Lucinda Scala Quinn's Miniature Meatball Paninis

I'm going to a neighbor's Christmas party tonight and was trying to figure out what I was going to make.  The problem with a lot of potlucks is most people bring desserts or chips and dips.  How many times have you gone to a party without eating dinner because you were rushing home from work and had to throw yourself into the shower and hurriedly get ready to make it in time figuring you'd stuff yourself on appetizers only to find that half the table is desserts and the Hormel salami, cracker and cheese tray is already wiped out because half the guests were in the same situation?  Do yourself and the rest of the guests a favor.  Bring a savory dish!  I made them for the first time last year for Christmas and again for our Halloween party.  One recipe makes about 52 miniature paninis and I doubled it for the Halloween party.  They were so popular, not one was left by the end of the night.  Another thing I like about them is you can make and bake them and then freeze them.  So if you want to make them for a party, do a double batch and freeze half of them and you are ready to go for Christmas or even New Year's!  So miniature paninis for tonight it is!  Here goes:

Lucinda Scala-Quinn’s Miniature Meatball Panini

Ingredients:

·       1 loaf thin-sliced white bread, such as Pepperidge Farm

·       2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

·       1 lb. ground pork, or a combination of beef and pork

·       1 large egg

·       1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

·       1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

·       1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

·       1 clove garlic

·       1/2 tsp. dried oregano

·       1/2 tsp. dried thyme

·       1/4 tsp. coarse salt

·       freshly ground black pepper

·       8 tbsp. unsalted butter (1 stick)

Directions:

    Preheat the oven to 350º.

    In a food processor or blender, process the ends of the loaf of bread to fine breadcrumbs, about 1/2 cup. Set the remaining bread aside.

    In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, meat, egg, cheeses, parsley, garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Mix with your hands to combine well.

    Roll the meat mixture into 1" balls and reserve on a baking sheet. Lay 2 slices of bread on work surface. Butter one side of each piece. Place 4 meatballs on the buttered surface of the slice of bread. Top with a second slice of bread, buttered side down, and press firmly to adhere. Use a serrated knife to cut the crusts from the bread and cut into quarters. Bake the crusts separately for a "chef's treat." Repeat with the remaining meatballs and bread. This process can be done assembly-line style, lining up slices of buttered bread and assembling a number at a time. Prepare 2 baking sheets at a time if possible.

    Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat, if necessary, until all sandwiches are cooked. Remove from the pan and cool. Serve slightly warm.

    Note:  These mini meatball sandwiches can be prepared in advance; simply bake, cool, and freeze them in airtight plastic bags. To serve, thaw and reheat in the oven at 325º for 12 minutes.

Servings:  8 to 10 appetizer servings (56 pieces)

The recipe calls for white bread, but I've actually done half white and half wheat and there was very little difference.  I like to do a half pork and half beef combination, but you an do also do all pork or all beef.  The first time I made them I used half Parmesan and half Romano, but the last time I made them I did all Romano.  Romano is Parmesan's usually cheaper and stronger flavored cousin.  If you want more bang for your buck, give Romano a try.  I love it.  

I use the Pampered Chef small scoop to measure out the meatballs which makes this part much faster.  I would recommend laying out the bread on the baking sheets and buttering as many as you can first, place the meatballs on the bread, press on the top piece and then slicing off the crusts in that order.  I find that makes the assembling much faster and less monotonous.  

If you are going to freeze them, make sure you thaw them out first before warming them up in the oven, otherwise you're gonna have meatballs with cold centers and soggy crusts.  Enjoy!

