Super Bowl Ideas - Wings

It's Super Bowl Sunday this next weekend and if you're like a lot of the country, not only will you be attending a Super Bowl party, but you will also be tasked to make something for it. 

 I once attended a Super Bowl party with some meatballs in sauce and found that I wasn't the only one with that great idea, there were 4 other kinds there as well.  It was kind of funny, but delicious.  I got some great ideas.

Wings are kinda like that as well. 

There are so many ways to prepare them, that the likelihood of someone showing up with the same kind you made is pretty slim.

 Hello?  Wings and Super Bowl go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly.  Hmm, I may have just given myself an idea. 

My personal favorite, for now at least is this one:   Raspberry Chipotle Wings

And in no particular order the rest of my favorites (although if you go clockwise you can see pictures of these in order:
Chutney Wings
Sweet and Spicy Wings
Cranberry Orange Chutney Wings

I got a problem now, I think want some Wings...

 

Tapas for January 2019

It's hard to believe that January is almost done, but we had a bright spot last week.  It was Tapas Time!

I didn't host it, but a good friend did, and we enjoyed lots of great food, good company and as usual, ate way too much.

I cannot believe the incredible cooks we have in this area, they are fantastic.  

There is always great food food brought and shared. 
And as usual I didn't get a picture of a couple of the dishes, and one of them was mine.
Oh well...
This baked savory cheesecake with the crust made out of crushed wheat thins.  And to the left on the green plate, my baked brie, which is one of the dishes I missed.

I've been playing with bread lately, I'm determined to make a good baguette, but decided to make some french style bread for Tapas instead.  I do love making and eating fresh home made bread. 

A shot of some of the dishes with the covers still on.

 A southern staple, Shrimp and Grits

A Chicken and Bean Mexican style casserole

Some lovely veggies

We also had some meatballs

As well as a Chicken Pot Pie

A selection of poppers and cheeese sticks.

Some lovely spicy wings

Mini quiches

Marinated vegetables in a great dressing

A pretty and tasty fruit plate

Baked shells. (and you know me and pasta, I was in heaven)

Doubly in heaven, cause there was Garfield's favorite, Lasagna

An overview of the table with all the food.

We also had dessert, this was a cherry dish

There was even a King Cake, cause Mardi Gras is around the corner after all.

There was also another dessert but I didn't get a shot of it, sigh.

And there it is, the reason I'm hiding from my scale this week. 

Just kidding, but honestly, if you come to one of our gatherings and go home hungry, you've got a problem and I can't help you with it.  

Again, thanks to my friends Kathy and Skip for hosting this month.  

Fruit Cocktail Cake with Coconut and Pecan topping

I made this cake last week for the Legion Cake Raffle.   

I was trying to come up with an idea for a cake this past week, and was standing looking at the pantry and trying to jumpstart my brain for ideas.
And that's when I spotted it.  A can of fruit cocktail.
I had bought it thinking I was going to use it for a Thanksgiving dish, but ended up not doing so.  And fruit cocktail isn't something we eat on a regular or even semi-regular basis.

Decided on the spot to make a Fruit Cocktail Bundt.   Then I thought I would go online to see if there were any recipes, and there were but most of them used fruit cocktail in heavy syrup and mine wasn't that kind.  But the cake recipes all seemed to be about the same.  So I used my basic yellow cake recipe and since I had some extra yolks in the freezer, threw them in as well.   They add a nice richness to the cake. 

And this is what happened.  Doesn't it look pretty?  And this was before I got one of the "I wonder what would happen if I?"  moments. 

In other words, I had to put a frosting or topping on it, cause while pretty, it looked just a tad naked.
So...

Nothing like coconut and pecans to pretty up a cake.  And the drizzle, pure serendipity deliciousness.

In other words, WOW!!!!! I'm so doing this combo again.

