Appetizers | The Misadventures of Mrs. B

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Jan 202012

There’s a rule (and if there isn’t one, I’m making it up right now) that when it comes to food, the word “stuffed” increases awesomeness, like, exponentially.

Think about it. Poultry, pork chops, potatoes, pasta. Potentially delicious on their own, but then you stuff them with something and whoa. It’s like delicious squared.

Which brings me to the topic of this post.

Now, I love mushrooms. Big time. Over steak, in a salad or soup, especially with a pasta dish. Or just by themselves. It’s all good. I’m not picky.

But then stuffing is involved and oh my gracious goodness. Magic happens.

Stuffed mushrooms are probably my favorite appetizer. I will never pass them up when they’re offered at an event and have come close to stabbing fellow guests who made the unfortunate mistake of getting in my way. I have a difficult time restraining myself when I see them on a restaurant menu.

I’d pretty much eat them at every meal. For every meal.

And then it occurred to me that I could make them at home. When I woke up from my joy coma I started looking for recipes and found a few which appealed to me and adapted one to include sausage. See, I love sausage only slightly less than I love mushrooms. I felt it my duty to get these two crazy kids together. Uniting them in a marriage of scrumptious, savory delight.

I think you should do the same.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

12 large, fresh mushrooms

1/2 lb sausage, no casings

1 garlic clove, pressed or minced

1 tablespoon minced onion

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup half and half

1/4 cup melted butter

Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Shredded parmesan cheese, for garnish

Chopped parsley or parsley flakes, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Clean mushrooms. Remove and chop stems.

Over medium heat, cook sausage, breaking up into small pieces as it browns. When sausage is almost cooked through, add onion, garlic, chopped stems and red pepper (if you choose to use it). Cook over medium heat until stems are soft, then remove from heat. Add breadcrumbs and half and half. Combine thoroughly.

Taste and adjust salt/pepper.

One by one, dip mushroom caps into melted butter and arrange in baking dish. Stuff each cap with sausage mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley in last 5 minutes of baking, if desired.

Are you as in love with mushrooms as I am? What’s your favorite appetizer?

Sharing with A Southern Fairytale, Sarahandipities, Home Savvy A to Z, Everything Under The Moon, Mad in Crafts, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Add A Pinch, Mrs. Happy Homemaker, The Southern Institute, The Girl Creative, C.R.A.F.T., It’s So Very Cheri, Craft-O-Maniac, Skip To My Lou, Today’s Creative Blog, Raising 4 Princesses, All The Small Stuff, Giggles, Glitz & Glam, Ladybug Blessings, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sugar Bee Crafts, Hope Studios, Home Stories A to Z, The Kurtz Corner, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Chef in Training, Bru Crew Life, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, I’m Topsy Turvy, Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Funky Polkdadot Giraffe, 33 Shades of Green, Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy, Sugar and Dots, The Trendy Treehouse, Newlyweds, Lady Behind the Curtain, This Chick Cooks, Junk In Their Trunk, The Shady Porch, Somewhat Simple, A Little Nosh, It’s a Keeper, Bear Rabbit Bear, Delightful Order, A Creative Princess, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Real Housewives of Riverton, Hear The Bells, Designs by Gollum, Blissful and Domestic, Tidy Mom, 504 Main, 5 Days 5 Ways, Simply Sweet Home, Whipper Berry, One Artsy Mama, Delicate Construction

Cheesy Olive Dip

Recipes 38 Responses »

Jan 162012

A while back, I shared with you a Pioneer Woman recipe for olive cheese bread. I remember telling you how much my dad loved that bread and how much he raved about it whenever I made it – which was pretty much every time he came over after that, since I knew he enjoyed it so much. And I always gave him the leftovers to take home.

Recently I wanted to make something which would incorporate those same flavors, without actually preparing the bread. A lightbulb went on in my head: Why not make a dip?

So using those basic ingredients, I came up with something savory and magical and, as long as I’m being honest, highly addictive. Something which, were he still here, I think my dad would have loved.

I served it with my own homemade crostini, which was nothing more than thin slices of French bread which I lined up on a cookie sheet, brushed with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt, then baked for 10 minutes or so at 350 degrees. You may want to keep an eye on them to be sure you reach your desired level of crispiness – to each their own, after all. Of course you could use pita chips, veggies, tortilla chips…let your imagination run wild!

Cheesy Olive Dip

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup mayonnaise

1 cup green/black olives (your choice), roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced

1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and voila! May be better if allowed to chill a bit before serving so as to allow flavors to mingle – but you may not be able to stop yourself from nibbling on it right away.

What’s your favorite dip recipe?