Mostacciole with Meatballs, Ribs and Sausage and Heart Attack Garlic Bread

This is a dish I learned I believe when I was in High School.  I learned it from a friend who was Italian and lived a few doors down from me along with homemade raviolis.  I don't make it too often as it takes a few hours, but if your going to be around the house for 4-5 hours, it really isn't that much work to make.  As a matter of fact, this would make a great Christmas Eve meal if you're looking for something out of the ordinary and need to feed a lot of people.  Here goes:

Mostacciole

  

Ingredients:

·       Sauce:           

·       8 cloves garlic, pressed             

·       1/2 onion, chopped

·       1/3 cup olive oil                        

·       6 oz. tomato paste                     

·       2 cups water  

·       28 oz. tomato puree                  

·       28 oz. crushed tomatoes           

·       10 cups water

·       basil, salt and oregano to taste  

·       1-2 lb. mostacciole noodles      

·       Meat:            

·       1 1/2 lb. ground beef                 

·       5 eggs            

·       1 tsp. salt and pepper                 

·       1/4 tsp. garlic powder                

·       1 tbsp. parsley                            

·       1/4 cup Romano cheese (grated)   

·       1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

·       6-8 boneless country style ribs 

·       1 lb. Italian sausage                                                  

 Directions:

    In an 10+ quart pot, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until tender.  Add tomato paste and mix well (low heat).  Add 2 cups water and simmer a minute.  Add tomato puree and crushed tomatoes.  Stir in about 10 cups water.  Raise heat to medium-high. 

    When sauce comes to a boil, add salt to taste, about 1 tbsp. basil, and a pinch of oregano.  Simmer for 1 hour. 

    Preheat oven to 350º. 

    Mix ground beef, eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, Romano cheese, and bread crumbs  well.  Form into 2-3” balls.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes (turn over in 15 minutes).  Makes about 23+ meatballs. 

    Fry ribs and sausage until brown on all sides. 

    After sauce has boiled an hour, add meatballs, sausage and country style ribs.  Slow boil about 3 more hours, stirring frequently.   

    In a large pot, bring water to boil for noodles.  Cook per package directions.  Drain pasta and pour enough sauce over noodles to give a light coating.  Plate pasta and serve sauce with meat over noodles.  Can also grate Romano cheese over mostacciole.

Servings:  8-10

You initially simmer the sauce for an hour before adding the meat.  If you try the sauce, it might seem a bit bland, but don't panic.  A lot of the flavor will come from the meats.  

For the next 3 hours you don't want it at a high boil, but you don't want it too low because you need the sauce to thicken up a bit.  And make sure you stir it once in a while to keep it from scorching the bottom.  

When you're ready to serve the sauce, you can serve the meat as is but I like to cut the ribs and sausage into smaller pieces so there's enough to go around.  I use large kitchen shears to cut them up.  The ribs will be pretty tender.  

Once in a while my co-workers and I would have lunch at Stuart Anderson's Black Angus restaurant.  They would have a soup and garlic bread special for lunch and the garlic bread was so different and loaded with flavor.  And once I get obsessed with a recipe, I have to find it and so I searched online.  I've called it Black Angus Garlic Bread for years, but recently a group of friends started calling it Kim's Heart Attack Bread because it isn't actually the most healthful of recipes.  But when you want to wow a group, you'll want to bring this baby out.  They just go crazy for it!

Heart Attack Garlic Cheese Bread

  

Ingredients:

·       1 loaf French Bread    

·       1/2 cup unsalted butter         

·       1 cup shredded jack cheese

·       1/2 cup Asiago cheese, grated       

·       1 cup mayonnaise        

·       1 bunch green onions, white party only, chopped      

·       3 cloves garlic, pressed         

 Directions:

    Preheat oven to 350º. 

    Split French bread into halves horizontally.  Place on a large rimmed cookie sheet

    Mix butter, cheeses, mayonnaise, green onions, and garlic in a bowl, blending well.  Spread the cut side of bread with spread. 

    Bake for 7 minutes, then place under broiler about 1-2 minutes longer (watch carefully). Cut into slices and serve.

