Tailgate Recipe #9: Double Chocolate Truffles and Cheesy Corn Casserole

Game days are starting to get chilly, but I can’t say that I mind it. There is just something about attending an exciting game in the brisk weather that really says ‘football’ to me.

The two treats I am featuring this week are Double Chocolate Truffles and Cheesy Corn Casserole. These two will be perfect for a semi-chilly game day, like we are planning to have this Saturday in Fayetteville.

I love making truffles. They are so easy but so decadent. I’ve made them before, but I changed the recipe up a bit. This time I dipped them in melted milk chocolate, so they would have a hard outer shell. Since it’s only going to be 60 degrees this Saturday, I thought the chocolate could handle being outside.

Speaking of 60 degree weather, I wanted to bring something warm to add to our tailgate feast. I made an incredibly cheesy corn casserole as zesty side dish. This is so, so delicious. 

Both of these treats are really easy and excellent recipes to make a day ahead so you don’t spend all morning in the kitchen and then rushing around making your friends wait on you while you try to get yourself ready. I’m so guilty of that. Not this week though! I’ll have my delicious dessert and side dish all packaged up and ready to go before the doorbell rings.

Double Chocolate Truffles

In a non-stick saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Add vanilla.

Pour in a baking pan lined with a Silpat or parchment paper and smooth until the chocolate is about ½ inch deep. Place in refrigerator for about one hour.

(While this was chilling, I made the cheesy corn casserole.)

Remove from refrigerator and scoop into small bite-sized truffles. I used the larger end of a melon baller. Roll with the palms of your hands and place back onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chocolate. Place in freezer for about 30 minutes so they chill back up before you drop them in melted milk chocolate.

Melt about 10 squares of milk chocolate. I used Bakers Bark. Set up your station. Remove about 10-12 truffles from the freezer at a time. 

Drop one truffle in the chocolate at a time. Remove with a fork and place on a cooling rack that has a sheet of parchment paper underneath to catch the dripping chocolate.

Place mini chocolate chips on the tops of the truffles before the milk chocolate melts. You can use any topping you prefer. These would be excellent with chopped nuts, sprinkles or coconut.

Allow them to set completely and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

I’m serving mine in cupcake wrappers and placing them in this cute cupcake tree.

Ingredients:

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In large saucepan, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer the mixture into a medium bowl. Cover and chill 2 to 3 hours or until firm.

Shape mixture into 1 inch balls; roll in desired covering and/or decorate them. Refrigerate in a tightly covered dish.

Cheesy Corn Casserole

There is a corn dip recipe (served cold) that several of my co-workers and I are quite obsessed with. I basically took that, added a whole lot more cheese and melted it all together in one united blissful pan.

Sauté half an onion and one or two bell peppers in a small sauce pan until soft.  Add garlic. Combine that along with sharp cheddar cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, Velveeta, corn and paprika in a large pot on medium heat. Add frozen corn. Stir occasionally until all cheese is melted. Add pepper.

Serve in a pretty dish and don’t count how many servings you will have.

Ingredients:

1-2 red and/or green bell peppers

½ onion, chopped

4 cloves chopped garlic

½ cup flour

1 cup milk

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

4 oz. Velveeta, cubed

1 oz. block grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 tsp. paprika

2 lb. fresh or frozen corn kernels

Black pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat onion, garlic and bell pepper in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, and cook for about a minute longer. Add cream cheese, sour cream, Velveeta, cheddar, and paprika, and cook until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in corn and flour; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a 9″ × 13″ baking dish and bake until top is golden brown and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Happy winning weekend!

Cheers!

Christi

Tailgate Recipe #8: Smoked Salmon Dip

Let’s kick it up a notch this week with a zesty smoked salmon dip. This isn’t your average tailgate dip, but isn’t that the point sometimes? However, if this isn’t something you'd want to bring to your next tailgate party, file this recipe away for your next house party.

This dip takes the ingredients of the classic smoked salmon bagel sandwich and combines them together to make a rich and flavorful dip.

IMPORTANT: This is for serious salmon lovers only. The smoked salmon has such a rich and delicious flavor, but it is the more dominant ingredient.

This dip is perfect with these mini bagel chips!!

OR—you can serve it up on a toasted, open-face bagel like this.

Either way, if you’re a salmon lover this dip (or spread) is for you!

Cheers!

