Luckily we have a large, close family and they are arriving from out of town on Sunday for a potluck feast. They come early and stay late, so it is the perfect time to try out the recipes I found while meandering through my recipe files and cookbooks. The family always expects the unexpected when they visit and George, the carver, always brings his knives. (As many knives as I have in this house, not one is exactly right for him or for me.) There is no rhyme or reason for this eclectic menu. I am just making what I like and when they arrive their dishes will fill in the gaps. George's wife, Pam, always brings scrumptious pecan pies and I may do the strawberry shortcake...remember I use a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt in the Biscuit batter to soften the end product to make it cloud worthy. Oh, and we must have corn on the cob if there is a fresh supply in the market.
Pepperoni Stromboli:
16 servings...I use Pillsbury pizza dough. All you do is take it out and unroll it on a greased cookie sheet, fill it with goodies of your choice, roll it jelly roll style, brush it with egg, and bake it for around 30 minutes until light brown. This recipe is more detailed and it is also delicious.
2 loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, salt and pepper (seems like a lot of salt with the pepperoni) I'd cut back on that.
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound cooked ground beef (I use Bob Evans zesty sausage)
1 package sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 small onion, chopped
Place each loaf of bread dough in a greased large bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Punch down. Roll each loaf into a 15 x 12 inch rectangle.
In a small bowl, combine the eggs, oil and seasonings. Brush over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges; set remaining egg mixture aside. Layer with beef, pepperoni, cheeses, onion all on the dough to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly roll style and brush each with egg mixture. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until lightly brown.
Another dish, especially for the men, will be grilled brats, finished off on top of ziti mac and cheese. We will also have many of the dishes shown on this blog. I will take many pictures for you to see all of these dishes and those brought in by the guests. Happy days. Oh, I forgot, how about pasta alfredo with langostino tails? Langostino tails and the alfredo sauce are from Trader Joe's. Langostino is a Spanish word with different meanings in different areas. In America, it is commonly used in the restaurant trade to refer to the meat of the squat lobster, which is neither a true lobster nor a prawn. It is more closely related to porcelain crabs and hermit crabs.
Gee Whiz Cheese Buns:
These stir-down batter cheesy yeast rolls use just under a cup of Cheese Whiz and turn out richly golden with puffy-topped. The cheese taste is there but isn't overpowering. Garlic or jalapeno Cheese Whiz might be interesting as well. This is the second time I have made these easy rolls and this time I added crisp bacon to the batter.
1 package active dry yeast placed in 1/2 cup of warm water
2/3 cup Cheez Whiz
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups flour, divided
Soften yeast in warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes. Add Cheez Whiz, sugar, salt, egg, butter and 1 cup flour.
Beat 2 minutes with electric mixer on low speed, until cheese is well blended.
Gradually add 1 1/4 -1 1/2 cups additional flour to form a soft dough, mixing well after each addition.
Fill well-greased muffin tins about half full of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1- 1/2 hours until double in size.
Preheat oven 375 and bake buns for 12-15 minutes. Makes 12 buns.
My sister-in-law brought this wonderful pea salad. Loved it.
4 cups peas (10 ounces)
1 cup of mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup diced celery
1 can Spanish peanuts
Mix it all together and chill it.