This cake can go anywhere, dressed or undressed.  I even got to taste this one, and even if I say so myself, it was pretty awesome. I think I have a new favorite cake topping though, and it was simplicity itself.
I'm wondering how it would go on cupcakes? hmmm.

This cake was also featured at Miz Helen's Country Cottage, as the post with the most views last week and I can proudly show off my latest Red Plate.

Yield: 8-12 servings  Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from Ann Pillsbury's Cake Recipes)

Fruit Cocktail Cake with Coconut Pecan Topping

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 50+ MINStotal time: 1 hour 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 cups sifted self rising cake flour (made by adding 1/4 cup Potato or Corn starch to 2 cups self rising flour) 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1/2 cup fruit cocktail syrup (drain the can of fruit cocktail and reserve the syrup)
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks (optional)  
• Fruit cocktail (15 oz. can) drained
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
1 cup sweetened coconut shreds
1 cup roughly chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 cup bundt pan.   Set aside. Mix together the butter, flour salt, sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla and fruit cocktail syrup for three minutes to make a smooth batter. 
2. Fold in the reserved fruit cocktail.
3. Pour the batter into a greased bundt pan.
4. Bake for 50+ minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
5. Remove the cake to a platter and top with the topping while still warm. 
6. Heat the sweetened condensed milk and add the coconut and pecans.  Cook stirring constantly until it comes to a boil, and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Pour over the still hot cake and spread the coconut and pecans evenly around the top.  Allow to cool at room temperature and serve. 

Created using The Recipes Generator

Community Potluck for January 2018

Last week was pretty darn busy for me, I made a Broccoli Cheese soup for Soup Saturday Swappers, and have to say, I may just need to go buy some more broccoli and cheese sauce so I can make it again.  I also did a Cod Puff for Fish Friday Foodies, along with making some meatballs for the Potluck and then there was my writer's group and the cake for the Legion, and I'll share the recipe for that cake soon.  It was awesome!.
And I'm trying to finalize the Shrimp Cookbook I wrote so I can get it released...

I've been busy, busy, busy, is what I'm trying to say.

That being said. 
We had a fantastic turnout and lots and lots and lots of great food.  I appreciate everyone who made and brought something to the tables or counters as the case may be.  
We have one long counter and a shorter one, and we did some creative stuff to fit all that food on them. This was taken before all the food had arrived.

Mac n' Cheese

Stir Fried Rice - I can't remember the exact name but it was delicious

Tofu cubes

Tofu and Celery (sorry don't know the name of this dish)

Pot Roast

A baked pasta dish

Pot Pie

Meatballs in cranberry apricot sauce (mine which is why I know what was in it)

Sloppy Joes and there were buns that went with it as well.

Rice

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Salad

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Green Beans, southern style

Meatballs

More Mac n' Cheese

Scalloped Potatoes

We also had lots of desserts and appetizers - the battery on my camera was low, so I just took a couple of overall shots

More appetizers

And the final shot of the desserts

Honestly, if you go home from one of these potlucks, hungry, you have a problem.    There literally was something for almost every taste this time.  We had vegan, vegetarian and meatcentric dishes.
I do want to say thanks to St. James Bay Golf Course for allowing us to hold the potlucks here.  It's very generous of them. 

Broccoli Cheese Soup for #SoupSaturdaySwappers

I cheated majorly on this soup, but can't say I'm sorry.
Sorry I meant to lead with the fact it's time for our monthly Soup Saturday Swappers soup. 
Sue of Palatable Pastimes is the hostess this month and she suggested Snow Day Soups as our theme.

I live in the south and we don't get snow here but once every few years.  And then it melts almost right away, but if I close my eyes and sip on this, I can get fooled easily enough.

I just put this soup in a bowl,  but I think you can serve it in a bread bowl, and that would be even better.  I used to live in a place that sold fresh baked bread bowls, and I would pick them up and make soup for us on a regular basis.
I've tried my hand at making them myself, but so far it hasn't worked well.