Sharing with Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, A Southern Fairytale, Delightfully Dowling, CraftOManiac, It’s So Very Cheri, Add A Pinch, C.R.A.F.T., Sarahndipities, Everything Under The Moon, Home Savvy A to Z, Making The World Cuter, Mad In Crafts, The Southern Institute, Lines Across, The Girl Creative, Mrs. Happy Homemaker , Today’s Creative Blog, All The Small Stuff, Ladybug Blessings, Tip Junkie, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Giggles Glitz and Glam, I’m Topsy Turvy, Not Just a Housewife, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sugar Bee Crafts, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy, Raising 4 Princesses, Home Stories A 2 Z, Hope Studios, The Kurtz Corner, Chef in Training, Inside BruCrew Life, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, 33 Shades of Green, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Reasons to Skip The Housework, Trendy Treehouse, Sugar and Dots, Lady Behind the Curtain, This Chick Cooks, The Shady Porch, Southern Lovely, A Turtle’s Life for Me, Somewhat Simple, A Little Nosh, Bear Rabbit Bear, Delightful Order, A Creative Princess, Blissful and Domestic, Designs by Gollum, Tidy Mom, Simply Sweet Home, 504 Main

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Recipes 64 Responses »

Sep 042011

Warning: This is not health food. Do not be surprised by what you see here.

I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with y’all for a long time now. But it seems that no sooner do I make this dip then it disappears. I can never get good photos.

Today, however, I’ve made it to take to a barbecue so hands off, Rob.

Anyway. As you may well know, I’m a buffalo chicken addict. But I’m not a huge fan of super spicy foods. So this dip is perfect – it’s got just the right amount of heat. Just enough so you know it’s there but not so much that it can’t still be enjoyed.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t get the big deal about eating something so hot that it makes you sweat. Or cry. I only endorse tears of joy while eating, folks.

One note: Use buffalo sauce for this. Not hot sauce. I learned this one the hard way.

Poach two chicken breasts in simmering water til cooked through, then chop them up. Add them to a pan with 1 1/2 cups buffalo sauce. Again. Not hot sauce, unless you want to hurt yourself. I cannot stress this enough.

Heat the mixture through, letting the sauce soak into the chicken…mmm…then add two 8 ounce bars of cream cheese, which have been sitting out for a while so they soften up. Stir them into the chicken.

Add 1 cup of blue cheese dressing and stir it in.

Then add around 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese. Usually I’d use the orange kind (I know, I’m so scientific) but someone in my house seems to have an obsession with the white cheese. So. That’s what I used.

Pour this into a pretty 8×8 baking pan and add more cheese. Okay, it doesn’t have to be a pretty baking pan. But it helps.

Then pop the whole thing into the oven and let it bake for around 20-30 minutes, until nice and hot and bubbly and melty.

You could also be like me and take some extra, put it in a ramekin with some cheese, and nuke it for a minute. If you’re feeling extra impatient.

Mmm. Mmmmmm, I say.

So good.

Now. Here’s another tip if you are really unhappy about the grease layer that forms on the surface: When the finished product comes out of the oven, lay a paper towel over the dip and gently press it down to soak up the grease. I said gently – not only because you don’t want to lift off the cheese, but because it’s hot!

And there you go. Buffalo chicken dip. Your guests will go crazy over it. And so will you.

Try to share.

I’m still working on that myself.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

1 1/2 cups buffalo sauce

2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup blue cheese dressing

10 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy-bottomed pan, combine the chicken and buffalo sauce. Heat over medium until warmed through, then add cream cheese and allow to melt into sauce. Stir to combine. Add dressing and stir through. Stir in around half of the cheddar cheese.

Pour into 8×8 pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly.

Serve with chips, crackers, celery sticks, etc.

Sharing with Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Delightfully Dowling, A Southern Fairytale, Keeping It Simple, Jam Hands, Make-Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, The Girl Creative, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, 33 Shades of Green, Home Sweet Farm, Chef In Training, Sugar Bee Crafts, Blessed With Grace, All Thingz Related, Tip Junkie, Nap Time Creations, I’m Topsy Turvy, Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy, The Blackberry Vine, Dr. Laura’s Adventures, Mandy’s Recipe Box, All The Small Stuff, The Lady Behind The Curtain, This Chick Cooks, Sugar and Dots, A Pinch Of This, That &The Other, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Momnivore’s Dilemna, Fireflies and Jellybeans, A Creative Princess, Delightful Order, What Allie’s Making Now, A Glimpse Inside, The 36th Avenue, Something Swanky, It’s a Keeper, Somewhat Simple, Mangoes and Chutney, Mom Trends, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Creation Corner, Tidy Mom, 504 Main, Simply Sweet Home, Designs by Gollum, EKat’s Kitchen, For The Love of Blogs

Popcorn Chicken, or, Boneless Buffalo Wings

Recipes, Uncategorized 40 Responses »

Aug 192011

One day, many moons ago, I was experimenting in the kitchen.

I admit, sometimes this doesn’t go well. Like the time I tried to make cream of potato soup by boiling the potatoes in the milk. Shudder. I didn’t always know a whole lot about cooking.

Anyway, I was experimenting. I think I was going to be throwing a party and wanted to make something easy and delicious, something people would flock to but which wouldn’t take me a whole lot of time to make and could be prepared in advance.