Christi

Ingredients:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

8 ounces cream cheese

2 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons red onion, diced small

Juice from one lemon

1 teaspoon horseradish

2 ounces plus 2 more ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Bagel chips, for serving

Directions:

In a food processor, combine mayonnaise, cream cheese, capers, red onion, lemon juice, horseradish, and 2 ounces smoked salmon. Process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in remaining 2 ounces smoked salmon. Top with fresh parsley and serve with bagel chips, or serve it as a sandwich on an open-face toasted bagel.

Recipe adapted from Mrs. Martha

Study Snack: Crunchy Granola Bars

MD is in his final semester of school. After we graduated undergrad together, Mitchell began graduate school and is now trying to wrap up his PhD. You could say I’ve gotten accustomed to very late nights of studying, especially during these last few months when he’s been hitting it harder than he ever has before.

While he was studying one evening, I wanted to make him a little snack to keep the pep in his step. What would be better than a crunchy, healthful granola bar?

These were so easy! This is a great base that you can adapt the recipe to however you’d like. Here’s how I made mine:

First, toast your coconut flakes and almond slivers. You can totally skip this step, but I don’t suggest that you do. Brown the coconut and almonds on a baking pan and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. 


You must keep an eye on this! One minute the coconut is white, the next minute it’s smoking. Just saying

See why you mustn't skip this step?

Next, combine the butter, flax seeds, cranberries, oats and chocolate chips in a bowl.

Add the sweetened condensed milk.

Keep it coming. Don’t worry about this stuff. It’s good for you to indulge once in a while.

Add the toasted coconut flakes and almond slivers on top.

Beat with a hand mixer until combined. Spread onto a lightly greased baking sheet. My dough was about one inch deep and I left about two-three inches on each side like this:

Look at that gorgeous texture!

Pop the pan in the oven set at 350 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Stop right here if you prefer chewy granola bars. Allow the dough to cool and slice into bars with a pizza slicer.

If you prefer a crunchier granola bar like MD and I do, take the pan of granola out of the oven after they've baked for 20-25 minutes. Keep the oven on, but turn the heat down to 200 degrees. Once the temperature has dropped, place the baking sheet back in the oven for about 45 minutes to continue baking. This will allow the remaining moisture to escape to give the bar a crunch!

Remove the baking sheet. Allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes and then slice into bars with a pizza slicer.

Serve these up for the perfect coffee partner, afternoon snack or late night pick-me-up.

MD loved them!

Cheers!

Christi

Ingredients:

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup of flax seeds 

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sweetened condensed milk, butter, coconut, almonds, chocolate chips and cranberries with your hands until well blended. Press flat into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them. Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.

Source.

Tailgate Recipe #7: Pumpkin Pie Dip!

Remember that time I told you about my near disaster plumbing incident? Well, it almost happened again while I was preparing this pumpkin dessert. But, I learned from my mistake and did not put the pumpkin seeds down the drain. See. That’s what mistakes are all about.

I've been seeing this dessert pop up on Pinterest frequently and really wanted to give it a try. I am so glad I did. It was very quick and easy and it looks so delightful when you’re ready to serve it. Look how easy this would be to take to your next tailgate party!

The rich pumpkin flavor is exactly like what you love in Grandma’s pumpkin pie but this allows you to dip cookies and apples in it! Fun!

I baked homemade Gingersnap cookies the first time I made it. Gingersnaps are easily my favorite holiday cookie! You can find me snacking on these daily from the beginning of November through December. I could swim in molasses.

Here’s the easy and delicious recipe!

Cheers!

Christi

Pumpkin Pie Dip:

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more if you'd like)

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

1 cup whipped cream (I used freshly whipped cream, but the kind you find in the freezer section is just fine, too.)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and whipped cream until smooth and well blended. Chill until ready to serve.

Recipe slightly adapted from: All Recipes

Wine and Cheese

I am really excited to bring you today’s post as it is featuring two of my favorite things:

Red wine and cheese!

MD and I subscribe to Wine Enthusiast, a magazine that provides the best in wine 101, entertaining and even a little bit about food and travel. Each month it arrives in our mailbox, we quickly pluck it out and flip through the pages to see what wines they are featuring and more importantly, what wines we need to add to our wine cabinet.

In this month’s issue, Wine Enthusiast provided a list of the top 100 affordable wines.

