Party Party Party!

Several weeks ago, the ladies came over for a mini-ladies weekend slash meet the baby celebration. We feasted on Saturday night

The classic Knorr Veg Soup spinach dip with bread:


Julie's famous dip - cream cheese, cottage cheese, scallions, worcestershire, a touch of mayo (let me know if I'm forgetting something)...

And a roasted red pepper cheesecake, served with toasted pita wedges. This was a surprise hit - Miss M apparently has a taco cheesecake recipe that I also want to try.

Much fun was had by all

OSU season opener

So we ended up hosting a fairly impromptu gathering for the first OSU football game of the season.

Chips and Penzey's dip, store bought cookies (the shame), Knorr soup spinach dip.


Chex mix, and of course, a gourmet tomato salad featuring Cherokee Purple tomatoes and home grown basil. Really, what football party is complete without that?

Queso! Ole!

Mr. R and I had a long day in the car driving to/from Cleveland to go see family and a ballgame. It was too much of a pain in the rear to go buy $12 nachos at the stadium, but the whole way home, I had nachos on the brain, so I had to make them once we got home. It was a late-night Olympics snack of sorts.

First, I browned about 1/3 lb zesty breakfast sausage:


Then added in my lovely and oh-so-natural looking Velveeta cheese:


Then some garden cherry tomatoes (see, it's healthy!)


And some sharp cheddar cheese:


It didn't have a lot of zip, so I added LIBERAL amounts of Frank's Hot Sauce:

Meanwhile, Mr. R prepared his latest addiction, the bacon-wrapped pepper poppers:


It was a v. tasty late night snack supper!

More bacon apps

We have a glut of Anaheim peppers in the garden. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them, and we had about 12 of them ready to go, so I needed to move quickly. Rather than wait for the tomatoes to slowly arrive, we opted to use the Anaheims like Mrs. Elle had used jalapenos - with the cream cheese wrapped in bacon.

Mr. R prepared the pepper poppers. Admire his handiwork.


Here they are after 25 minutes or so in a 400 degree oven

These were very tasty - I really think bacon solves the world's problems, right? If we use the Anaheims for this again, we may have to cut them a bit differently - they aren't as round as jalapenos, so the cream cheese was kind of oozy, but we'll work on it. Mr. R informed me this will definitely be a football party priority food.

Ladies Night

While our husbands were away (Mr. R in Alabama, Mr. Elle in Cleveland), Mrs. Elle and I opted to have a Ladies Night with finger foods and fun. Fun included Jeopardy, DAIRY QUEEN, and some Guitar Hero. Finger food included the following:

Some lovely baking mix/cheese/sausage balls:


Some fun biscuity crab swiss cheesy things:


Some fried zucchini (seasoned breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese to coat):


A veritable cornucopia of snacky-goodness (we had more veg too, note the prosciutto wrapped asparagus)

The Foods of Ladies Weekend

So, another Ladies Weekend has come and gone. And what did we eat??

Well, first off, a large batch (actually 2) of sangria was made

We also revisited the jalapeno-bacon wraps. Delicious.


Miss K made these delicious English muffin crab cheesy puff things. I want more.


An insane cheeseboard - thanks in part to Grandpa's Cheesebarn.

On Saturday, we hit up the Irish Harp pub in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We had burgers:


Shepherd's pie:


And a steak and Guinness pie:


Oh, and beer and cider:


Then we hit up some local wineries:

Sunday morning, Miss M fed us well - including an asparagus and potato tart:



with fruit and a grapefruit zabaglione


And corned beef, cheese, and rye scones, which were quite tasty


We ate lots of other stuff too....but I don't want us to come across as TOO piggy after all...

Dinner partay

So, we had a lovely little dinner avec Mrs. Elle and husband last weekend to celebrate the 4th. The Mrs. was in charge of apps and dessert. I fell a bit behind on picture taking, but in short, she made a fruit dip with watermelon chunks and THESE delicious jalapeno bites (Pioneer Woman scores again!). They were delish:

For dinner, we had burgers with a variety of toppings (gorgonzola, cheddar, bacon, caramelized onions...) and roasted corn (it was rainy, had to oven roast):
And baked beans. About which Mr. Elle was VERY EXCITED AND ATE A LOT! They got a little blistered from having the broiler on while the jalapeno things were going.

Dessert was a dump cake and whipped cream. Yes, that is what it is called. I know PW has a recipe for one, but I'm not sure that is the precise recipe employed by Mrs. Elle. She will have to comment and let me know. It was also quite tasty - and so light, right? With all the fruit? Right?

