Pastry Wrapped Sausages with Maple Dijon Dipping Sauce

Funny story. Have you ever seen a recipe and visually cataloged it in your brain... maybe even added the ingredients to your shopping list and then bought them only to find that you cannot, for the life of you, remember where you saw/read that recipe?

That happened to me a month ago. Searched my internet history, Pinterest boards, ziplist file, recent magazines I had read and still... couldn't find this recipe. Then I googled it. And I found similar recipes but not THE one... the one that was in my head and I could literally see a picture of how these things were made, in my mind.

And a few weeks ago I finally happened upon it in a new cookbook I received for Christmas, Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites! I couldn't believe when I saw the little inset picture on the corner of page 8. It was exactly what I had imprinted in my mind.

To be completely honest, I know I could have recreated this recipe but I really just wanted to FIND where I saw it!

So I picked up the rest of the ingredients at the store today set on making these as an after-school snack for the boys. I knew they'd love them. And they did. I made enough for two batches. One for today and another in the freezer for another day! So my recipe below is doubled. You do all the work once and get to enjoy them twice!

While the little sausage bites are great, the addition of the dipping sauce is really good. I recommend you go for it.

Pastry Wrapped Sausages with Maple Dijon Dipping Sauce
adapted from Savoring the Season with Our Best Bites, pg 8


1 box frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package
2 pkgs breakfast sausages- about 14 links; 12 oz each
1/2 cup shredded cheese- I used sharp cheddar
little maple syrup
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Maple-Dijon Dipping Sauce

2 Tbs Dijon mustard
4 Tbs maple syrup
4 Tbs mayonnaise

whisk until combined, refrigerate until ready to serve.
*incidentally, I think I did a 2, 2, 2 ratio on the sauce and it was still really good. So go ahead and use a little less maple syrup and mayo. Remember too how much you are making... I served about half of my sausages and froze the rest.

For the Sausages:


Unfold the puff pastry onto a silpat or lightly floured surface.  Sprinkle the top lightly with flour and roll out to about 12x12 square. Mine was not quite square as you see. Use a knife to cut into 3 equal portions. Brush one side with a little maple syrup (real maple syrup, okay I guess you could use pancake syrup but why?)

Place about 3 sausages down one side (lengthwise)  of the puff pastry, in each section. If you have a little extra dough, cut a sausage to fit. Sprinkle cheese right beside the sausage, just a little. You can skip the cheese if you'd like. These are quite adaptable. Now starting from the edge where the sausages are, roll them up until the pastry is all around them. Pinch the seam to seal.
(forgot to take a picture of this most important of the recipe. mea culpa)

Cut sausages up using a serrated knife (it worked best for me, but then I felt like the kitchen shears did an equally impressive job getting through the sausage casings). I got about 3 bites per sausage or.... this many... which is more, I know, but I wanted them to be snack size.

Repeat these steps until you've used all your pastry dough.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with egg wash. 

OR

Take this un-egg washed batch and flash freeze it while you continue making your wrapped sausages. I did this with half of them and they're ready to be popped in the oven for the next snack time or game day or get together!

Bake at 375-400 (they forgot to mention the oven setting in their cookbook!) for 15-20 minutes. You want them to look like this:

Serve alongside the dipping sauce and enjoy!

They have the thumbs up from our crew! The Big People in the house really loved them as well! Did I mention the sauce was fabulous? It was!

Party Food: Spinach Balls

After all that talk the other day about parties and my Aunt Lynn's recipes, I thought it might behoove me to add her spinach ball recipe here.

I have the little newspaper clipping that she used with her notes scribbled on the top of when she first made these.... 1990 to be exact. They're very good and flavorful, I did tweak the recipe just a tiny bit as I had a spinach ball recipe, too, and enjoyed mine. So I married the two together. But to be fair, it's mostly her recipe that I use.

I mentioned before that while these are a great appetizer for parties big or small, they also make a great side dish! Kids love eating finger foods and this does have spinach in it! Give it a try... you make a big batch and keep them in the freezer and whenever you need a side dish to go with those nuggets, throw these in the oven with them!