But that's OK, cause this soup tastes great, even if it isn't in a bread bowl.

I started it with some homemade soup stock.   Added in the broccoli and let it cook til tender.   The broccoli added some flavor to the soup stock.
I then took out the broccoli, and that's when I cheated.  I was getting low on cheese, and didn't feel like trekking to town for some more, but...
I had a couple of pouches of Velveeta Cheese sauce in my pantry.
Don't judge, but I love this stuff.

I wanted to thicken the soup up a little, but didn't want to make a roux. So I made a cornstarch slurry, added it to the stock and thickened it.  I then added a 4 oz. pouch of Velveeta cheese sauce whisked that in, and added the cooked chopped broccoli.

I think I have a new almost guilty pleasure soup.

Try it out for your next snow day or just because this is so dead easy and good tasting as well.

Yield: 2 servingsAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Broccoli Cheese Soup

prep time: 5 minscook time: 10 minstotal time: 15 mins

This light, quick, easy soup is totally yummy.  Less than 20 minutes and you have a hot bowl of delicious soup, perfect for a snowy day or any day.

ingredients:

• 3 cups stock, chicken or pork or vegetable
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 4 oz. package Velveeta Cheese Sauce
• mix together
• 1 teaspoon + cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons water

instructions:

1. Wash and cut the broccoli into florets.   Heat the soup stock, and cook broccoli florets in the stock until tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside for a moment.   Whisk in the Velveeta Cheese sauce and the cornstarch/water slurry.  Heat to boiling and let the cornstarch thicken the soup a little, add the broccoli back in and serve.   You can also top this with a little grated cheese if desired. 

Created using The Recipes Generator

  

An InLinkz Link-up

Baked Cod Puff for #FishFridayFoodies

Away back when, I used to make this for myself, and had in fact kinda forgotten about it until today.
It's time for our monthly Fish Friday Foodies and the theme is Fresh From the Oven.  This month it is hosted by Caroline of Caroline's Cooking

Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm started this group about 2 years ago, and I've tried to make something for each event, but I've missed a couple.    If you blog and are also a seafood lover, you can email Wendy at  wendyklik1517@gmail.com to join in on the fun.

I thought briefly of doing a Shrimp dish, but then found some cod in the freezer and decided to make this.
It's simple, tastes great and is a recipe I've never shared here.
You can make it with any firm fleshed fish, btw.

I wanted to look up the recipe again, to make sure I remembered it correctly and I pretty much had.

I found the original recipe in a copy of my Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery ( I love these books), but when I opened up the book, I found a treasure trove of recipes I'd cut out and saved in between the pages, along with a couple of letters, and had a few lovely moments of nostalgia.  I also found the original write up from the first concert I'd ever gone to, Hoyt Axton.  I can close my eyes even now and I remember how magical that evening was.

Enough with the memories, it's time for the recipe. 
And the cod filet, turned out to be cod pieces, but I used them anyway.

 Mounding the egg white mixture on top after the cod had baked for 10 minutes.

 I let it get nice and golden and then I feasted.  So good, and I think I'll try some grouper next time or maybe a piece of snapper or?

Yield: 2-4 servingsAuthor: Sidsel Munkholm adapted from a recipe in Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery

Baked Cod Puffs

prep time: 5 minscook time: 10 minstotal time: 15 mins

This is a different and totally tasty fish dish.

ingredients:

• 1/2  lb. Cod 
• 1 egg white, beaten semi stiff
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1 tbsp. capers
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese ( I like using a Colby Jack cheese, much of the time)
  
• Salt and Pepper to taste

instructions:

1. Salt and Pepper the cod and then broil the cod for 7-15 minutes until it is just done.   While it is cooking, beat the egg white until almost totally stiff, then fold in the mayonnaise, cheese capers, parsley and chives.  Spread over the cod and broil an additional 5 minutes or until puffed and golden.  Serve immediately.  

Created using The Recipes Generator

An InLinkz Link-up