JulepStyle » Appetizers

Chex Mix Redux

Suzanne — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 18:23:03 +0000

I love homemade Chex Mix. I could eat it year round. For reasons of self-discipline, my boyfriend & I restrict our consumption to the holidays/fall/winter (except for the occasional rainy-day summertime batch) . Since it is now that time of the year, we made our first official batch of Chex Mix this weekend. I thought I’d share our recipe for it because we make it tastier than the original (more butter & seasonings). Additionally, the original chex mix recipe is now hard to find–thanks to the advent of microwave chex mix recipes. Make this stuff; it will get you through the winter!

My updated uber-seasoned version of the favorite holiday snack treat. Make it & share with someone special.

-1 Stick of Butter (salted)
-4+ Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce (can you use too much?)
-2 Tsp Seasoned Salt
-1 Tsp Garlic Powder
-1 Tsp Onion Powder
-9 Cups of Corn Chex
-1 Cup of Nuts (your preference)
-1 Cup of Pretzels
-1 Cup of Garlic Bagel Chips

Pre-heat oven to 250F. In a large roasting pan, melt butter on the stove, continually stirring around. While melting butter add all the other seasonings. When the butter is completely melted, add cereal, pretzels, nuts, & bagel chips. Bake mixture 1 hour; stir every 15 min. Cool, Serve, & Share!

The advantages of this recipe:
1)More seasonings & flavor (less healthy)
2)Only have 1 type of Cereal (don’t have to eat the remains of 3 boxes of chex mix, and who likes wheat chex anyway?)
3)It’s made in the oven. On a recent sojourn to the grocery store, I discovered the only chex mix recipes on the box were made in the microwave. Gross!

Submitted by: Suzanne

Fat Cracker

Suzanne — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 15:45:31 +0000

The perfect hors d’oeuvre for any Champagne Thursday is Fat Cracker. I don’t know the original names for these divine little appetizers, but they really should just be called Fat Crackers. Bacon fat baked into club crackers with melted, bubbly Parmesan cheese. Yummy. I’m lucky–because my metabolism is so high, I can eat a million Fat Crackers and still not gain any weight! (haha, I wish.)

Tasty hors d’oeuvre for those not watching their figure, those with a naturally high metabolism, or those who really don’t care because it tastes good.

-Club Crackers
-Parmesan Cheese
-1 lb Bacon

Preheat oven to 375. Cut Pound of Bacon in Half (Down the middle). Slice small strips of parmesan cheese. Place one strip of parmesan on a club cracker, & wrap the cheese & cracker with parmesan. Continue until you have used the whole pound of bacon. Place crackers wrapped with bacon on broiling pan (so some of the bacon fat can drip down), and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Another variation for the cheese-wary is just a club cracker wrapped in bacon & baked.

This is truly a lovely dish. Bacon-fat drenched crackers with tasty Parmesan–Yum! Make sure you make lots; these will disappear at any gala affair.

Submitted by: Suzanne

Mirza Ghasemi

Suzanne — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:33:41 +0000

When I was living in Durham, one of my favorite restaurants was Cafe Parveneh in Chapel Hill. Serving traditional Persian cuisine, one of my favorite dishes was Mirza Ghasemi. i submitted my own tasty version of this veggie treat to the vittles.

This traditional Persian dish is not Southern; it’s still very tasty and one of my favorites.

-1 Eggplant
-3 Roma Tomatoes
-4 Cloves Garlic, chopped
-4 Eggs
-1/4 to 1/3 cup Olive Oil
-Salt
-Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Bake Eggplant for 50 minutes; peel and chop eggplant. Bring water to a boil; boil tomatoes for 3 minutes. Peel & Chop tomatoes.

Put oil and garlic in a pan; fry until golden. Add eggplant and fry for 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes or until veggies start to brown a bit. Beat eggs well with fork in a small bowl. Half-cook eggs in a different pan and then add the eggs to the veggie mixture. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve with Pita Chips, Rice, or even tortilla chips. Very delicious!

Submitted by: Suzanne

Fancy Crab Dip

Suzanne — Fri, 27 May 2005 15:00:34 +0000

My momma taught me how to make this easy crowd-pleasing appetizer. As long as I take this dip to a party, I know I won’t go hungry!

-One bottle of Good Cocktail Sauce (spend a little more for the non-generic kind)
-One Package of Cream Cheese
-One Can of Lump Crab Meat (again, spring for the good quality stuff)
-One box of fancy crackers

There are 2 Ways to make this Dish (both easy). I’ll first describe the way to make it as shown in the picture. Mix the crab, cream cheese, and cocktail sauce in a bowl. Mold into your favorite shape and serve with the fancy crackers.

In the second iteration, you place the cream cheese on a plate, top the cream cheese with the crab, and then pour all the cocktail sauce on the crab/cream cheese brick.

Both taste good! The second version allows your guests more freedom in choosing the proportion of crab to cheese to sauce.

Enjoy!

Submitted by: Suzanne