Thursday, February 11, 2010

Appetizers and Sweets for Your Sweeties

Sharon brought Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms (Allrecipes.com)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
24 mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (12 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the onions and mushroom stems in the hot oil until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl; add the artichoke hearts, cream cheese, sour cream, Italian cheese blend, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Stir the mixture until ingredients are evenly distributed. Stuff the mushroom caps with the mixture. Arrange the stuffed mushrooms on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the filling begins to bubble, about 20 minutes.

AND

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake (Allrecipes.com)

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.

4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.

5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

DeeAnn brought Buffalo Chicken Dip (Allrecipes.com)

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
1 (8 ounce) box chicken-flavored crackers

1. Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

AND

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle Dessert (www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com)

9x13 pan of brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces
5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz container thawed whipped topping (Cool Whip), divided
20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (buy in a 10-pack. Not the bite-sized)
6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish.

1. Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups cool whip.

2. Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. (Or shaved chocolate curls, as I did.) Chill until serving.

Mary brought English Toffee (from her friend Karen Tolman)

1 lb butter
2 cups butter
4 cups sliced almonds
1 large package milk chocolate chips

Spray jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) with cooking spray. Sprinkle layer of sliced almonds evenly on sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes to lightly toast them. Meanwhile, melt buter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and stir occasionally. Boil mixture on medium heat untl hard crack stage (about 280 degrees). Mixture will start to smoke and will have darker streakes appearing. (To test for doneness, drop a little of the candy into half a cup of ice cold water. When ready, candy will crack easily when broken.) Spread over nuts on cookie sheet and let set for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top of toffee and let set until chocolate chips are melted. Spread chocolate over toffee with a knife or the back of a spoon. Let cool completely and break into pieces.

No comments:

Post a Comment