Spinach Balls
sent into a local Pgh. paper back in the early 90's

2 boxes frozen spinach, well drained (the recipe says to cook it, why? I've never cooked the spinach and they turn out great)
2 cups Pepperidge Farm herb seasoned stuffing mix- might need to break up the larger pieces
4-5 eggs, beaten
4 green onions, chopped - I used white parts and green parts
1/2 cup butter, melted - this I changed from margarine
1/2- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried parsley (or 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley)

Combine all the ingredients, mix well and form into small balls- about 1" in diameter (think one bite).
Place on a cookie sheet and flash freeze, then place in plastic bags in the freezer until needed.
Bake frozen in a preheated 375° for 12-15 minutes- you want them a little browned, but not burnt. I usually use parchment or a silpat as it's quick cleanup when you're having a party! You certainly don't want to washing dishes the whole time, right?

ENJOY!

Party Food: Tomato Canapes

If you're having a party, chances are you're going to need food. While it's very easy to go to a big box store and buy all those adorable little frozen appetizers that they've got all ready to go for you, there's something about making your own. I'm a big fan of "make some things, buy some things" as our time is truly precious and well, you just can't fit it all into a day's work (or sometimes even a week's work). I guess we just pick and choose what we have time to make and do. And I'm a big fan of slicing the work up into spurts: do a little this day, a little more the next and so on until the job is done.

That said, with a little planning and some extra freezer space, there are plenty of appetizers you can make and freeze ahead of time!

When I was growing up, my Aunt Lynnie had a yearly Christmas party at her home.  I can't quite remember the age, but at some point, I was asked if I might like to help out in the kitchen as one of the servers. It was A BIG PARTY. Aunt Lynn had dozens of appetizers and they were all made ahead, labeled and stocked in her big stand up freezer in the basement pantry. My teammate, Renee and I would bake and restock the warming trays as the guests devoured every single treat my Aunt had prepared. It was a labor of love and one that I cannot soon forget. I do believe I've adopted a lot of her interests over the years and making tasty foods is certainly one of them. To help me out, I have all of her copious notebooks where she's written down her menu plans for every party, Garden luncheon, bridge group and family dinner. In addition to those notes, I also have her recipes!

I've shared several of her recipes over the years and one of my favorite party food appetizers is Spinach Balls. I've even started making it as a side dish at dinner as my kids really do love them and well, it does have spinach in it!

When I was prepping for Sophia's first birthday party, I decided early on that it was going to be somewhat simple, as simple as Crafty can be at least. I went with a Sweets and Savories menu and the recipe that follows is a winner indeed! My friend, Marijke, shared Tomato Canapes with me while I was going over my menu plans-  I'm so glad she did. You can make these ahead and use some store bought bruschetta to make it even easier to assemble!

Tomato Canapes

adapted from: Food Network, Paula Deen

Large jar of prepared bruschetta, drained

3 packages of mini phyllo shells

1/2 cup mayo

1 cup shredded mozzarella

8 slices real bacon chopped up into bits

Instructions:

1. If you've bought yourself some prepared bruschetta, I'd go ahead and drain the majority of the liquid from it so that these little phyllo cups don't end up all soggy bottomed. No one likes a soggy bottom.

2. Leave the phyllo cups in their trays and spoon a little bruschetta into each one, I'd say this is about a half of a regular sized teaspoon (not the measuring type of teaspoon, the one in your silverware drawer)

3. Stir together the mozzarella and mayo (I used light mayo) and use this to "frost" each of the phyllo cups

4. Chop up a few strips of bacon or open up a bag of bacon bits- whatever you've got time for and sprinkle that on top of the frosted phyllo cups

5. Now you can do one of two things, freeze them for later or bake them now! For freezing, I just kept them in their safe little plastic containers and used press 'n seal to seal them tightly. I then put them in a large freezer bag.

To Bake: preheat your oven to 350° and bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve hot.

Middle Eastern delights ~ 6.9.11

{corn and black bean salsa (with edamame), falafel and hummus}

Would you take a look at that plate! I mean, wow! Doesn't it all look so delicious? Okay, I'm a total food freak, I know. Who else takes pictures of their lunch? Well, I know a few more.... but still, I had to take a picture so that I could share these fabulous foods with YOU!