Olive goodness

I know olives are a much maligned food item, but I find them delicious. And so, when I saw the Pioneer Woman recipe for olive cheese bread, I knew I'd be making it at some point in time. I just had to wait for Mr. R to go away for a weekend, so I could gorge myself on olive goodness.

First, I opened and drained one can of regular black olives. My parents can attest to an early love of the olive.
Then, I got a little crazier - some pitted Kalamatas, some Picholine, and some other type of large green Greek olive that was stuffed with a pepper:
Then, I got even NUTTIER and threw in one artichoke heart:
Meanwhile, over at the bowl, I've mixed some mayo (just a bit), some softened butter, and a lot of Monterey Jack cheese. I also, per PW, put in a couple of chopped scallions.
And then, the olives are mixed with the creamy mixture and slathered on top of some French bread.
I had a ridiculously thick layering of the olive mix, so mine baked in at 325 degree oven for around 40 minutes to achieve cheesey, browned goodness.
I'm not sure if a picture can convey the lovely buttery meltiness that occurs with this bread.The mixture begins to meld and melt into the bread as it bakes. This was a delicious treat to have while Mr. R was away. I WILL say though - if I were to make it again - I would be inclined to throw in some canned or fresh chopped and drained tomatoes. Or something like that - I felt like something was needed to counteract the briny saltiness of the olives. But I did enjoy the recipe a lot and will hopefully have reason to make it again soon!

Famous beer cheese dip

Ok - so I make this dip for most parties. It is a HUGE favorite in my husband's family, and generally enjoyed by all who enjoy a good dip. I'm not entirely clear on the provenance of this recipe - I got it from my grandparents who got it from a friend of my aunt and uncle's. That's about all I know. Here we go - beer cheese dip.

First, you take one 8 oz. bar of cream cheese and 3/4 of a packet of ranch dressing mix. You can easily sub low fat cream cheese. Just stay away from fat free, that is super sick.

Smush those items together for a bit, then add some glorious beer (or not so glorious - you can use crap beer if you desire) ACTION SHOT!

And finally.....cheese....wonderful cheese....
Mix 'em all up and put into a serving bowl. Serve with pretzels, crackers...really just about anything!

Shower foods

We hosted a bridal shower for my sister-in-law to be on Saturday afternoon and evening. We had a lovely assortment of foods.Here you see a shot down the buffet - chicken wings, pizza, crudite platter, etc.Minisandwiches - a variety of flavors - chicken salad, ham salad, veggie cream cheese, smoked salmon, etc.The fab cheese platter - v. fancy schmancy with the olive pokers.Lovely ST. PAT'S PIZZA - rye crust, mustard, corned beef, and Swiss cheese!And the piece de resistance - Chocolate cupcakes with Bailey's buttercream - SO DELICIOUS! I have one more left. I cannot wait to devour it.

Super Bowl Snacking

Mmm. I love national events based around eating. Oh, and sports, I suppose. But really, I am not the one playing the sport, so I have to eat to support the players, right? RIGHT?

Anyways, last night we had a lovely spread featuring some chicken tenders with honey mustard, soft pretzels (from a box, I'm lazy, also with honey mustard), leftover onion rings, and some lovely taco/bean dip. Delish.
I won't bore you with the thrilling details of removing chicken tenders and pretzels from their freezer packages and placing them on baking sheets, etc. But the honey mustard is quite delish. A blob of mayo. A squirt of Dijon or yellow mustard. A squirt of whole grain mustard. Some salt and pepper. A TINY globule of honey. I mean tiny. I tend to over-honey at this point thinking that's all we need is honey. NO! A little honey goes a long way here. I mean, for this maybe? cup of honey mustard, I used less than a tsp of honey. Do NOT over honey it. DO NOT! Mix. Eat. Enjoy.

The taco dip comes by way of Miss M from Buffalo. With modifications of course, 'cause I can't leave anything alone. Cream cheese base. Chili beans (I use Bush's medium). I mix it with salsa, because I like the tomatoey twang. I believe she uses diced chilis. Then cheese on top. Bake until golden bubbly. THEN LET IT SIT FOR A FEW MINUTES.* Or else they'll name a ward at the burn unit after you. Serve with tortilla chips or whatever you'd like.


*I seem to be yelling a lot today. I had 3 glasses of sweet tea at lunch. There may or may not have been a Barrel run.