Servings:  12-16 slices   

For the loaf of French bread, do not go fancy.  You want just the basic, fluffy French bread loaf.  I like Albertson's because it just has the best flavor.  You really only want to use unsalted butter because the Asiago cheese can be a tiny bit salty so you don't want to add any more salt.  When I started making this bread, Asiago cheese was pretty difficult to find.  I pretty much could only find it at Alberton's, but now it's gotten very popular so it shouldn't be any trouble finding it.  It use to be described as Poor Man's Parmesan, but I love it.  To me it has a stronger flavor with a bit of salty nuttiness.  You may be tempted to switch it with Parmesan or Romano, but that will be a big mistake.    It will not remotely taste the same.  Believe me, I've done it and regretted it.  The last thing I suggest is that you only use the white part of the green onions.  I've chopped up the whole thing and when I stirred it all together, the green parts turned the mixture green.  I didn't have an issue with it, but some people do so just stick with the white part.

I gave this recipe to several ladies at my ceramics class and every year the store would have a Christmas party.  Sometimes the husbands would attend and I was talking to one of them.  He had come to one of my gatherings and had tasted it and loved it but when his wife made it, he insisted it didn't taste the same.  I asked her if she replaced the Asiago with Parmesan and she was insistent she didn't.  I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what went wrong so I have her tell me step by step what she did.  At the end, she said she thought the mixture was too much for just one loaf split in half and spread on the halves so she divided it up between two loaves.  That was it!  You might be tempted to do the same because the thickness can be a bit intimidating, but don't.  It will really affect the flavor.  I find that it usually only needs about 1 1/2 minutes under the broiler.  Any longer and it gets too burnt on the edges.  Yours could be different so watch it carefully.  Allow the bread to cool down and firm up before you cut it into slices or it will be a big mess.  Enjoy!

Lucinda Scala Quinn's Baked Chicken with Honey-Whole Grain Mustard Glaze with Gourmet Hash Brown and Salad with Whole Grain Mustard Viniagrette

Actually, this recipe with originally created by Lucinda's son Calder who sometimes apprentices on her show, Mad Hungry.  If you haven't read before how great this show is, check it out!  It is amazing and currently airs on the Hallmark Channel.  If I remember it right, Calder and a group of his friends at college were dateless for Valentine's Day and they decided to pool their efforts and make a nice dinner.  He wanted to utilize what they had at their place along with some local favorites and their level of cooking skills.  Another thing that's cool about Lucinda is what she can whip up just from what she has on hand in her kitchen.  She always keeps certain items in stock at her house because sometimes she doesn't know if she'll be home in time from taping her show or working with Martha Stewart Omnimedia to make dinner.  And, she has taught her son's this skill of which the oldest is a professional chef in Los Angeles!  Here it goes:

Baked Chicken with Honey-Whole Grain Mustard Glaze

 Ingredients:

·       8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

·       1/2 cup olive oil (maybe more)

·       1 lemon (juiced)

·       salt and pepper to taste

·       some fresh herbs i.e. fresh rosemary (if you have them)

·       Glaze:

·       1 1/2 tbsp. whole-grain mustard

·       1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

·       1 or 2 tbsp. honey

·       1/3 cup olive oil

·       little salt and pepper

Directions:

    Marinate chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herbs, for at least 1 hour and up to a day in advance. Preheat oven to 375º. Rub big broil-safe baking pan with olive oil or butter, place thighs skin side down. Discard marinade.

    Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and turn skin side up. Bake for 10 more minutes. Spoon out pan juices and save for potatoes.

    To make the glaze, add mustard, honey, and oil in a bowl in that order, whisk, add salt and pepper, whisk some more. Apply glaze with brush or spoon and broil for 4-5 minutes watching carefully.

    Take out and let rest for a second.

Servings:  4

I used a rimmed jelly-roll pan for this dish since I don't have any baking pans that aren't non-stick or not stoneware of which neither are broiler friendly.  If you do use this type of pan, be mindful when you take the pan out of the oven.  There will be lots of juices and if you move to fast, they can slosh out onto you and that would not feel good!

Hash Browns

  

Ingredients:

·       2 tbsp. olive oil

·       2 tbsp. butter

·       3/4 quarter onion, minced

·       3 whole potatoes, boiled, peeled and shredded

·       salt and pepper

Directions:

     Boil potatoes for about 30-45 minutes.  You want them soft, but firm enough to grate.  Allow to cool enough to handle, then peel and grate.

    Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high, add oil and then butter. When the fat is heated add minced onion and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes.  Add shredded potato, salt and pepper.  Combine Gently.

    Reduce heat to medium and start pressing the mixture down and toward the center of the pan. Try to get it to congeal and keep pressing it down and cook for 10 to 12 minutes while occasionally lifting the mixture so it doesn't stick.  You can also pour a little olive oil around the outside perimeter to help prevent sticking.

    Take a round platter or cutting board and lay on top of pan and flip hash brown onto dish.  Slide hash brown back into the pan and cook until bottom firms up.

    Spoon reserved glazed chicken juices onto the top of the potato mixture and fry a few more minutes.  Cut into servings.

Servings:  4-6

I originally made this recipe in a non-stick pan.  While this made flipping the hash brown easier, it just didn't crisp it up enough.  If your cast-iron pan is seasoned properly, it should make the flipping easier.  Just have good oven-mitts on hand.  

Spooning the reserved juices from the baked chicken adds a great flavor to the hash brown, just don't go overboard on it.  Remember, the objective is to keep it crisp.  Too much juice and it will be too soggy.  

Salad with Whole-Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

  

Ingredients:

·       Boston lettuce (or green lettuce of your choice)

·       1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

·       cucumber, peeled and sliced

·       or whatever vegetables sound good

·       Dressing:

·       1 tbsp. each of whole-grain and Dijon mustard

·       little honey

·       juice of 1/2-1 lemon

·       2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

·       salt and pepper

·       maybe a fresh herb minced as well

Directions:

     Make sure lettuce is dry.  Mix veggies in a large bowl.

    In a jar or dressing shaker, combine all dressing ingredients.  Mix well.

    Evenly pour dressing over salad or an equal portion over each individual serving.

Servings:  4-6

I like to use Romaine for this salad because I usually have it ready in my garden and it's my favorite.  Red onion is great for this recipe, because it's sweeter than your yellow and white onions.  Just make sure you slice it nice and thin.  You want a nice blending of flavors.  I also prefer my cucumber peeled and then sliced.  When you peel cucumber, it just seems to release that fresh scent and flavor.  

I love how Lucinda makes her dressings.  If she uses up one of the ingredients making the dressing, she just pours everything into that jar to shake-blend it.  That way she's getting every last bit of that ingredient out of that jar.  My mom always does this with her coleslaw dressing.  And if Lucinda isn't at the bottom of the jar, she mixes it up in a mason jar you would use for canning.  

You can just have everyone pour the dressing on individually, but this recipe doesn't make a lot of dressing so I would recommend pouring it over the salad and tossing it.  A tossed salad just always seems better to me and that way you're encouraging your family to try different things and learn that certain salad dressings go better with certain dishes.  If you want to slightly intensify the flavor of the salad, sprinkle some sea salt on it before tossing.  Not too much as salt can quickly wilt your greens as it has qualities that pull moisture.  

Just one more note.  Another thing I love about Lucinda's show is that when you look up her recipes, they include a video of her making the recipes.  This can be very helpful, especially with the Hash Brown recipe.  Enjoy!

Quick Fudge

I learned this recipe as a Pampered Chef Consultant.  It was a great, quick way to show off the qualities of the non-stick cookware.  It's not the fanciest fudges and I'm sure those who do make the fanciest of fudges may initially turn their noses up at the idea of quick fudge, but it's a great recipe to throw in when you want to add something more to whatever you've got going but just don't have the time or ingredients.  And actually, when I include this fudge in my holiday gift packages, it's usually the first one that they want the recipe for.  So here goes:

Dish:       Quick Fudge         

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. package semi sweet chocolate chips      

1 container chocolate frosting (not whipped type)

Directions:

Melt chips in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat stirring frequently.  Add frosting and stir together in sauce pan until blended. Mix in chopped nuts if desired. Pour into square baker or 8x8 or 9x9 lined with foil and chill in refrigerator until just set. Slice and serve.

Now if you want to change flavors you just match up the chips with the frosting.  For peanut butter I would match up a vanilla icing with peanut butter chips.  Great creative.  I'm thinking of doing a double layer with the chocolate on the bottom and peanut butter on top.  

