pot roast?

I don't eat red meat, but I need a recipe for a pot roast with beef (or some type of similar recipe using red meat). Anyone have a good one? And then I'll be done for awhile asking about ways to cook meat!

Favorite Fall Dessert - Pumpkin Dip

I'm not sure that this is 100% my favorite fall dessert but it is delish and super easy to make! I got the recipe from a girl at work. You can pair it with Graham Cracker sticks or whatever suits you.

1 15oz can of pumpkin
1 5oz package of instant vanilla pudding (don't actually make the pudding, just use the powder)
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1 8oz container of cool whip

Mix the first 3 ingredients together & then fold in the Cool whip. Chill it for a few hours.

Favorite Fall Dessert

Well, my two favorite fall desserts are apple crisp and pumpkin pie, but last week I made a very tasty apple cake in an effort to use up some apples that Anthony's mom gave me. It was tasty.

Apple Cake from Smitten Kitchen

6 apples (the recipe calls for McIntosh apples)

1 T cinnamon

5 T sugar
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

2 1/2 t vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

A few notes: I used a bundt pan since I don't have a tube pan. Also, next time I'll do a better job distributing the cinnamon/sugar sauce that collected at the bottom of the bowl of apples. I ended up having too much liquid in the second round of apples, which dripped down the inside of the pan and got a little too dark for my liking. Last, but not least, it only took 1 hour and 15 minutes to cook in my oven.

Photo from Smitten Kitchen.

At last MY comfort food!

Ok so I got behind schedule and don't have a super story- food in general has always warmed my heart and my Mom and I have always done alot of cooking together...so here's one of our many family meals and probably my favorite.

Orange Pork Chops

4 thick pork chops or a few more if smaller- salt, pepper to taste
2-4 tbs water
5 tbs sugar
1.5 ts cornstarch
1/4 ts salt
1/4 ts cinnamon and/or nutmeg
10 cloves (optional)- can also use ground to taste
2 ts grates orange rind
1/2 c OJ

Season chops w salt and pepper and brown in skillet on each side.

Turn down heat and add water, simmer turning once. Add more water as needed and until chops cooked through- I usually always use more water because it keeps the chops juicy.

In seperate small saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, rind and cloves. Simmer on low while adding juice gradually so it does not lump- using a whisk also helps. Simmer until slightly thickened. * Just a note, the sauce is always everyone's favorite part so we make a double batch and put some over the chops and add to rice too!

Favorite Recipe - Fall Desserts

We have appetizers and main dishes, now it's time to go for the good stuff - desserts! With fall upon us, let's hone in on the season's best desserts - anything with pumpkin, cranberries, apples, cinnamon, chocolate, you name it.

Roasting Pork Tenderloin

I pulled out a pork tenderloin for dinner tonight and wanted to see if any of you have good recipes or tricks for roasting a pork tenderloin in the oven? We grill them a lot, but I don't have as many ideas when I roast them in the oven. Thoughts?

Oooh Wee, Do We Have Favorite Comfort Foods!

And with back stories, even better! Our favorite comfort food recipes:

Mollie's Orange Pork Chops
Sara's divine Chicken Divan
Mary's Southern Green Beans
Camby's Zuppa Toscana soup
Macaroni & Cheese
Jennifer's Broccoli Casserole

Ending on Jennifer's recipe, so I tag Jennifer for the next category.

Favorite Comfort Food - Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan was on the regular meal rotation growing up and always my brother's request for his birthday dinner. My mom used to microwave the chicken (gross!) and use frozen broccoli. When I started making it in college, I decided to go with boiling the chicken and fresh broccoli. It's a couple extra steps but well worth it in my opinion. When we were little, we used to pick around the broccoli and ask my mom why she couldn't make it with just chicken. Now the broccoli is my favorite part! The leftovers of this may be even better than the dish itself.

