Basil-Roasted Red Pepper Spread

1/4 cup drained roasted red peppers
5 pitted black olives, chopped
1 12-oz tub cream cheese spread
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp sliced almonds, toasted
Party crackers (Ritz, Wheat Thins, etc)




Cut star shape from one pepper, using star-shaped cookie cutter; set aside. Chop remaining peppers, combine with olives.
Blend cream cheese, basil and garlic in blender until smooth. Clean cream cheese tub; line with plastic wrap.
Spoon 1/2 cup cream cheese mixture into tub, top with olive mixture and remaining cream cheese mixture. Press into tub.
Refrigerate 1 hour. Unmold onto plate and discard plastic wrap. Top with almonds and pepper star, and serve with crackers.

Crawfish-Scallop Cakes

I have not tried this recipe, but I have had it at one of my favorite restaurants. They stopped making this as an appetizer because it was so expensive, so they gave me the recipe!!! I actually prefer this seafood cake to the traditional crabcake!! It is delicious!

Crawfish Cakes
2 lbs scallops
2 lbs crawfish tails, drained and chopped
2 eggs
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1-1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 habenero pepper, diced
8 cooked dinner rolls, or equivalent white bread

In food processor, grate rolls (or bread) and set aside. In food processor, chop all veggies, drain off juices, and set aside. Thaw and drain crawfish tails. Chop coarsely in food processor. Set aside. In processor, place scallops, cream, eggs, and lemon juice. Puree. In separate bowl, mix all ingredients, adding bread crumbs last.
(At this point, the recipe ends - so I assume you either bake the cakes at around 400 for 25-30 minutes (at least until center of each cake reaches a temp of 165), or fry them in vegetable oil until well browned (internal temp of 165)).

Crawfish Sauce (double batch)
1 qt mayonnaise
1 qt sour cream
2 cups ketchup
4 Tbsp raw horseradish
6 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
1/3 cup dry white wine or sherry
1 Tbsp ground white pepper
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper


Mix all ingredients well, and serve with crawfish cakes.


Keep in mind that this recipe comes from a restaurant, so the portions are large. Probably only a quarter recipe of the sauce, and half of the cake recipe would be enough to serve 8 to 10.

Broccoli and Raisin Salad

4 Cups broccoli flowerettes
1 Cup grated cheese
1/2 Cup raisins
1/2 Cup chopped pecans, peanuts or cashews
1/2 Cup chopped red onion
8 Slices crisp fried bacon, crumbled

Dressing
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons white vinegar

Combine ingredients in large bowl and gently toss to mix. Combine dressing ingredients in small bowl and stir until sugar dissolves. Pour over broccoli mixture and stir gently. Chill before serving.

(If making the day before serving, do not add nuts and raisins. The nuts get soft and the raisins get too plump.)

Apple/Cranberry Gelatin Salad

1 Large box of red jello (cherry, raspberry, etc.)
1 Large can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 Can whole berry cranberry sauce
2 Med. Large red delicious apples

Melt jello in 1 cup boiling water. Add cranberry sauce and stir until melted. Add pineapple with juice. Add diced apples. Stir and chill.

(Joel gave me this recipe and it is delicious. You can use cranberry sauce without whole berries but it is much better with the whole berry sauce. Color is beautiful too!)

Sweet Potatoe Casserole

3 Cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Teaspoon salt
2 Eggs
1/3 Stick melted butter
1/2 Cup sweet milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla

Topping
1 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup flour
1 Cup chopped nuts
1/3 Stick melted butter

Beat mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, milk and vanilla and place in greased casserole dish.

Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over potato mixture. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes or till brown and mixture is set (not soupy).

(I always use fresh sweet potatoes. Canned potatoes usually come out way too soupy and the color is never the beautiful orange color as fresh baked sweet potatoes)

Corn Casserole

1 Can cream corn (14 1/2 to 16 oz.)
1 Stick butter
1 Cup grated sharp cheese
1 Cup cooked white rice
1 Tablespoon finely minced onion
1 Tablespoon finely minced green pepper (optional)
3 Eggs

Mix until well blended. Pour into a well greased glass baking dish. Cook at 350 F for 1 hour or until golden brown and not soupy in the middle.

Curried Turkey Salad Wraps with Cranberry Chutney

Thinking ahead to Thanksgiving leftovers.... I got a collection of recipes and suggestions (and coupons!) from Kroger today, and some of them sounded really good!! So far I have not posted any recipe that I haven't tried out, but this one sounds good, and we always get tired of turkey before the leftovers are gone.

Chutney
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp red onion, minced
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup leftover cranberry sauce

Salad
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4 cup scallion, minced
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
1-1/2 cups leftover turkey, diced
4 flour tortillas (8- to 10-inch)

Make your cranberry chutney by combining the jalapeno, red onion, 1/4 tsp of the salt, lime juice and cranberry sauce in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
Make curried turkey salad by combining the remaining salt, mayonnaise, curry powder, celery, scallion, cashews and turkey in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.
To assemble, spread 1/4 of the cranberry chutney over each tortilla, top with 1/4 of the curried turkey salad, and roll into a wrap, making sure to fold the edges up, burrito-style, as you go. Serve with pickles and potato chips. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Serves 4.