using lemonade ice cubes, keeps from diluting drink) to make pour some of lemonade mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze until firm

[line]
Variations:

Lemon Sherbet Float

Ingredients

1 or 2 scoops lemon sherbet

1/2 cup make-ahead Lemonade

1/2-cup carbonated water

Preparation

Scoop lemon sherbet into a tall glass. Pour Lemonade and carbonated water over the sherbet.

[line]

Strawberry-Lemonade Slush

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries

1/3 cup make-ahead Lemonade Base

1-tablespoon sugar

1 cup ice cubes

Preparation
In a blender container combine the 1/2-cup strawberries, Lemonade and sugar. Blend until smooth. With blender running, add ice cubes, one at a time, through opening in lid until strawberry mixture becomes slushy. Pour into a tall glass. If desired, garnish slush with a fresh strawberry half. Serve immediately

[surveyor]

Drink

3 oz Makers Mark (or Knob Creek, Pappy Van Winkle, Woodford Reserve, Glenmorangie Scotch, Johnny Walker Black, etc.)

1 - Rock glass half full of ice

Combine the two above ingredients.

Enjoy.

:ggrin:

[surveyor]

My wife has a superb recipe for Bahama Mamas she enjoys:

2 oz Orange Juice
2.5 oz. Pineapple Juice
2 oz Sweet n Sour mix
1.5 oz light premium rum
1.5 oz coconut rum
1.5 oz Meyers Dark rum
Dash - Grenadine

Combine in shaker with ice and shake.
Pour into ice filled tumbler. Add fruit as desired for garnish.

[NC Cat]

The Perfect Margarita:

(This one comes from my uncle, who commanded of a guided missile destroyer in the navy. If there’s one thing navy guys know, it’s how to mix a drink!)

The recipe proportions are simple to remember, even after you’ve had a few! It’s just 3:2:1--3 parts tequila (I much prefer gold to that clear stuff) to 2 parts triple sec to 1 part Rose’s lime juice (note, they’re in descending order of alcoholic content). For a typical sized blender, I put 1 cup (that’s 3/3 cup for you mathematically challenged) tequila, 2/3 cup triple sec and 1/3 cup Rose’s lime juice in the blender, then add ice and blend. If it’s too strong, you can just add more ice to taste. For a smaller batch, I use ¾ cup tequila, ½ cup triple sec and ¼ cup Rose’s lime juice and add less ice.

Some GREAT variations to try include strawberry margaritas, peach margaritas, mixed berry margaritas, etc. All you do is replace the ice in the recipe above with the frozen fruit of your choice. (Berries with too many seeds make for crunchy margaritas, so I try to stay away from using raspberries). Strawberry is a favorite at our house, but we like the others as well. And for fruit margaritas make sure to use sugar on the rim of the glass rather than salt.

[surveyor]

The B & B near Gulf Shores in which we stayed last week offered a pitcher of this a few days in the afternoons for all to drink. It was Cucumber-Lime Water. It consisted of a pither of water with 1 sliced lime and 1 medium sliced cucumber - roughly 1 lime slice to 2 or more cucumber slices. Let sit for an hour or so prior to serving.

It really hit the spot on a hot, hot day.

[oruacat2]

NC Cat....not bad, but try this for a truly perfect margarita:

3 ounces of your finest (favorite) tequila

1 ounce of Gran Marnier (some people like Cointreau)

splash of Rose's lime juice

splash of sour mix

and here's the kicker....a splash of orange juice (really smoothes it out)

Pack a pint glass with ice, add all the above ingredients, cap the glass with a shaker/mixing-tin, and shake the hell outta the whole concoction. Pour contents back into the pint glass and you should have that nice frothy foam on top. Drink leisurely and repeat as necessary. The splash of orange juice is key, and substituting Grand Marnier or Cointreau instead of Triple Sec (all three are orange flavored) makes a huge difference.

KD

[oruacat2]

surveyor wrote: My wife has a superb recipe for Bahama Mamas she enjoys:

2 oz Orange Juice
2.5 oz. Pineapple Juice
2 oz Sweet n Sour mix
1.5 oz light premium rum
1.5 oz coconut rum
1.5 oz Meyers Dark rum
Dash - Grenadine

Combine in shaker with ice and shake.
Pour into ice filled tumbler. Add fruit as desired for garnish.


surveyor....your wife's recipe is pretty close to the one I learned many years ago toiling away at my first bartending gig. Nix the sour mix and substitute banana liquour instead of the Meyers dark rum and she's got it.

If you'd like to surprise her with a Rumrunner, try this one:

1 oz. coconut rum

1 oz. banana liquour

1 oz. blackberry brandy

3-4 oz. sour mix

splash of grenadine

ice as needed

Throw all ingredients into a blender, and blend until frozen smooth. Pour contents into your glass...and top the drink offwith a "float" (just a splash) of Meyer's dark rum. Repeat as needed.

KD

[surveyor]

Thanks, I'll spring the rum-runner recipe on her. She loves `em, but never knew what was in them.:)

[UKcat]

Sounds really great, but, how much is a "splash"???

oruacat2 wrote:
NC Cat....not bad, but try this for a truly perfect margarita:

3 ounces of your finest (favorite) tequila

1 ounce of Gran Marnier (some people like Cointreau)

splash of Rose's lime juice

splash of sour mix

and here's the kicker....a splash of orange juice (really smoothes it out)

Pack a pint glass with ice, add all the above ingredients, cap the glass with a shaker/mixing-tin, and shake the hell outta the whole concoction. Pour contents back into the pint glass and you should have that nice frothy foam on top. Drink leisurely and repeat as necessary. The splash of orange juice is key, and substituting Grand Marnier or Cointreau instead of Triple Sec (all three are orange flavored) makes a huge difference.

KD

[Levi]

Dove breasts:P:P:P:P

I marinate them in Hidden Valley Italian dressing for three days. I then cook them in an iron pot stirring till they start to stick to the bottom of the pot (you have to stay with it) Take the breasts out, deglaze with some wine and throw in the trinity (onions, bell peppers, celery) seasoning of your choice, and make gravy

Serve over rice.

Yeah baby

Sometimes I just eat the breasts without the gravy Inpatient I know.

[capcat]

Levi wrote: Dove breasts:P:P:P:P

I marinate them in Hidden Valley Italian dressing for three days. I then cook them in an iron pot stirring till they start to stick to the bottom of the pot (you have to stay with it) Take the breasts out, deglaze with some wine and throw in the trinity (onions, bell peppers, celery) seasoning of your choice, and make gravy

Serve over rice.

Yeah baby

Sometimes I just eat the breasts without the gravy Inpatient I know.
Kinda' Cajun, Levi...yum :cool:

[Levi]

Yeah I lived with a guy that looked like he should have been from Oklahoma (but he was from Baton Ruuuuge) up in Indy. He taught me that little dish after a day of dove hunting. I really impressed him with my gumbo and herepaid me with this simple but really good dish. You really can do away with the gravy and rice if you want but it's good.

[capcat]

I wanna' trythat gumbo, too :cool:.

[CatfanShan]

oruacat2 wrote: NC Cat....not bad, but try this for a truly perfect margarita:

3 ounces of your finest (favorite) tequila

1 ounce of Gran Marnier (some people like Cointreau)

splash of Rose's lime juice

splash of sour mix

and here's the kicker....a splash of orange juice (really smoothes it out)

Pack a pint glass with ice, add all the above ingredients, cap the glass with a shaker/mixing-tin, and shake the hell outta the whole concoction. Pour contents back into the pint glass and you should have that nice frothy foam on top. Drink leisurely and repeat as necessary. The splash of orange juice is key, and substituting Grand Marnier or Cointreau instead of Triple Sec (all three are orange flavored) makes a huge difference.

KD


I can vouch for that! :DHad KD's ritas at a party a while back. I love my margaritas, but I also like plain ole pineapple juice and Malabu Rum. YUM YUM !Shannon

[WildcatGirl]

Asparagus Roll Ups

1 pkg of crescent dinner rolls (or more depending on how much you want to make)

can of long asparagus spears drained

cream cheese

bacos (or real crumbled cooked bacon if you aren't veggie like me;))

Preheat oven according to dinner roll package directions. lay out dinner roll triangles, spread each with cream cheese then top with bacos place one asparagus spear on long end of triangle and roll up dough around asparagus as the package shows for making the dinner rolls. Place on cooking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray and bake according to package directions.

These are super easy and very tasty! I adapted this from a recipe my mother used to make that used slices of bread rolled flat with the crusts cut off...I still make that one too...but this is the easy way...and I'm all about kitchen shortcuts if they don't interfere with taste!

[poodoo]

Thanks, Wildcat Girl. :)I will definitely try these, as I love asparagus and also love shortcuts when it tastes the same! :)

[CATHYnKY]

VIDALIA ONION DIP[/b]



1 CUP EACH:



VIDALIA ONION (or any sweet onion) THINLY SLICED

SHREDDED SWISS CHEESE

MAYO



Combine and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until brown on top. Serve warm with crackers.



I also put this on burgers.

[POEKLM]

This could be appetizer or meal I guess.

This is from Donny Osmond's wife


CHICKEN PILLOWS (Jeremy's favorite!)

2 pkgs Cresecent Rolls
1 6 oz cream cheese softened (sometimes I use Chive cream cheese (6 oz)
2/3 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)
4 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 small pkg herb-seasoned stuffing (fine) crushed
1-2 cup small pieces cooked chicken or 2 cans while chicken meat

Cream butter and cheese. Add mushrooms. Unroll crescent rolls and make 4 large rectangles by pinching perforation together. In the middle of each rectangle put 1 Tbsp or so butter stuff and 4-5 pieces of chicken. Fold over longs ends. Squeeze ends together. Brush with melted butter/margarine and roll into stuffing. Bake 375 for 15-20 minutes til light brown

[UKSam]

For those that like to experiment (with drinks). A great place to visit is: www.webtender.com (http://www.webtender.com) This is a great bartending site. You can search for drinks by name, or ingredient(s) if you don't remember the name. The coolest function is you can enter stuff you have on hand at home (alcohol and mixers) and it will give you a lists of drinks you can make.

P.S. Try the Kentucky Wildcat.:D

[WildcatGirl]

POEKLM wrote: Chicken liver roll ups:D

chicken livers, flour, bacon slices....someone brought these to potluck dinners at work before. Just coats the livers in flour, roll a slice or half slice of bacon around it, secure it with a toothpick...Bake it til done. Enjoy

That was my Dad's birthday meal every year when I was growing up, except they were fried in a pan. My mother would always fix our favorite foods on our birthdays...so on Dad's birthday it was chicken livers, turnip greens, corn and LOTS of chocolate cake and brownies!

[WildcatGirl]

surveyor wrote: Bacon Wrapped Grilled Jalapenos

Whole jalapenos (amount depends on the size of the group)
Black Diamond spreadable Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 lb of bacon, cut in half
Grill :)

Halve all the jalapenos and remove seeds (if you like your peppers hot, leave seeds in - I usually leave the seeds in half of them and save other halves for folks who aren't heat tolerant, lol).
Fill each half with spreadable cheddar cheese. Wrap with half a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
Cook on grill at medium heat until bacon is done to taste.
Serve with lots of beer (for the heat lovers) or lots of milk (for the heat novices).

You can also do these with cream cheese...I have made them before when DFIL shares some peppers from his garden...though I use the vegetarian bacon...lol.

[surveyor]

I suppose this recipe could be modified to serve as a dinner as well, but I'm presenting it as an appetizer.

I sort of made it off the fly to use on my smokers. Smoked a batch a few weeks ago with some applewood chunks

Smoked Chicken wings, drummies and legs

Dry Rub - should cover 3 - 4 lbs of legs, wings and drummies

1 - 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/4 cup chili powder
1/8 cup dry mustard
2 tblsp black pepper
2 tblsp paprika1
1 tblsp garlic powder

Chicken - 3 - 4 lbs organic / antibiotic free legs, wings and drummies

Rub dry mix over pieces and let marinate in frig for 6 - 8 hours or at room temperature for 2 hours.

light 2 lbs of charcoal in firebox of smoker. Once coals are covered with a white ash, add 2 - 3 lbs of applewood chunks (or hickory, mesquite, oak, alder, etc. depending on preference). Place water pans inside smoker and fill half full with hot water. Once smoker reaches 250° place chicken pieces on grates over water pans. Smoke for approx. 3 hours (or until done - check legs with meat themometer) at 220 - 250 degrees. Add wood chunks / charcoal as necessary to maintain temperature. Most horizontal smokers with side fire boxes should maintain 225 - 250 degrees on the initial loading.

I usually keep a spray bottle filled half full with equal parts apple juice, apple cider and water to mist the chicken on all sides every hour.