You can also make this fudge into shapes using a cookie press.  I would recommend placing a cookie sheet in the freezer.  When nice and cold, press the fudge using your cookie press onto the cookie sheet.  Don't use parchment paper, it won't stick and come off the press properly.  Allow them to set up and remove with a small spatula.  Store in an airtight container with the layers separated with wax or parchment paper.  Enjoy!

Peanut Blossom Cookies-Holiday Style!

I'm sure most of you have their own recipe for these cookies.  I'm even starting to see them pop up as chocolate blossoms with a chocolate-mint kiss on top.  But I like to fancy things up come Christmas time and thought I would share my technique with you.  The special ingredient?  Green and Red sanding sugar.  The traditional recipe calls for you to roll the dough into 1" balls and then roll in granulated sugar, but for Christmas I make a mixture of red and green sanding sugar, giving the cookies a jewel-like appearance.  Of course, you can roll yours in whatever color sanding sugar that matches your holiday.

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Ingredients:

·       8 oz. pkg. Kisses chocolates        

·       1/2 cup shortening      

·       3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

·       1/3 cup sugar     

·       1/3 cup light brown sugar    

·       1 egg

·       2 tbsp. milk        

·       1 tsp. vanilla       

·       1 1/2 cups flour

·       1 tsp. baking soda        

·       1/2 tsp. salt         

·       sugar

Directions:

    Preheat oven to 375°.  Remove wrappers from Kisses chocolates. 

    Beat shortening and peanut butter in a mixer until well blended. Add sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. 

    Shape dough into 1″ balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

    Immediately press a Kiss into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

    Variation:  For Christmas, use red and green sugar for the coating.  Sanding sugar will give a crisper bite to the cookie.

Servings:  about 3-4 Doz.      

Enjoy!

I made these cookies for the first time today and they are so good.  They are another cookie from-come on, guess-King Arthur Flour!  I'll bet you didn't see that coming.  I made their Gingerbread cookies last year and while they were good, the flavor was just a bit strong for me.  If you feel the same way about gingerbread cookies, you're gonna love these.  Another beauty about these, all the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store!


They kind of remind me of the Chai Spice cookies my sister made last year for Christmas.  Kind of intriguing when you first bite into them and then they really grow on you.  They are a cutout cookie so you will need to refrigerate the dough, roll it out and then cut it into the desired shape using cookie cutters.  If you're not big on holiday cutouts and want something a bit more formal, I would suggest using a fluted square or round biscuit cutter.  Now on to the recipe!

light spice holiday cookies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice or ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

• directions

  1) In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, shortening, sugars, baking powder, spices, and salt until light and fluffy.

  2) Add the egg and molasses, and beat well.

  3) Mix about half of the flour into the butter mixture. When well combined, add the cornstarch and the remaining flour.  The mixture will seem kind of shaggy, but just keep mixing until it comes together real well.

  4) Divide the dough in half, flattening each half slightly to make a disk. Smooth the edges by rolling the disk along a lightly floured work surface. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour (or longer), for easiest rolling.

  5) Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  6) Take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and flour a clean work surface, and the dough.

  7) Roll it out as thin or thick as you like. For slightly less crisp cookies, roll it out more thickly. We like to roll these cookies 1/8" to 1/4"inch thick. Use flour under and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to the table or rolling pin.

  8) Alternatively, place the dough on parchment, and put a sheet of plastic wrap or another piece of parchment over it as you roll, pulling the plastic or parchment to eliminate wrinkles as necessary when rolling; this will keep dough from sticking without the need for additional flour.

  9) Transfer the cookies to ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets.

  10) Bake them just until they're slightly brown around the edges, or until they feel firm, about 10 to 12 minutes.

  11) Remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, or until they're set. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

  Yield: 3 to 4 dozen 2 1/2" to 3" cookies.

  For cutouts during the holiday season, I will make several batches and freeze them.  When I'm ready to decorate with royal frosting, I'll take them out and defrost before decorating them.  Enjoy!