Chicken Divan

3-4 Chicken Breasts
2-3 heads of broccoli
5 Slices Lorraine Swiss Cheese (highly recommend using Lorraine Swiss rather than regular - you can get it in the Deli)
3 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sherry cooking wine (any white wine works)
1+ teaspoon lemon juice
4 tbsp butter or margarine
1+ cups of Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing mix

Put the chicken on to boil and while it is cooking, cut the broccoli up into small pieces. Steam or boil the broccoli until it is crisp tender (will cook more when you bake the casserole). When the chicken is done, cut it up into small pieces and put it into a bowl with a bit of sherry. Mix the chicken soup, mayo, sherry, and lemon juice in a separate bowl and set aside. Melt the margarine or butter and then toss in the stuffing mix until it is coated. Lay the broccoli on the bottom of a large rectangular glass pan. Pour some of the chicken soup mixture over it to cover a bit. Layer the chicken on top of that and pour the rest of the mixture on top of the chicken. Lay the slices of swiss cheese on top and then add the stuffing mixture on top of that. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly (about 20 minutes). Serve with rice.

p.s. thanks to mollie for sending me my recipe so i didn't have to type it all over again:)

Spinach and Brie Chicken with Tomato Orzo

Remember my post about brie in a log? This is the recipe I got it for. I made it last night, so good.

Spinach and Brie Chicken with Tomato Orzo

Ingredients
Serves 4
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 thin chicken cutlets (1 1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 package (10 ounces) frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 ounces Brie cheese, cut into 8 slices
1 cup orzo
2 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Set a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Place chicken on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Dividing evenly, spread one side of each cutlet with mustard; top with spinach, then cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Starting at short end, roll chicken up tightly, and arrange, seam side down, on sheet.

Season rolled chicken with salt and pepper. Broil, without turning, until tops are lightly browned and chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook orzo in boiling water until al dente. Drain well; return to pot. Add tomatoes, parsley, butter, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Serve stuffed chicken with orzo.

Recipe and photo from here.

Southern Green Beans

When I think of comfort foods I think of stuff my mom makes, stroganoff, vegetable soup, and goulash. While I love this stuff, most of it relies heavily on McCormick seasoning packets. McCormick will always have a special spot in my heart (and cupboard) but I'm pretty sure you can read the packet yourself. So I will share a recipe that I crave on a regular basis but isn't something from my family.

1 lb of green beans, ends trimmed (fresh are best but whole frozen also work)
1/2 lb bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
3/4 c. of chicken broth (canned works fine but in this case I prefer powdered bullion)
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP red wine vinegar

Brown the bacon till nice and crisp, drain on a paper towel. Pour out all but 2 TBSP of the bacon grease out of the pan, cook onion on medium heat till soft and slightly golden. Add green beans, broth, and sugar to the pan, bring to a boil and cover. Cook till beans are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes, remove the lid and reduce the liquid to a few tablespoons (not soupy). Add vinegar, bacon and black pepper to taste. These beans are a little sweet and sour with a nice saltiness from the bacon, mmmmm.

Favorite Comfort Food - Zuppa Toscana

Apparently I like cold weather since the three states I've lived in are: Montana, Illinois and Minnesota! When it gets cold, I enjoy nothing better on a Sunday than hanging out at home, reading the paper, watching T.V. and cooking. Soup is one of those foods that really hits the spot on a day like that. We just returned from a trip to Montana yesterday and while we were there I had soup made by my sister's boyfriend that was really good! It's so good that I'm going to cheat and use it here as a "favorite" recipe. It's apparently a knock off of a soup at the Olive Garden. I really liked the kale in it which was good because that's one of those ingredients that would normally make me skip over a recipe just because I'm not familiar with it. Here's a recipe I found online. http://www.tuscanrecipes.com/recipes/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana.html

Image courtesy of http://picturemyfood.com/

Favorite Comfort Food Recipe

We had a lot of snow days in the town where I grew up in Massachusetts. School would be cancelled if the snow made it difficult for the school buses to make their pickups, not an uncommon occurrence considering many of the town's roads were once narrow cow paths between farms when the town was settled in the 1700s.

Since my mom was a teacher, she was most often home with us on snow days. That meant one thing: food. She'd make cookies, muffins, breads, soups, you name it. So now I associate the idea of comfort from food with snow days and lots of home cooking. A delicious association.

I have a few favorite comfort food recipes like cheese and bacon potato soup, as well as a roast chicken dinner, but the thing I make that makes me feel all warm and cozy inside is homemade macaroni and cheese.

Macaroni & Cheese
1/2 lb boiled macaroni
1 C cheddar cheese

White sauce (or roux)
1 C hot milk
2T butter
2T flour
1/4 salt (I use 1/2)
1/8 t pepper (I use a lot more)
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, add flour (I do so in batches and use a whisk to mix in), milk and seasoning. Mix together over heat until roux is combined and thickened, usually a few minutes.

Mix pasta, cheese and roux together in a greased pan. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes in a 400 oven.

This recipe is one of those things you can experiment with and its always slightly different. I add a little dried mustard and chopped garlic or garlic powder to give it a little kick.

On cheese: I usually used medium or sharp cheddar and will sprinkle some Parmesan on top to get a crusty top. If you only have Colby jack, you want to add something with a bit more zing since Colby jack loses its flavor in this dish. I love to add a little brie or cream cheese to add to the creaminess. Yum.

Broccoli Casserole

This casserole shows up at every single one of my family's holiday celebrations plus several other times during the year when we just want something warm and delicious. Comfort food, indeed.

Ingredients
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. jar of Cheez Whiz
1/2 - 3/4 bag of frozen broccoli (thawed)
1 - 2 cups of Minute Rice
1/2 cup celery (diced)
1/2 cup onion (diced)

Instructions
Mix soups and Cheez Whiz in casserole dish. Mix in vegetables. Mix in rice. Bake at 300 degrees for one hour. Cover with foil for the first 30 minutes, then uncovered for the remaining time.

This Week's Favorite!

With colder weather upon us, I say we go with Favorite Comfort Food recipe!

More ladies for the kitchen?

This kitchen is open for more ladies if anyone else wants to join. Just let me know and I'll send an invitation.

Brie in a log

I just bought some brie on Sunday for a recipe I was planning on making for dinner this week (which sort of fell by the wayside with all the other things I have to do). Anyway...President brie (made in Wisconsin!) now has a brie log, perfect for slicing onto crackers etc. Personally, I'm a little torn since trying to, or watching someone else try to, spread softened brie onto a cracker or crusty bread is entertainment at an social function. But...for cooking, I think its going to be great.On a related brie note, when I make homemade macaroni and cheese, I always throw in whatever extra cheese is laying around. I've found a little leftover brie is my favorite extra cheese to add. It really makes in impact on the flavor.

image from products.peapod.com

Bistro Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

Here's a tasty pasta dish I found by lurking online. It's from Erica in Utah.


Ingredients

*4 C penne pasta

*1 C halved grape or cherry tomatoes

*1 4 oz. package crumbled feta cheese

*1 C Italian seasoned dressing (Dry packet of dressing, prepared. Not the bottled stuff.)

*1/3 C fresh basil leaves (torn)

*1/4 C chopped red onion

*1/4 C chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)

*2 chicken breasts cooked & cut into strips

Instructions

Toss together and enjoy hot or cold.

Favorita Pasta - Salad Part 2

For some reason, coming up with a favorite pasta was hard for me and its been a busy few weeks around here....

I make this pasta salad often and like any good recipe, it can be altered to suit your own tastes. Sometimes I add grilled chicken for some protein. Sorry, as usual I don't have specific measurements!

1 box bow tie pasta
a couple of tomatoes
1 can of garbanzo beans
feta
fresh spinach
kalamata olives (optional)
store bought greek salad dressing OR your own oil and vinegar and herb combo

Make pasta according to directions on box. Run cold water over the pasta after cooking and draining it. Chop tomatoes and feta into bite sized pieces and add them to the pasta along with the drained garbanzo beans and the kalamata olives. Mix with dressing. Tear fresh spinach and add it just before serving.

We got pasta!

Sara's favorite pasta salad
Mary's greekish roasted shrimp and orzo
My amatriciana
Camby's favorite pasta salad
Jennifer's bistro sun-dried tomato pasta

There's still time to add your favorite pasta, ladies! In the mean time, I tag Sara to pick this week's favorite recipe.

Favorite Pasta (Salad)

I've been obsessed with making different variations of this pasta salad recipe all summer. The dressing is so delish and it goes well with everything. I found it on the Food Network website (Food Network Kitchens Get Grilling, Meredith 2005).

Pasta Salad with Dill and Ham (or anything else you want to add!)

Ingredients
1/4 medium red onion, minced
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for salting water (I only use 1 tsp b/c 2 makes it way too salty, probably b/c I'm using regular salt rather than kosher)
8 ounces elbow macaroni (I prefer bowtie b/c it's prettier:)
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup sour cream (I use reduced fat)
6 ounces cooked ham, cut into 1&3-inch cubes (have substituted chicken but think the ham was better)
3/4 cup frozen baby peas, thawed
2 ribs celery, with leaves, diced (don't like celery so I skip it)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions
To mellow the minced onion, soak it in cold water while you make the salad.
Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil over high heat and salt it generously. Add the macaroni (bowtie) and boil, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the macaroni in a colander, put in a serving bowl, and toss with the milk. Allow the macaroni to cool slightly while you make the dressing.

For the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, the 2 teaspoons salt, and black pepper to taste in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream to make a smooth, slightly thick dressing. Whisk in the sour cream.
Drain the onions, pat dry, and add to the macaroni along with the ham, peas, celery, and dill. Add the dressing and fold to coat the pasta evenly. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Know-How: Why the milk? When we left it out of the recipe, the macaroni absorbed too much of the dressing and the salad was overly acidic. Adding just a couple tablespoons mellowed the dressing and gave the salad a wonderful old-fashioned quality without being goopy or heavy. (This is really true! I tried it one time without the milk and it did end up overly tangy tasty).

My Variations: Use the same dressing, pasta, and dill but substitute steamed asparagus and goat cheese for the ham, peas, celery. I used squash and zucchini with goat cheese one time too which was also delish - left those veggies uncooked.

Favorite Appetizer!

I have a few favorite apps. The Bean Dip that I posted awhile ago is one. Another is one that I got from my mom where she spreads chive cream cheese on slices of pastrami and rolls it up. So simple and delish! My recent favorite app is stuffed mushrooms, the recipe* follows:

24 medium mushrooms
6 tbsps margarine
1 small onion chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
3oz goat cheese (may substitute cream cheese)
3tbsp grated parmesan
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried parsley (I usually skip this ingredient)
1 cup herb stuffing croutons (pepperidge farm is the best!)

Remove stems from mushrooms and chop enough to make 1 cup. Melt 2tbsp margarine in saucepan. Brush mushroom cap tops with margarine, place top side down in shallow baking pan and brush undersides of caps. Heat remaining margarine and add chopped mushroom stems, onion, and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in goat cheese until it melts. Add Parmesan cheese, parsley, and herb stuffing mix. Mix thoroughly and spoon about 1tbsp stuffing mix into each mushroom cap. Bake at 375 until heated through (12-15mins).

*I found this recipe online somewhere a long time ago but I have no idea where to reference it:)

Favorite Pasta: Bucatini All'amatriciana

This is from Bon Appetit and quite tasty. It is named after the town of Amatrice, not too far from Rome, where the sauce has long been prepared using the few ingredients that were always available: sun-ripened tomatoes, guanciale (salt-cured pork jowl), and a touch of firey peperoncino (dried hot chile). Bucatini All'amatriciana
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 ounces guanciale or unsmoked bacon, sliced, cut into 1x1/4-inch strips, divided (I use regular bacon, usually the Hormel black label.)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 1-inch dried peperoncino or 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 pound cherry tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)
12 ounces bucatini or spaghetti
3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add half of guanciale and sauté until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer guanciale to paper towels to drain (do not clean skillet). Reserve for garnish.

Add 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and peperoncino; sauté until peperoncino darkens, about 2 minutes. Add onion and remaining guanciale; sauté until onion is translucent and fat has rendered from guanciale, about 10 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes; simmer 6 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot.

Add tomato sauce and cheese to pasta and toss, adding some of reserved pasta cooking liquid if dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl. Sprinkle with reserved guanciale and serve.

Photo from epicurious.com

Roasted shrimp and orzo

This recipe is one of my 8 million favorite pasta dishes, very quick and well suited to modification (leave out what you don't like and substitute what you do).

Kosher salt
Good olive oil
3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
1 handful of fresh oregano
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 handful of sundried tomatoes, chopped
feta cheese crumbled

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper (I usually reduce the amount of oil and up the lemon juice but do what tastes good). Toss dressing with veggies and oregano. Cook orzo till al dente, drain, and add to the veggies.

Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic slices. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through.

Toss shrimp and as much feta as you like with the pasta. This dish is great served warm or chilled in the summer.

Laura

Turned the big 3-0 this year. I don't do even 1/2 of the cooking at our house, my wonderful husband typically takes over - and it's always amazing. But, when I do ... it's quick, easy and typically pretty tasty.

Interests
creating stained glass
reading (mostly chick lit)
spending time outdoors
tailgating
working on our 100+ year old home
entertaining

Favorite Movies
All time favorite? The Cutting Edge. Well
it is the movie I have watched the most.

Favorite Music
Anything - seriously

Favorite Books
While I read a fair amount
I can't say any stand out recently

Laura, I just took from you profile, feel free to edit.

Mary

I just moved to the twin cities, woot! Camby and I go way back (think hammer pants and crunchy bangs), Ms. Amanda is my very dear friend in a can (courtesy of Camby), and now the rest of us can be recipe buddies! I am goofy, full of random trivia garbage, and in the process of building a new and improved life.

M-Dogg, feel free to add more, I just took from your profile.

We got Apps!

Here are our favorite appetizer recipes:

Bacon and Green Onion Tortilla Roll-ups
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Vegetable Pizza
Asparagus Prosciutto Rolls
Fruit and Veggie Kebabs
Stuffed Mushrooms

Next up (chosen by Ms. Mary Smart, newly of the land of 10,000 lakes) is favorite pasta dish!

Bacon and Green Onion Tortilla Roll-Ups

The secret to any great appetizer is cream cheese and a packet of ranch dressing mix. This appetizer is a testimony to that.

Ingredients
1 package flour tortillas
1 block of cream cheese
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
2 bunches of green onions (chopped)
2 jars of real bacon bits
1 package shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar)

Instructions
Mix together the cream cheese and ranch dressing mix. Spread the mixture onto the tortilla shells. Sprinkle the green onions, bacon bits and shredded cheese on top. Roll up the tortilla shell. Repeat until you run out of ingredients. Refrigerate overnight. Cut the roll ups into bite-sized pieces. Eat a couple before you set them out for others. :) Then, eat a couple more. They are bite-sized after all.

The secret here really is the cream cheese and ranch dressing mix. Play around with the fixins as you see fit. I've had one with olives that was quite delicious.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This dip is super easy and delicious but be sure to cook this dip in a preheated oven. If it warms slowly it tends to separate and get oily. Serve this dip on crackers, toasted Italian bread, or crunchy veggies.

1 drained can of water packed artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1 cup of mayonnaise (you can substitute cream cheese but I would advise against the use of miracle whip)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (use the good stuff not the green can)
1 box of frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze out as much liquid as possible
1 clove of garlic, minced fine

Combine all ingredients in a pretty and oven safe dish. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until bubbly.

Favorite App- basic & old school!

VEGETABLE PIZZA APPETIZER

2 pkg. crescent dinner rolls
3/4 c. mayonnaise
2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
3 c. chopped vegetables: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, green onion, tomatoes
1 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese
I also like to add fresh herbs when I can- especially fresh dill

Unfold rolls flat onto large cookie sheet. Seal seams and press out as necessary to completely cover pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool.

Mix next 3 ingredients; spread on crust. Chop vegetables in blender or food processor. Drain well and spread over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle cheese over all. Chill. Cut into small pieces if used as an appetizer or can be served for a family dinner.

Serves 10 as appetizers.

Favorite Appetizer: Asparagus-Proscuitto Wraps

Okay, I actually have two. The first one is onion dip with ruffles. This is the second one.

Asparagus-Prosciutto Rolls

1/3 C vegetable oil

2T balsamic vinegar

1T Dijon mustard

salt & pepper to taste

18 slices (about 3/4 lb prosciutto

1 log (5 oz.) goat cheese (I do brie instead)

36 6" stalks of asparagus, blanched

Whisk together oil, mustard and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Slice prosciutto in half lengthwise; spread each slice with cheese and roll around asparagus.

These are always a hit wherever I take them. Salty, crunchy and the dressing is so freaking good. Photo from here.

Favorite App - Fruit and Veggie Kebabs

(Running to the front of class so I can be the first to turn in my assignment)

There's not much of a recipe secret here but I always love doing (uncooked) fruit and veggie kebabs for an appetizer. We cut the wooden kebab sticks in half to make appetizer appropriate portions. Obviously any fruits and veggies can be used but for the fruit ones, I like using strawberries, pineapple and grapes. For veggies, I like using cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and cucumbers and mushrooms.

Photo courtesy of http://www.dkimages.com

Favorite Recipes: Appetizers

Okay, lets start at the beginning of a good meal: appetizers. Since she was the most recent poster, I tag Mary to pick next week's category on Monday.