Naturally, I need to do some of my own research. As we read through some of the top wines, I knew I wanted to feature a red wine. That narrowed it down some. Next, I needed to be sure it was a wine that I could easily find in my area. Lastly, I wanted it to be a red wine that I hadn’t tried before.

 I decided to go with #2: Dominio de Eguren 2009 Portocolo red wine.


Origin: Spain
Year: 2009
Price: $8

There it is on the cover!

MD and I really, really loved this wine. The taste was very rich and smooth. This wine would be perfect even for someone who doesn’t drink red all that often.

This would also be excellent to serve while hosting. At $8 a bottle, the affordable price allows you to serve a delicious wine without having to spend much at all.

You could serve this with a nice dinner, or simply enjoy it with a scrumptious cheeseboard like we did!

There is no doubt this wine will make a nice pair with most everything. I highly encourage you to go out and pick up a bottle or two soon! With the cold winter months already sneaking up, this will be perfect to keep you and your honey warm.

Let me know when you try it!

Cheers!

Christi

Copacetic in Carolina

I had the privilege of being featured on one of my favorite blogs today, Copacetic in Carolina!

Ally is a sweet and southern University of Georgia alum who blogs about her life as a newlywed, delicious food, fabulous fashion and so much more. I have very much enjoyed following her blog and I encourage you to check her out! Don’t forget to click her “Follow” button so you can keep up with her!

Click here: Copacetic in Carolina

Three Cheers for Three Soups

October is National Vegetarian Awareness Month and while I am certainly not going to preach for you to put down the meat, I would like to share three of my favorite meat-free soups.

As I’ve mentioned before, soup is my favorite meal during the fall and winter months. The three recipes I am featuring below are ones that I’ve made several times in the past. They are the best.

First, I’ll start with Thai Coconut Soup.

I hate to pick favorites, but this may be my favorite soup.

Photo snapped with my iPhone. Dinner at home. December 15, 2010

There is a Thai restaurant in Fayetteville that serves a soup very similar to this recipe. I was so happy to have found a recipe that I can make at home but still taste just like the one from the best Thai restaurant in town.

Here’s where I found my initial inspiration, but I have since changed it quite a bit. 

Ingredients:

4 cups water

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots

2 teaspoons red curry paste

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped green onions
8-12 white button mushrooms, sliced

6 cups fat-free, less-sodium vegetable broth

2 (13.5-ounce) cans light coconut milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or 1/2 tsp. for more kick) 

Lime wedges for garnish

Preparation:

Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan.

Sauté one minute, stirring constantly. Add veggie broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add onions, mushrooms and sugar to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

OPTIONAL: You can add 1 (5 3/4-ounce) package of pad Thai noodles (wide rice stick noodles) to your soup if you prefer. MD loved it with the noodles, but I found it a bit messy to eat.

Next up: Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

Mitchell Darling made this last February for a Super Bowl party we hosted at our house. It was quite a hit. We served the soup in mugs. We have found this to be a much easier way for guests to enjoy sipping soup at a party. Especially when they might be jumping up and down while shouting at a football game.

Served at Super Bowl party hosted at our home. February 6, 2011

Ingredients:

(1) 15-ounce can black beans 1 bunch cilantro, chopped 1 tablespoon cumin seed 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 1 large onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 4 cups vegetable broth 1-1/2 cups chopped tomatoes 2 cups frozen corn 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped green onion Instructions:

In a large skillet, braise the onion in 1/2 cup water for 2 minutes. Stir in the bell pepper, garlic, into a saucepan and simmer with cilantro and herbs and cook until the onion is soft. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro and herbs to a large pot. Add the broth, beans, corn and tomatoes. Simmer 30 minutes or longer if time allows (the flavor improves with longer cooking.) Add salt to taste.

#3: Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup

This recipe comes to us via Joy the Baker, my most favorite food blogger.

Photo snapped with my iPhone right before I devoured this soup. February 22, 2011

This soup is about as amazing as this one.

Joy calls this her “dream winter soup”. MD and I certainly agree. It is made with cashew milk, which has got to be the dreamiest thing I have ever made, seen, tasted!

The recipe instructs that after you puree the mushrooms, pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer to leave some of the remains of the mushroom behind. I did not do this. I couldn’t dare think about leaving behind any of this soup.

You’ll totally slurp this one up!

Find her recipe here!

Spoons up!

Christi