Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread courtesy of MsTxnHeartOlyphant

MsTxnHeartOlyphant swears this is the bee's knees!

One 6-ounce can black olives, drained
One 6-ounce jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
2 stalks green onions
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup mayonnaise
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 loaf crusty French bread, sliced lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Roughly chop both the black olives and pimiento-stuffed green olives. Slice the green onions into thin pieces.

Combine the butter, mayonnaise, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl. Stir together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the mixture onto the French bread. Bake until the cheese is melted and browning, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cook's Note: The mixture can also be refrigerated (up to 2 days) and used as a dip. Great with crackers!

2012 Ree Drummond, All Rights Reserved

Crab Dip

This is always a hit with my gang at holiday time. -- Niknak

8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 can 7 1/2 oz of crab meat
3 Tbsp. Seafood cocktail sauce
4 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
Garlic powder and pepper to taste.
A dash or 2 of Shirracha sauce (Horz sauce) optional.

Mix together and refrigerate.

This dip can also be served hot, pop into oven at 350 f. until it bubbles.

Serve with crackers

Ibby's Food Coma Spinach Balls

3/4 of a large onion, minced and microwaved for a few minutes
2 boxes of frozen spinach, thawed, drained and chopped thoroughly
6 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups herb stuffing mix (not the cubed kind but the crumbs kind)

1 cup grated (shredded) Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients except cheese together and form into 1" balls.  Roll into the cheese and place on baking sheet.  Bake on 350 for 20 mins.  Let cool and devour.  Can be made ahead and frozen.

GRILLED FIGS WITH PROSCIUTTO AND GORGONZOLA

From Williams-Sonoma's "New Flavors For Appetizers" cookbook.

16 fresh mission figs, firm but ripe

2 oz gorgonzola cheese, piccante or dolce

canola oil for grilling

16 paper-thin slices prosciutto di parma,

aged balsamic vinegar for drizzling

extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct-heat grilling over medium heat, or preheat a stove-top grill pan over medium heat.

Cut two 1-inch slits in the shape of an X across the top of each fig.  Stuff each fig with about 1/2 teaspoon of the cheese and press the sides of the fig together to close. 

Brush the grill rack with canola oil.  Place the figs on their sides on the grill rack and cook until they begin to char, about 2-3 minutes.  Using tongs, carefully turn the figs over and continue cooking until the cheese begins to melt, about 2 minutes longer. 

Transfer the figs to a platter.  Fold each prosciutto slice and stuff inside, drape over, or wrap around a fig.  Drizzle a little vinegar and oil over the tops of the figs and serve right away.

Submitted by BaconSlut

Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster

2 cups Bisquick (or Krusteaz)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder 
2/3 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, mix together biscuit mix, cheese and garlic powder. Add in milk, and stir until well mixed. (Heads up - the dough will get very sticky!) 

With a spoon or with your fingers, shape the dough into biscuit-sized clumps or bite-sized balls, and drop onto the baking sheet. (Note that the dough will pretty much hold its shape when baked, so feel free to pat down random peaks in the dough if you'd like them to look more uniform!) 

Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until biscuits begin to brown slightly around the edges. 

While the biscuits bake, prepare the warm butter mixture by mixing together the melted butter, oregano and garlic salt in a small bowl. As soon as the biscuits are removed from the oven, brush the biscuits (while they are still on the baking sheet) with the mixture until they are well-coated. 

Serve warm.

portobellos stuffed with caramelized onions and manchego

These mushrooms look like mini-pizzas. They make a great dinner-party first course or, served with a green salad, a luncheon main course. For a cocktail party, make them with small caps.

MAKE AHEAD: Prep the onion stuffing and cheese topping up to 2 days in advance. The mushrooms are best baked to order, but they can be assembled and refrigerated, covered, several hours in advance. Bring them to room temperature before baking.

4 first-course servings (or 24 hors d'oeuvres using smaller mushrooms)

Ingredients:

For the mushrooms

• 4 large (4 1/2-inch diameter) portobello mushrooms, or 24 small "baby bellas" (2 1/2-inch diameter), cleaned, gills and stems removed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium (1 1/2 pounds) yellow onions, cut in half, then into 1/4-inch slices
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Leaves from 1/2 small bunch of thyme (2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

For the topping

• 2 ounces Manchego cheese, finely grated (2/3 cup)
• 1/4 cup regular or low-fat mayonnaise (do not use nonfat)

Directions:

For the mushrooms: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then coat it lightly with nonstick cooking oil spray. Arrange the mushrooms on the foil stem sides up.
Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the onions and stir lightly to coat; season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the onions' moisture has evaporated and the onions begin to sizzle and brown. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are deep brown and caramelized; adjust the heat as needed so they do not burn.
Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the thyme and garlic powder; add salt and pepper as needed, keeping in mind that the mushrooms themselves will not be seasoned. The yield will be 1 1/2 cups.
Spread all of the onion mixture on the insides of the large mushroom caps, or fill the smaller caps with it.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
For the topping: Combine the cheese and mayonnaise in a small bowl. The yield will be 1/3 cup. Divide the topping evenly among the 4 large caps or the smaller caps.
Bake for 20 minutes (15 minutes for the smaller mushrooms), until the topping is golden brown and bubbling. Blot the caps on paper towels before serving.

Carrot Hummus

 

Makes 1 3/4 cups (6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 6 tablespoons olive or canola oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 pound carrots, trimmed and well scrubbed
• 3 large unpeeled cloves garlic, smashed
• Flaky sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Juice of 1 orange
• 3 tablespoons tahini (may substitute smooth peanut butter)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Have a medium roasting pan at hand.
Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small dry skillet for about a minute until just fragrant. Use a mortar and pestle to grind them to a fine-ish powder. Transfer to a large bowl; whisk in 4 tablespoons of the oil and all the honey.
Cut the carrots into 1/4-inch chunks, then add to the spiced oil along with the garlic. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Scrape the dressed carrots into the roasting pan and spread in an even layer; roast, turning once, until the carrots are tender and just starting to char slightly around the edges, 25 to 35 minutes.
Cool slightly, then transfer the roasting pan's contents to a food processor, slipping the garlic cloves out of their skins as you do so and scraping as much of the crusty brown bits, spices and oil as possible into the food processor. Add the lemon and orange juices, tahini and the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning as needed.

Transfer to a serving dish and lightly drizzle with more oil.  Drizzling it to coat lightly with oil before serving will prevent it from discoloring.  The hummus can be refrigerated for 5 days.

Party Sliders

24/30 piece tray of Hawaiian Bread/Rolls (any that come in an aluminum tray will work)

24 pieces good honey ham or Roast Beef
24 small slices Swiss or Provolone cheese
1/2 cup of Mayonaisse


Poppyseed topping
1 Tablespoon poppyseeds
1 1/2 Tablespoons honey mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Remove bread from aluminum tray without breaking the bread.  Take a sharp knife and slice thru the bread creating a top slice and a bottom slice of the bread.  Put the bottom piece back into the aluminum and the top piece off to the side.

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread half onto the bottom piece of bread.   Next, layer ham from end to end overlapping it evenly across the bread.  Do the same with the cheese.  Layer with remaining mayo and carefully place.   Put the top of the bread back on top.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Cut along the bread lines to separate.  Serve warm.

I make mine this way so when I take them somewhere, I don't have to cut them til I get there and the sandwiches don't separate and slide.  Sometimes I can only find bread in a 12 pack, and if they are large, I slice them into 24 finger sized pieces. 

Note: Sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

BoredAs's Quick Sausage Dip

1 package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 Jimmy Dean thawed breakfast sausage roll
1 can of mild rotel 
 
Put sausage in pan, and cook down until it is broken down in to pieces. Once you have it broken down, and thoroughly cooked, add the rotel and Cream Cheese and continue to cook until the cream cheese is melted, and everything is blended and creamy.


I like to eat this with Tositos corn chips; it's also amazingly delicious served over angel hair pasta... OM NOM NOM!