Pull-a-part Pizza

What a great season this has been for the Irish!!!  Number 1!!!  10-0!!!!  This pull-a-part pizza bread is an
easy football party appetizer!

 Ingredients:

• 1 3 1/2 - ounce package sliced pepperoni, chopped
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)
• 1 11 - ounce package (12) refrigerated bread-sticks
• 1 cup pizza sauce, warmed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine pepperoni, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese; set aside.
2. Cut dough into 1-inch pieces with a kitchen scissors or sharp knife. Arrange 1/3 of the dough pieces in prepared pan. Top with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers 2 more times.
3. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm with pizza sauce.

Happy Halloween!!!

These wine labels which I found on :Ellinee Handcraft Your Life" blog adds the "spooky flair" that I am looking for when I serve these "treats" to my friends.

Caramel Apples

Oh how I love fall!!! 

This year for my fall hostess gifts, I decided to make caramel apples.  I simply made the caramel apples, then attached a free printable that I found on "Celebrations at Home" blog, tied a ribbon on them and put them in a basket filled with raffia!  They turned out adorable, even though the picture below does not do them justice!

The recipe could not be simpler!  All you have to do is melt a 14 ounce package of caramels for 12 apples, stir constantly and insert a sucker stick to the apple and dip the apples!  Yes, so very easy  if you follow directions... which I didn't!!!!  Do you really need to stir constantly???  Apparently you do as I burnt my first batch!  So on my second attempt, I put the caramels in a double boiler to avoid any possibility of burning the caramels.  This worked perfectly!  I then sprinkled them with fall color sprinkles to add a fall-like touch!

MY TIP:  Obviously, either stir constantly or use a double broiler!!!

MY OTHER TIP:  You must work extremely quick to add the sprinkles because the caramel sets very quickly!

Hoagie Dip

  
It's fall and my very favorite time of the year. I love the crisp weather, add a warm, cozy sweater and the leaves changing to beautiful majestic colors makes this the perfect season. It also is the heart of football season and great tailgating which I love.

When I found this recipe, I thought it would be perfect to try because it can be made ahead of time and it also has a great casual presentation!

We have always been ND fans, but my daughter recently transferred from ND's law school to the University of Michigan so this game has become bigger than in past years. Notice the color of the plate--is it blue and gold or blue and maize??? You decide!

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 2 pickled pepperoncini peppers
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 large tomato, halved and seeded
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced genoa salami
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced ham
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced prosciutto
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced roast turkey
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 10-to-12-inch round loaf Italian bread
• 8 hoagie rolls, cut into pieces, for dipping

Directions

Chop the onion, pepperoncini, lettuce and tomato into bite-size pieces. Dice the meats and cheese.

Combine the chopped vegetables, meats and cheese in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise, olive oil, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes and stir until everything is all mixed up and tasty. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Carve out the center of the bread loaf to make a bowl (don't cut through the bottom) and cut the scraps into bite-size pieces. Serve the hoagie dip in the bread bowl, with the extra bread and hoagie rolls to scoop it up.

Go Irish!!!

MY TIP:  If making this ahead of time, combine everything but the cheese and lettuce so this does not become soggy!

Salami Bites

A friend of mine pointed out that I did not have the Salami Bite recipe on my blog that I mentioned in my Italian Appetizer post.  I was surprised that I did not have this listed as this is one of my "go to" recipes. I also don't have an "exact" recipe as this is just thrown together and you really can't make a mistake.

Columbus Italian Dried Salami (sliced thin)
Cream Cheese with chopped fresh basil (dried may be substituted, but it is much better with fresh)
1/2 grape tomato.

Mix the cream cheese and basil together, roll into a ball and top with the tomato.

MY TIP:  I always use Columbus Italian Dried Salami, not only for it's taste but because the size is smaller and more bite size than regular salami.
MY OTHER TIP:  You can substitute pepperoni if you prefer a more intense, spicier taste.

Italian Appetizers

When we are entertaining, I like to have as much as I can done the day before.  That includes cleaning the house, grocery shopping, setting the table and prepping as much food as I can.  That way when we have friends over, I am not tired and I can relax and enjoy my time with them.  So if you are looking for a menu that allows you to do most of the prepping the day before and about 15 minutes the day of here it is...

Procuttio crisps (I made the crisps the night before and assembled the next day )

Salami bites (I made the cream cheese and herbs the night before and assembled the next day)

Roasted Olives  (Also, made the night before) (All these recipes are listed under the appetizer heading.)

Almonds (from a can, which couldn't be simpler!)

Tortellini Salad (Again made the night before)

And keeping with the theme, I served homemade Italian Sodas (Cherry and Peach) as a non-alcohol drink.

    

Tortellini Salad

 Originally I was going to make skewers of marinated cheese tortellini (cook according to package), grape tomatoes and cubed mozzarella cheese, but when I assembled them I didn't like how they looked.  The cheese and the tortellini just looked too white/plain next to each other and seem redundant (cheese and cheese).  So I dumped them in this over size martini glass.  Still something was missing, it was still too white/plain looking, so I threw in some black olives to give it some color.  Perfect!  I then just made a simple vinaigrette with fresh herbs from my container garden. 

Since, I didn't have any skewer assembly, this made the prep time even easier and the presentation even prettier!

Fruit Salad

4th 

  of  July
                 FRUIT SALAD