Salad Pizza with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

On the menu tonight – Salad Pizza with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing!

I wasn’t sure what I would think about this when I first saw it. However, once I made it and tried it, I’m sure glad I did because it’s DELICIOUS!

Instead of making the dough, you are certainly welcome to, I took a shortcut and used a prepared flatbread. I drizzled some olive oil on it along with oregano and Parmesan cheese, then baked it at 475 for about 10 minutes.

While the crust was baking, I made the dressing. In a food processor, I blitzed the sun dried tomatoes, a clove of garlic, some salt, pepper, and dried oregano. Then, drizzle in the olive oil and now your dressing is finished.

Chop the lettuce in to bite-sized pieces and toss with the dressing and some mozzarella cheese. Once the crust has cooled enough, spread the dressed salad on the crust and serve.

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Salad Pizza with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

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Salad Pizza with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

Ingredients

Salad Dressing:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Crust:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Flat Bread OR One 11-ounce pop tube thin-crust pizza dough
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling
Salad:
3 hearts romaine, chopped
1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped banana peppers
1 cup small-cubed low-fat mozzarella (not fresh mozzarella)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a blender/food processor, add the red wine vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.

Blitz until desired consistency.

With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil.

Once combined, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Set aside and prepare the crust.

Put the flatbread or pizza dough on a sheet pan and brush with a light coating of olive oil.

Season with oregano, Parmesan cheese, and a little salt and pepper.

Put in the pre-heated oven on the middle rack.

Bake 10-12 minutes.

Remove and set aside to cool.

Once your lettuce and other salad ingredients are chopped, combine in a large bowl and toss with the salad dressing.

Once the crust has cooled, top with the dressed salad and serve.

September 8, 2024 By Patrick Dulmage

PartyFood/ Side Dishes

Old Fashioned Potato Salad

On the menu tonight – Old Fashioned Potato Salad!

Potato salad is must for any BBQ, grill session, pot luck, and a perfect side dish for so many meals. This version comes together so easily and is so delicious, you won’t need to get the stuff pre-made at the grocery store.

My version includes apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, dry mustard powder, red onion, parsley,and spicy pickles. Spicy pickles? YES! You’ll know the pickles are there, but they are in the background.

The next time you need a side dish for your BBQ, consider trying my Old Fashioned Potato Salad!

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Old Fashioned Potato Salad

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Old Fashioned Potato Salad

Ingredients

2-3 lbs potatoes (your choice of potato but you can't go wrong with the small red potatoes or Yukon gold)
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup Celery finely chopped (I like to use the center of the celery stalk and include the greens)
1 - 2 Spicy pickles (like Zingers), finely chopped
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Dice the potatoes to desired size (approx 1" dice) or slice

Put the potatoes in a large pot of water as you cut them to avoid them getting brown

Bring the potatoes to a boil, generously season the water with Kosher or Sea salt, then lower the heat and cook until fork tender

Drain the potatoes and let cool down before adding the rest of the ingredients

Once cooled, add the potatoes to a large mixing bowl along with rest of the ingredients

Check seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste

January 8, 2024 By Patrick Dulmage

PartyFood/ Side Dishes/ Uncategorized/ Vegetarian

Boiled Peanuts

On the snacking menu for tonight – Boiled Peanuts!

Boiled peanuts are definitely one of those things that get really mixed results when you mention them. “What are boiled peanuts?” “That sounds gross…” “Yum! If you are from the South, you’ve likely had had boiled peanuts. If you are from the South and haven’t had boiled peanuts, please mail your Southern card to… I’m just kidding.

Seriously though, if you are from the South, even if you haven’t tried boiled peanuts, you HAVE seen the roadside stand with the guy sitting next to a half barrel or converted beer keg sitting over a low burning fire filled with boiled peanuts. You buy some, and the guy ladles out your peanuts into a styrofoam cup. I mentioned the ladle. The ladle used to get the peanuts is something to watch out for as your purchase is being prepared. It’s almost always a jerry-rigged device with holes drilled in so the water from the barrel or keg can drain as they get your boiled peanuts.

Oh, definitely strike up a conversation with the person at the stand. For me, half the fun of the drive to wherever it is I’m going is stopping to get some boiled peanuts and chatting with the person at the stand. You may also buy some fresh fruit, produce, and / or BBQ as well before you continue on your way.

If you’ve never tried boiled peanuts, I hope the next time you plan to have people over for a game or the holidays you will make a batch of boiled peanuts for your guests to snack on.

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Boiled Peanuts

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: unknown

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 8-9 hrs – Total Time: 8-9 hrs

Boiled Peanuts

Ingredients

bag of green peanuts
Kosher Salt
Filtered / Bottled Water (tap water has chlorine and other chemicals that don't taste so great)

Instructions

Spread out the peanuts from the bag and remove any rotten or moldy peanuts

Fill a crockpot about 3/4 full with peanuts

Pour in enough water in to the crockpot that the peanuts begin to float and then pour some more. The water will evaporate, so I fill it as high as I can but still able to close the lid

Pour in 4 palm-fulls of Kosher salt and stir it in. If you have never made them before, start with 3 palm-fulls if you are nervous they will be too salty

Set the crockpot on high for 4 hrs.

Once the 4 hrs are up, lower the temperature to low and let it go another 4 - 5 hrs. At the 4 hour mark, taste a few to see if they are the consistency you want. I like mine with a little bite to them... too mushy and you can't get them out of the shell.

Once finished, cut the heat, drain, and transfer to another container.