It was also around that time that I started frying things. As in dunking them in hot oil and seeing what happened. I’m a wild and crazy girl, aren’t I?

After much experimentation, I came up with…this:

Popcorn chicken. You know you want it.

Be sure to cut the chicken up into pieces of approximately the same size – you want them to cook evenly so you know when one is finished cooking, the rest are as well.

It’s important to make sure the oil is ready for frying. How do you know? When you drop a small piece of bread in the oil and it sizzles, then floats to the surface right away, it’s time to fry. If the oil isn’t hot enough it will just make the breading soggy.

But keep an eye that it doesn’t get too hot or else you’ll have some burned chicken, or a lovely golden coating with raw chicken inside. Which is no good for anyone.

That’s what you want. It may take a little experimenting at first to get the hang of it. But it’s well worth the experimentation, believe me.

How does it taste? Well, let’s just say that I was frying batches for a New Years Eve party a couple of years ago and one batch was gone before I turned back to replenish the plate. And we didn’t have that many people in attendance. And there were approximately a million other things to eat.

Plus, Rob’s addicted. So that’s saying something.

The next time you feel like a little KFC is in order (or Church’s or Popeye’s or whatever), and you have a little time and patience, give this a shot. You can play with the flavor in the coating after frying a piece or two and seeing how you like it- personally I like it on the milder side, but that’s only because I like to do…THIS to it:

Oh yeah. Buffalo sauce. I went there. I went there, sat down, ate a heap of it and wiped my mouth after. And it was good.

Incidentally, this could also be called boneless buffalo wings. Which is the only kind I’ll eat. I’m not a fan of, like…bones and stuff. Just give me the meat.

And then, if you’re really bad (like me) you could dunk it in some dressing…

Gulp.

Excuse me. I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard. And fry up some more of this.

You should fry some up, too. Only don’t blame me if you find yourself dreaming about it and buying oil by the vat in order to keep up with your chicken frying habit. Your addiction is your own, as they say.

Popcorn Chicken

3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into pieces

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Dash of hot sauce

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Oil for frying

In a deep pot, heat around 4-6 inches of oil over medium high heat (or use a fryer if you’re lucky enough to have one). Oil is ready when a piece of bread sizzles and quickly floats to surface.

In a shallow bowl, beat eggs and hot sauce. In a separate bowl or plate, combine dry ingredients. When oil is ready, dip chicken pieces in egg, then coat lightly with flour mixture. Fry in batches for approximately 8-10 minutes, until coating is light brown and chicken is cooked through. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a low oven, if necessary, until ready to serve.

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Fried Pickles

Recipes 39 Responses »

Feb 092011

Fried pickles.

It sounds sorta silly, doesn’t it? I mean, who fries pickles? Aren’t pickles delicious enough on their own?

Well, they are indeed very delicious. I can’t argue with you there. However, if you don’t understand why pickles should be fried…it’s probably because you’ve never eaten a fried pickle. I too used to be a naysayer.

Then I ate one. Then I ate an entire jar’s worth. And the world will never be the same.

And really, when you think about it…chicken is good, but popcorn chicken is excellent. And fried dough rolled in powdered sugar, aka beignets? Pretty much so-good-you-could-die amazing. So really, is it so unthinkable that pickles would be totally delicious when fried?

These pickles are reminiscent of the ones I’ve eaten at Buffalo Wild Wings. There’s cornmeal in the coating, to give it a little extra crunch and texture, just like at the restaurant. The dipping sauce is my own creation, though – I can’t resist a little dill and horseradish action.

Two things to remember: One, drain and dry the pickles thoroughly before coating. Two, make sure whenever you’re frying anything that the oil is hot enough – otherwise the oil will soak into what you’re frying and instead of crispiness you’ll end up with oiliness.

And no one likes an oily pickle.

Fried Pickles

2 eggs

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup vegetable oil for deep frying (Or more – I made sure I had 2 -3 inches of oil in the pan)

Pour oil in pan or fryer. Heat to 365 degrees F, or until a crust of bread floats to the top when dropped into the oil.

While oil is heating, pour pickles into a strainer and drain liquid, then lay in single layer on paper towels and pat dry.

Beat eggs together in a bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl or shallow dish.

When oil is ready, dip pickles into eggs and dredge through cornmeal mixture, coating thoroughly. Carefully drop pickles into oil and fry until golden brown, turning if necessary.

Remove fried pickles with slotted spoon or tongs and drain on paper towels. Serve with dipping sauce, if desired.

Horseradish Dill Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp dried dill

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp prepared horseradish

1 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and allow to sit, refrigerated, for 30 minutes prior to serving.

Have you ever eaten fried pickles? What did you think?

Sharing with House of Hepworths, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Designs by Gollum, Simply Sweet Home, 504 Main, A Southern Fairytale & Balancing Beauty and Bedlam – stop on by to see what everyone else has come up with this week!

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Cheesy Olive Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Popcorn Chicken, or, Boneless Buffalo Wings

Fried Pickles

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