Julia’s Cheese Wafers

• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1-1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1/8 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Let cheese and butter come to room temperature. Add the other 4 ingredients. Make 2 rolls on a floured surface and freeze.

To serve: thaw 30 minutes and cut into 1/3″ thick slices.

Bake at 350ºF on the bottom shelf for 5 minutes. Then, top shelf for 5 minutes.

Cool on wire rack.

Muhammara

This is a Syrian roasted red pepper and walnut dip. Recipe from @thebrightblooms on Threads

Of course 😊 mine is from a book (Syria recipes from home by @itabazzam). Grill a red pepper and a chilli until blackened and soft. Peel the skin once cool. Grind 75g walnuts until finely ground. Add the red pepper, chilli, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tsp red pepper paste, 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses, a crushed garlic clove and salt then blend. Easy and so good!

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

My friend sent me a recipe we intend to try out next week. She got it from Hungry Girl‘s website. As usual, I will modify how I use it later.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. whipped cream cheese
2 tbsp. light mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1 1/4 tsp. taco seasoning, divided
1 cup frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1∕4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 dashes cayenne pepper
6 jalapeño peppers

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, mayo, lime juice, and 1 tsp. taco seasoning. Mix until smooth and uniform. Add corn, feta, and cilantro. Gently stir.

In another small bowl, combine bread crumbs, cayenne pepper, and remaining 1/4 tsp. taco seasoning. Mix well.

Halve jalapeño peppers lengthwise; remove and discard seeds and ribs (the lighter part the seeds are attached to). Evenly fill pepper halves with creamy corn mixture. Top with seasoned bread crumbs.

Place stuffed pepper halves on the baking sheet. Bake until outsides are crispy and peppers have softened, 25–30 minutes.

Pecan Pie Bars

Once again, Robin comes through. She brought these treats made using her SIL’s recipe to a family gathering and we all lost our minds.

Crust:

• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. cold butter, cubed

Filling:

• 4 eggs
• 1.5 c. corn syrup
• 1.5 c. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2.5 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Spread over hot crust.

Bake 25-30 minutes longer or until filling is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yields: 4 dozen

Xmas punch

In a coffee urn combine

1 lg can pineapple juice
1 lg jar cranberry juice
4 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. Brown sugar
4 1/2 t. Whole cloves
4 sticks cinnamon (broken)
1/4 t. Salt

Perk and serve hot.

Whirly Pop Kettle Corn

• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels

Combine sugar and salt in a bowl so that it’s blended when you add it to the pot.

As usual, use 1 Tbsp. oil and 1/2 c. corn on medium heat.

Put a test kernel in the WP to know when the oil is hot. Add corn and sugar/salt together and crank away.

Rinse the pot immediately to keep the sugar from sticking.

Nick’s Everything Bagel Cheese Ball

16 oz cream cheese
3 c. grated cheddar (he used half sharp and half mild)
2 Tbsp. Everything Bagel seasoning
1 minced scallion

Mix it all together and scrape it onto a piece of plastic wrap with some non-stick spray on it to shape it.

Roll in another 2-3 Tbsp of seasoning.

Serve with bagel chips.

Rosemary Nuts

4 c. almonds, pecans or walnuts
1/2 c. chopped rosemary
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper

Heat oil and rosemary in a large frying or saute pan. When it smells good, toss nuts in the mixture. Pick out the big pieces of rosemary. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar. Toss again and spread coated nuts out on a sheet pan. Toast at 325º stirring occasionally (every 7-10 minutes?) for about 30 minutes.

Store in a airtight container..

Pickled Grapes

• 1 lb. grapes
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/8 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

Directions

1. Wash grapes and remove from stem.
2. Slice stem end off of the grapes and pack into a quart jar containing spices.
3. In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, water and sugar.
4. Bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Pour hot vinegar into jar over grapes.
6. Place a lid on the jar to seal.

The longer they wait, the better they are. We serve them with cheese as an aperitif.

Modified from seriouseats.com/pickled-red-grapes

Experiment 1/19/22:

Oblong, black grapes cut in half in a half pint jar with a stick of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp peppercorns and 1/4 tsp mustard seeds. Same brine.

Oblong, black grapes cut in half in a half pint jar with a stick of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp mustard seed and 1/4 tsp peppercorns. Brine = equal part of all 3.

Robin’s Spicy Hot Green Beans

4 lbs whole green beans (washed and dried, pack in hot jars)
In each jar, add:
1/4 tsp. crushed hot pepper
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp dill seed
1 clove garlic
Combine 5 cups vinegar, 5 cups water, 1/2 c salt.  Heat to boiling. Pour over beans and seal.  (Process 10 minutes in hot water bath.)

If I do a small batch, 1 c. vinegar, 1 c. water and 1.5 Tbsp or 5 tsp salt.