Viola party food! I loved making all of it, all honestly quite easy and fast or able to be made a few days ahead. The day of the party we had plenty of time to relax and not have to cook all day. Hubs is the Bacon & Date master maker now too!
Vanilla Marshmallows w/ chocolate Ganache:
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp powdered gelatin
2 egg whites
1 tsp bourbon vanilla paste
1 butter an 8x8 baking dish
2 dust with cornstarch, so they don't stick
3 in a small saucepan stir together 1/4 cup water, sugar and corn syrup
4 gently stir until the sugar is dissolved
5 turn heat up to high and bring mixture to 265 degrees F on a candy thermometer
6 while it's heating up combine 1/4 cup water and gelatin to soften
7 in another bowl whip the egg whites until soft peaks form
8 when the sugar is at the correct temperature turn mixer on low and pour it into the egg whites
9 plop in the gelatin mixture and vanilla
10 beat mixture on low until it becomes bright white and fluffy, 5-7 minutes
11 pour into prepared pan and spread around evenly
12 cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 8-10 hours
13 sprinkle cornstarch lightly on top of marshmallows
14 cut with a warm knife in 1" marshmallows
can be stored for a few days in a sealed container
seriously YUMMM!!!
from Flour
Parmesan and Black Pepper Focaccia:
from Flour
2 cups water, at room tempurature
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 cups flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbs salt
2 tbs sugar
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; grated
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 in a large mixing bowl combine yeast and water, let sit 30 seconds until yeast dissolves
2 add in flours, 2 tsp salt, and sugar over yeast mixture
3 mix on low until it starts to combine, 30 seconds
4 turn mixer on in short bursts, dough should look shaggy
5 pour olive oil down the side of the bowl with mixer on low
6 knead dough on low for 5-6 minutes, it should be elastic ans stretch
7 oil a large bowl and transfer dough into it, cover with towel
8 let rise in warm, dry place 2-2.5 hours
9 lightly put cornmeal on a baking sheet and flour your hands
10 pull dough and roll out into 9x13, flour the top of it
11 cover with a cloth and let rise for another 1-1.5 hours
12 preheat oven to 425 degrees F
13 with your fingers press down into the surface of the dough
14 drizzle remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over the dough
15 sprinkle remaining 1 tsp salt and the pepper evenly
16 then sprinkle the parmesan cheese
17 bake for 25-30 minutes, golden brown
l8 let cool, you can store it for a few days wrapped in towel and placed in a paper bag
(or you can wrap it in plastic wrap and store in freezer for up to a week, it thaws great!)
recipe for Bacon & Date Bites stuffed with a roasted almond and goat cheese
HERE
Spanakopita:
these were so great for people to grab and eat, plus they looked really cute in their little cups
1 roll phyllo dough; thawed
1- 1 1/2 lbs fresh spinach
about 2 cups feta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup butter
preheat oven 375 degrees F
1 melt 1 tbs butter in a large skillet
2 add in spinach and cook until wilted, 3-5 minutes
3 remove from skillet and squeeze all the liquid out that you can
4 coarsely chop the spinach and place in large bowl
5 mix in feta, salt, nutmeg and pepper
6 melt remaining butter in skillet
7 unroll phyllo dough and cut in strips of about 2 1/2-3 inch strips down the short
side of the roll
8 keep strips covered with a lightly damp paper towel so it doesn't dry out
9 pull out 1 strip, brush lightly with butter and place another strip on top
10 place 1 tbs of the spinach mixture at the end of the strip
11 fold the corner over to form a triangle and then flip it over itself and repeat until
it makes a triangular shape all the way down.
12 lightly brush butter on both sides and place on baking dish
13 repeat with remaining filling
14 bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown
15 remove and let cool
Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip:
This stuff seriously rocks!!!
1 bag pretzels
3 tbs raspberry preserves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cup djon mustard
1/3 cup honey
pinch of salt
1 mix preserves, seeds, mustard, honey and salt together
2 presto- ready to go! serve with pretzels
can store covered in fridge for up to a week