The recipes I'm sharing today all hail from Lucinda Scala Quinn's show, Mad Hungry on The Hallmark Channel. I have a link to the blog over there on my sidebar, do take a look. I have another handful of recipes to share with you that I've made in the past few weeks and they are ALL from her SHOW! I made all of the recipes on her Israeli Cooking show: Hummus, Falafel and Israeli Salad. I'm sharing 2 out of 3 of those recipes with you today. That last recipe was eaten so fast I didn't have time to photograph it!

Both of these recipes today start with a bag of dried chickpeas. Sometimes they can be hard to find. I didn't find them with the other dried beans/legumes in the grocery store. Instead, they were in the International food aisle, in the Mexican section. They're my new pantry staple.

I know I've posted a great hummus recipe in the past, but this one takes the cake. The former is great if you're short on time, but if you prep your chickpeas in advance, go with this recipe made from dried chickpeas. WOW. The creamy texture was so amazing and the flavor is subtle perfection.

Mad Hungry Hummus

3 1/2 cups cooked dried  chickpeas ** recipe to follow** or 2 15.5 oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbs tahini paste (I love Kyros)
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil

In bowl of food processor, combine chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini and salt. Pulse to a thick paste. With motor running, slowly add water, then oil in a steady stream. Taste and add more salt if needed (mine needed a tad bit more).

Serve with pita, chips, veggies or spread on a sandwich!


This next recipe was not a hit with the family, but I LOVED them!

Falafel
these are fried vegetarian patties. You can eat them alone or on a pita, served as a sandwich. Drizzle a little tahini over them if you'd like

1 3/4 cup cooked dried chickpeas, or 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/4 cup parsley
2 Tbs mint
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted (I left those out)
1/2 cup safflower or canola oil
For serving: pita, sliced tomatoes, red onion, lettuce, tahini

Place half of chickpeas in food processor and pulse a few times until chopped, transfer to large bowl.

Place remaining chickpeas in processor with garlic, onion, herbs, spices, baking soda, salt and lemon juice. Pulse to a thick, chunky paste, about 30 sec. Transfer to bowl with chopped chickpeas.

Add egg and sesame seeds to bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill batter for 30 minutes. (I left mine in the fridge 2 days before frying)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Form batter into 2 inch wide patties (I got about 10 patties in total). Place in hot oil and gently flatten. Cook, turning once, after the first side is a nice golden brown- about 4-5 minutes total. Transfer to paper towel (or bag) lined plate to drain.

Serve with pita bread, tomato slices, lettuce and red onion. Drizzle with tahini.

Cooked Dried Chickpeas
from Martha Stewart dot com


1 pound bag of chickpeas
water
1 Tbs baking soda

Soak the chickpeas in water with baking soda for 8 hours (aka overnight!). Drain and rinse. Place chickpeas in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, simmer and cook until softened (about 2 hours). Rinse the chickpeas and use as desired.

One bag of chickpeas is enough for both of the above recipes!

Homemade Creamy Hummus ~ 11.17.10

Making your own hummus is such a good trick to have in your back pocket. You only need to have a few pantry staples on hand to throw this together in minutes!

I found this recipe in an issue of Cook's Illustrated and took their recommendation on what brand of tahini to buy as well.

Most hummus recipes that I love have tahini as the star ingredient (next to the chickpeas, that is). Tahini looks like peanut butter but is ground sesame seed paste. CI recommended Joyva or Krinos brand tahinis. I found the Krinos at Market District Giant Eagle for about 6.99 a bottle. I'll probably get at least 4 hummus recipes out of that one bottle, so it's well worth buying your own and making it in the food processor.

They also gave recommendations on which brand of chick peas/garbanzo beans to buy. Pastene came highly recommended and in second place, Goya.

Restaurant Style Hummus

This recipe would be great with homemade Pita Chips!

3 Tbs juice from 1-2 lemons

1/4 cup water

6 tbs tahini, stirred well (that equals 1/2 cup, why they don't say that, I'm not sure)

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 (14oz) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and picked through- I took out the "skins"

1 small garlic clove, minced (about 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

pinch cayenne

1 Tbs minced fresh cilantro or parsley (optional)

paprika (optional)

1. Combine lemon juice and water in a small bowl. Whisk together the tahini and 2 Tbs oil in second bowl. Set aside 2 Tbs. chickpeas for garnish.

