Caviar Dah-ling!

One upon a time, long ago.....Mike and I tried caviar. We wanted to experience the elegance, dare to try the unknown, savor it with a little sip of bubbly. Our fatal mistake, we let our budget determine the kind we bought and it was horrid! I have never tried it again *sigh*.

This caviar recipe is for a modern day tortilla toasting type of party. My friend Donna sent me her recipe, and I did some online research and combined a little of this and a little of that. I made half of this batch - and it still was quite a lot. Many of these recipes called for bottled Italian dressing, but I find that a little harsh sometimes depending on the brand. I opted for the EVOO and red wine vinegar. You decide what sounds best for your family!

TEXAS CAVIAR
2 cans black eyed peas, drain
2 cans corn, drain
2 cans Rotel tomatoes with chili's (or jalapeno if you like it spicy)
2 cups of red or yellow pepper, chopped
3 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, diced
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cumin
6 Tbsp red wine vinegar -whisk together with:
6 Tbsp olive oil

Combine all of these ingredients and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

Biscuits Anyone?

It's Saturday night, and it was a good day. Coffee this AM with a couple of my coworkers. Shopping with my husband at Wmart. A little time spent watching and old movie this afternoon, & a nice dinner including a glass of Cabernet. After that a Bruce Willis movie, Surrogates - it was futuristic and kind of interesting! We ended up the evening with an ice cream Sundae. I saw Rachel Rae put this together and it looked yummy. Vanilla Bean ice cream topped with melted peanut butter and hot fudge sauce. I think I used too much PB, it was intense!! It only takes about 30 seconds in the microwave to make it smooth enough to pour. The hot fudge was my favorite part, a little like a peanut butter cup on ice cream ;-) yea!

To go with our spaghetti tonight I found a recipe for a cheesy garlic biscuit. Most recipes called for Bisquick, which I did not have. I finally ran across this that was supposed to be similar to a Red Lobster biscuit, it was pretty good and very easy to put together. I'll use a little more garlic or fresh garlic the next time I make them, they were pretty mild.

Cheese and Garlic Drop Biscuits

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

***Topping:***2 tablespoons melted butter & 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, sugar and garlic powder in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender. Mix milk and then cheese into mixture with a wooden spoon. Drop by large spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 10-12 minutes. Mix melted butter and garlic powder together and brush on warm biscuits as soon as you remove them from the oven.

This is supposed to make 8, but I missed that fact until after mine were in the oven and I had only scooped up 6, woops. Needless to say I had to bake mine a bit longer, just go by the color and you'll know when they are done.

You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

You know if you read my blog at all that I love HOT stuff. Mike and I need our fix of hot wings on a regular basis, in fact tonight that sounds pretty good. HyVee, here I come! It's not always a good idea to serve a messy wing, so here is an alternative that you might like.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 2 cups cooked chicken (a store-bought rotisserie chicken works best), shredded
• 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce, recommended brand: Franks Original
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (eyeball it)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (eyeball it)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Cover the bottom of an 8x8" dish or pie plate with cream cheese.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, wing sauce and butter, and pour over the cream cheese-filled dish or pie plate.

Top with just enough blue cheese dressing and mozzarella cheese to cover (adding too much cheese will cause a thick skin to form that will make eating the dip difficult once the cheese cools).

Heat the dip in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with Scoops (Tortillas or Frito's) alongside for dipping.

YUM!
PS Anyone know the song attached to the title above???