Prep a small amount of charcoal in a grill and light. Once charcoal is ready, brush chicken pieces with your favorite bbq sauce (mine is plain or homemade recipe with 1/4 cup of Makers Mark added) transfer chicken pieces to grill and grill for 2 minutes each side over medium heat until bbq sauce is just carmelizing.

If smoking on a grill, prep grill for indirect heating. Place a 9 x 11 baking pan on one side of the grill (or in center if of sufficient size). Place hot coals and wood chunks around or on one side of pan. Fill pan 1/2 full with hot water.

Smoke as above, maintaining 225 - 250 degree temperature.

I use a charcoal chimney to prep additional charcoal / wood ahead of time so I'm not caught by surprise if the temp should dip below 200 degrees.

These are an excellent appetizer with your favorite beer, or other beverage. :thumbup:

[WildcatRick]

Maple-Bourbon Glazed Chicken Wings
Ingredients;

36 chicken wings (about 3lbs.)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup pure maple or pancake syrup
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup bourbon or whiskey
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 cup Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise


Instructions:

1. Cut tips off wings; cut wings in half at joint.

2. In medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat and cook onion, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until golden. Add syrup, ketchup, bourbon and hot pepper sauce.Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally,5 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat. With wire whisk, stir in Hellmann's ® or Best Foods ® Real Mayonnaiseuntil smooth.

3. Grill or broil chicken wings, turning occasionally and brushing frequently with sauce, 15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.


*Variation: Use a 2-1/2- to3-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces instead of chicken wings and grill40 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

[WildcatGirl]

I'll have to try that with chicken breasts (obviously not for me...lol) since no one in my house likes meat on the bone...even the meat eaters. But the glaze sounds amazing.

[POEKLM]

Cheese Squares (from our Taco Bar tailgate)

Mix together:
4 eggs
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese ( I used Mexican mix Saturday )
2 tsp. milk

Spray your pan with Pam. Then spread the jar of jalopeno peppers. Spread the cheese mixture on top. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

If you want this hotter don't drain the peppers all the way.

[banta133]

Thank you POEKLM for posting your cheese squares recipe. They are AWESOME!!!!!:thumbup

[WildcatGirl]

Yum, Marsha those sound fantastic!

[POEKLM]

WildcatGirl wrote: Yum, Marsha those sound fantastic!
They were gone pretty fast. I passed those out while Gillia and company were setting up the rest of the goodies.

[banta133]

LAYERED MEXICAN DIP

Ingredients:


1 (32 oz.) can of refried beans
1 container of guacamole/guacamole dip
12 ounces sour cream
1 (1 ounce) package of taco seasoning mix
1 tomato (chopped)
green onions
chopped olives
green chilis
finely shredded cheddar cheese (*I use the Kraft finely shredded Mexican cheddar jack cheese)
tortilla chips


Directions:


Layer 1 -Refried beans.
Layer 2 -Guacamole/Guacamole Dip.
Put in refrigerator for approximately 20 minutes.
Layer 3 -Mix sour cream and taco seasoning.Spread a layer of the sour cream mixture over the layer of guacamole.
Layer 4 - Sprinkle chopped olives, tomato, green chilis and green onions.
Layer 5 - Top with cheese.
Serve with tortilla chips

[CATHYnKY]

Thanks Marsha and Angie. Those things are always a big hit at my house. Great for a party. I'll use soon with the holidays coming up.

[WildcatGirl]

Watermelon Soup
5 Cups ripe red seedless watermelon (ripeness is essential!)
1-1/2 oz. red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. fresh chopped mint
3 Tbsp. sweet red wine
Sugar or Splenda to taste (optional)
To Prepare:
Puree fruit adding vinegar, herbs, and port. If necessary, add splenda a little at a time to sweeten to taste.

[capcat]

I served this at a family reunion lunch recently, along with sandwiches, tortilla chips and salsa. It makes a good side dish salad or something extra for tortilla chip-dipping.
Corn Relish
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh ears of corn, cleaned
chili powder to taste (1/4 tsp?)
1/4 tsp salt
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro (optional)

Combine lime juice, oil, garlic, chili powder and salt. Boil corn until cooked (can use frozen). Combine corn with lime juice mixture and red pepper. Add avocado (and cilantro, if using) at the end before serving.