Make All New Food Things!
Last week, I was seriously jonesing to make some new recipes. And since my wife and I love to have “small plates” dinners every so often, I took the opportunity to jazz things up and make all new recipes for the meal, complete with a menu I printed up (because I’m a design geek like that). The menu for the evening included:
- Raspberry Peach Sangria
- Cheddar Bacon Ranch Spread
- Garlic Smashed Potatoes with Sautéed Garlic Tomatoes
- Grown-up Pigs in a Blanket (filled with BBQ pulled pork and cheese)
- Zucchini Boats
- Chocolate Tiramisu Truffles
Admittedly, most of these recipes were derived from various sources, so I won’t bother adding in the recipes, but will instead just link to the recipes I used.
Raspberry Peach Sangria
To kick things off, I made some Raspberry Peach Sangria, which was one of the recipes from Sangria Four Ways page I found on Buzzfeed. I did make a couple minor modifications to the recipe, namely that I used a Riesling in place of the Rosé, and also skipped on the champagne. Even with these changes, the end result was a perfectly refreshing, fruity, and delicious.
Cheddar Bacon Ranch Spread
The first course included a delicious Cheddar Bacon Ranch Spread recipe I found on the Chef in Training website. Rather than make one large cheese ball, I made smaller individual-sized ones. And since I’m a vegetarian, I decided to make a modification to the recipe and leave the bacon out of the main cheese mixture. Instead, combined the diced bacon with the pecans (non-vegetarian) for the outer coating, and flat out left the bacon out of my own portion. I served some crudités and crackers with the spread, and was blown away by how tasty the end result was. Definitely a recipe I’ll be making again!
Garlic Smashed Potatoes & Sautéed Garlic Tomatoes
Next up was a couple of vegetable dishes. I found the recipe for Garlic Smashed Potatoes from the site Damn Delicious, and knew that I had to try it. I had been waffling on what sort of method I wanted to use for the potatoes, going back and forth between some sort of oven-roasted, mashed, or twice-baked. This recipe satisfied multiple criteria, while also providing me a great new favorite recipe for potatoes.
Along with the potatoes, I did a simple sauté of minced garlic and halved cherry tomatoes in some olive oil, along with some sea salt, black pepper, and thyme. These were ridiculously simple to make, with a total sauté time on medium heat of 2-3 minutes, until the tomatoes were just beginning to soften. Unless you have some sort of weird aversion to garlic and/or tomatoes, I guarantee you’ll love these tomatoes.
Grown-up Pigs in a Blanket & Zucchini Boats
For the next course, I utilized some leftover slow-cooker BBQ pulled pork that I had made earlier, along with a can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls that needed to be used, to create some Grown-up Pigs in a Blanket (which I admittedly didn’t partake of, due to being vegetarian). This was my own concoction, so no source recipe that I used for reference. But it is a super-easy recipe:
- 1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
- 1 c. BBQ pulled pork
- 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- Distribute the pulled pork and cheese evenly on each crescent roll, adding additional BBQ sauce, if desired.
- Roll up each crescent roll and bake according to the package directions.
See? Easy peasy.
Along with the pigs in a blanket, I made a recipe for Stuffed Zucchini Boats that I found on the Real Food by Dad website. The recipe was pretty simple, consisting of a mix of cheeses and diced veggies (and some diced chicken I used for the ones I didn’t eat) spread over hollowed-out zucchini halves. And let me tell you, it was an absolutely delectable addition to the night’s menu. The mix of cheeses was perfect, and added a perfect element of creaminess to the dish. I don’t care what you do/don’t like…you need to make these little guys. Now.
Chocolate Tiramisu Truffles
For dessert, I made a delicious recipe for Chocolate Tiramisu Truffles that I found on Buzzfeed. While things got a bit sticky/dirty when making the recipe, the end result was definitely worth it. These bite-sized gems were just what the culinary doctor ordered to end our evening of Make All New Food Things small plate recipes!
That’s a Wrap!
Well, that’s all, folks! My night of “Make All New Food Things” was a huge success. It satisfied my desire to spend some quality time in the kitchen, while trying new recipes at the same time. And I was very pleased that everything turned out so well — no recipe duds to be found here!
Bon Appétit!