2. Process remaning chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in food processor until amost fully ground. Scrape down bowl with spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice/water mixture through feed tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add tahini mixture in steady stream through feed tube; continue to process until smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds.

3. Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle with chickpeas and cilantro, cover with plastic wrap and let flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. drizzle with olive oil and serve.

- if you're holding this over for awhile, reserve garnishes until ready to serve. I was transporting my hummus the day I took the pic and didn't want EVOO all over the place, so I just garnished with a little paprika and the chickpeas.

-keeps up to 5 days in fridge. If too thick, add a Tbs of warm water and mix well before serving.

The Essential Summertime (Anytime) Salsa ~ 5.9.10

Time to depart from all the desserts and make something fresh and delicious.


I originally posted this recipe way back in 2006 on She's a Crafty Pumpkin. It has become my "go-to" recipe for family gatherings- it's a cinch to make and EVERYONE seems to love it! The original recipe hails from here and I'm forever indebted to her for posting that- hope you're as happy with it, too!

If you don't have cilantro, but say, have basil- try that instead. I did that once and was not at all disappointed! WOW! Flavor punch and a party in my mouth! You'll see in the ingredients that I often will leave out certain "unessential" ingredients- feel free to try that for yourself. A recipe is only a guideline, you decide what goes in or doesn't- make it yours!

I love to serve this with Target's Archer Farms Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips- say that five times fast!

Black Bean Salsa


2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 ears corn, either boiled or roasted (I use frozen, too- toast it in a dry pan on the stovetop)
2 large or 3 medium tomatoes, cut into small chunks and drained- Romas are great
2 firm-ripe avocados, cut into medium chunks
1 red onion, diced small - I often leave this out
3 garlic cloves, minced - I've left this out before, too
2-3 limes
1 bunch of cilantro
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper


Place the black beans into a large serving bowl. After the corn has cooled, cut the kernels off the cob and add to the black beans, along with the tomatoes, red onion, and garlic. Toss to combine.

Drizzle the mixture with olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, or to taste. Squeeze the limes over the mixture, and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture sit for about fifteen minutes before tasting for seasonings again.

You can wait until just before serving to add the avocado chunks and chopped cilantro, but we add it all at once - after awhile the avocado will start to break down, but it usually last a full day or two before that happens.

Fresh Cranberry Salsa ~ 11.28.09

Not too long ago, a friend of mine made this little number and the rest is history.

I have a funny relationship with cranberries. I love the sweetened Ocean Spray variety. I will drink a blend of cranberry and whatever fruit they pair with it in a juice. I make Cranberry Jello Salad every holiday and thensome. Yet, I do not buy or bake with fresh cranberries all that often.

This Thanksgiving though, that all changed. I started buying them and throwing the bags in the freezer b/c I knew that I could certainly bake with them throughout the year and that this was the best time to buy them at $2 a bag. I have a ton of recipes that call for cranberries and I would like to give a fresh cranberry sauce a go at some point, just so I can see if I like it or not. The color of the cranberries is enough to make me want to eat them!

Enter onto the scene this beaut of a recipe. Fresh Cranberry Salsa. It sounded like a winner when she told me about it and I demanded, politely, that she make it for our next MOPS meeting. And it was a winner. And....

I

COULD

NOT


STOP

EATING

IT!

Something about the sweet and the tart and the kick of the jalapenos just beckoned me to keep eating!

Without further ado.... I give you Sharon's Fresh Cranberry Salsa:

1 bag fresh cranberries (haven't given this a go with frozen yet... but I will)
2-3 chopped green onions
1 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, then chopped (I used half, but may add the whole thing next time)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp lemon juice or lime juice

Oh and I also threw in a sprinkling of kosher salt to bring out the flavors of everything

Chop the cranberries in a food processor.
Add all the other ingredients and let them marry together in the fridge for awhile- at least 2 hours. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

these are my faves, with salt: