1. This may sound odd, but if you just want to sit with SO and snack on something that tastes great, while sipping on cold whatever, Boil and artichoke or two. To prepare, simply snip the points off of the leaves, place in boiling water that half covers the artichoke, and cook for about a half hour. Serve with drawn butter and or a good mayo. Pluck the leaves off and scrape the inside of the leaf with you teeth to remove the soft veggie flesh. Continue this until you reach the choke. Remove it and munch the heart. This is especially good if served with bruschetta, made simply by dipping a good artisan bread in olive oil and toasting on the grill. Then rub the toasted side with fresh garlic. No other toppings are needed. Cut the bruschetta into bite sized pieces and enjoy with the artichoke.
2. Make up a batch of profiteroles using this recipe:
Puff Shell Ingredients:
1 cup Sifted AP Flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tbs. sugar
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
4 large eggs, brought to room temperature
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift together the flour, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
Place the milk and butter into a heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the other ingredients all at once. Quickly stir to combine, until a smooth ball is formed that no longer sticks to the pan. Remove from the heat and let sit for about two minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated. The finished dough should be shiny and form sturdy peaks when raised with a spoon.
Using two tablespoons, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the dough with one and place onto a greased cookie sheet by scraping the dough free with the other. Leave room for expansion. Place the cookie sheet into the hot oven and bake for ten minutes. Turn down the heat to 350 and cook for an additional 25 minutes or so. Remove and let cook, in a calm area. When completely cooled, carefully cut the tops off and remove any soft portions from the interior. Save the tops.
Fill the cooked portion with a mixture of cooked, diced potatoes and ground ground beef, or ham and cheese, or crab mixed with cream cheese and sugar, or sliced berries and complimentary pudding, or, or, or...
3. Cocktail Shrimp with a twist. Grill petite shrimp on a grill plate that leaves the shrimp open to the fire, but won't allow it to fall in. I use a grill wok that is an enameled square pan with sloping sides and lots of little holes. I think I got it at Wal-Mart. Splash on a bit of salt, cooking oil and lime juice. Serve with a good salsa.
4. Fresh Melon - skip the watermelon and go for something with a more complex flavor, such as casaba, or very ripe cantaloupe, ripe honeydew, etc. Simply cut into cubes.
5. Mini canapes made with bread squares. Ideas include tuna melts, ham and Swiss cheese, smoked salmon with cream cheese, medium rare roast beef with horseradish, pepperoni and young mozzarella, cappiacola and black olives, Smoked turkey with a dollop celery, deviled egg filling, etc. You could substitute your favorite cracker for the bread squares.
6. Crepe's filled with almost anything, then cut into rounds.
7. Mini-sticky buns. Pastry recipe - 1lb Potatoes (aprox. 3 med potatoes) Cooked and mashed. ( you can use instant potatoes if you wish too)
-Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid from boiling potatoes
-Mix: 1 1/2 C warm milk
1/2 C oil
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 TBS salt
If potato water is cool enough add 2TBS of Yeast to water and then add to previous mixture.
Add 7 1/2 C flour ( dough will be soft) and I usually mix the last cup or so into mixture by hand kneading. Let raise till double then roll out on a floured surface into a 1/8 inch thick sheet of dough. Spread a portion with melted butter, brown sugar,and cinnamon. Place pecan halves parallel to the dough edge and roll the dough around the pecan. Slice the roll from the larger sheet and cut into rounds. Place on a cookie sheet and let rise until doubled. Repeat to make as many mini sticky nuns as you want. Bake until golden and drizzle caramel sauce.
Cut the remaining dough into doughnuts and let rise completely. Transfer to 370' oil and fry until golden, flip and fry until golden. Sprinkle with your favorite doughnut topping (doughnuts from this dough come out like Crispy Kream doughnuts).
Hope you like these and that they are useful to you.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