Serve hot

Notes

They are great hot, warm, or even cold. They store well in the fridge a few days, if they last that long. You can add flavorings too. You can add some sliced jalapeno, or hatch chilies, or Old Bay Seasoning. When I've done Old Bay, I'll add two spoonfuls (like a cereal spoon) of the Old Bay at the beginning with the salt

September 5, 2022 By patrickdulmage

PartyFood

Homemade French Onion Dip

On the Menu Tonight – French Onion Dip!

Since I’m making this for 4th of July, I wanted to make something more special than sour cream and French Onion Soup mix. This dip has lots of onion, some shallots, and garlic along with sour cream, cream cheese and some other ingredients.

It takes some time to get the onions, shallots, and garlic cooked down, so plan to spend some time watching the onions so they caramelize all over. Once they are done to your liking, cut the heat and let them cool.

While the onions cook, you can assemble the cold ingredients in a big bowl. Once the onions are cooled off, gently fold in the onion mixture and let it rest in the fridge at least an hour before serving.

I hope you’ll try my version of French Onion Dip.

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Homemade French Onion Dip

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 8-10

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes – Total Time: 45 minutes

Homemade French Onion Dip

Ingredients

2 Vidalia Onions, quartered and sliced

2 shallots, quartered and finely sliced

2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup mayonnaise

2 cups sour cream

8 oz block cream cheese, softened

1-2 green onions, finely chopped

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1

Pre-heat a large pan over med-high heat

2

Add the onions with the olive oil

3

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl add the sour cream, cream cheese, and mayonnaise

4

Add the celery seed, salt, pepper, and green onions

5

Gently fold the ingredients in the bowl

6

Stir the onions and add the shallots

7

After about 5 minutes, add the minced garlic

8

Continue cooking until the onions and shallots are cooked to your liking (they should have a light brown color at the minimum)

9

When finished cooking, cut the heat and let them cool

10

Once the onions have fully cooled, fold them in to the sour cream mixture, let rest at least an hour before serving

July 9, 2022 By patrickdulmage

Chicken/ PartyFood

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas with Shredded Iceberg Lettuce

On the Menu tonight – Spicy Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas!

When I saw Katie Lee Biegel make this on The Kitchen, I had to add this one to my Superbowl menu instead of chicken wings. There is a lot of help from the store in this recipe too, which makes it a great dish to make anytime because it comes together so fast. By using a rotisserie chicken, you simply pull the meat off the bones and chop it to bite-sized pieces. Mix in the shredded Monterey Jack cheese with the chicken in a large mixing bowl. When the buffalo sauce is ready, mix a cup of that in as well.

With the buffalo chicken mixture ready, you are ready for assembly. When Katie made her version, she cut the enchiladas into pinwheels. I did about half of the enchiladas into pinwheels and the rest simply cut the enchiladas in half. The pinwheels are great for a party and the half-sized pieces are great for lunch or dinner. Once all the enchiladas are assembled, pour the rest of the buffalo sauce over them along with the rest of the shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Bake them and serve with the finely shredded iceberg lettuce along with crumbled blue cheese and either blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Now that you have the technique down, you can modify it to an endless variety of enchiladas. I hope you will try this version and let me know what you think.

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Spicy Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

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By Katie Lee Biegel – Serves: 12

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 Rotisserie chicken, pulled from the bone and chopped
1 stick butter
1 lb grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups mild red enchilada sauce
3/4 cup hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot recommended)
8 10-inch flour tortillas
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbled

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Butter a 13x9 baking dish

Add the chicken and 2 1/2 cups of the shredded Monterey Jack cheese to a large mixing bowl

Heat the butter, enchilada sauce and hot sauce and in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts

Remove from the heat

Transfer 1 cup of the sauce to the bowl with the chicken

Toss to fully coat

Ladle 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish

Spread a heaping 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture evenly onto a tortilla, then roll it up (If you’d like, trim the round ends of the tortilla that are unfilled and reserve for another use)

Cut the rolled tortilla into 6 pinwheels

Place each pinwheel cut-side down in the baking dish

Repeat with the remaining tortillas and chicken mixture

Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle the remaining Monterey Jack cheese on top

Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes

Meanwhile, toss the lettuce with the ranch dressing in a large bowl

Sprinkle the blue cheese crumbles on top of the enchiladas

Serve immediately with the salad

February 26, 2022 By patrickdulmage

Beef/ PartyFood

Smoked Kielbasa and Irish Cheddar Cheese Crescent Rolls

On the menu tonight – Smoked Kielbasa and Irish Cheddar Cheese Crescent Rolls!

These are a variation of pigs in a blanket. When I was shopping the other day, they totally got me with the samples. I sampled both the smoked kielbasa and Irish Cheddar. I had already planned on making something with crescent rolls, but once I tried these things, the menu changed.

This dish goes together really quickly. All you need to do is prep the ingredients, have the oven pre-heated, and the sheet pan ready. Roll out the crescent dough, spread a layer of mustard on it, add the kielbasa and cheese, then roll dough as you would if you were making plain crescent rolls. Bake per package instructions, but check them before you take them out. Because you are wrapping up some other ingredients, you may need an additional 5-10 minutes to allow that inner dough to finish cooking.

Serve right away. These rolls are good hot or cold and would make a great picnic dish. Also, think breakfast. You could fill these with other fillings like bacon and cheese. I bet a little scrambled eggs with some ham and cheese would be fantastic.

I hope you will make these rolls for your next party.

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Smoked Kielbasa and Irish Cheddar Cheese Crescent Rolls

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 25 minutes – Total Time: 35 minutes

Smoked Kielbasa and Irish Cheddar Cheese Crescent Rolls

Ingredients

1 pkg crescent rolls
1 lb Smoked Kielbasa
4 oz grainy or yellow mustard
8 oz Irish Cheddar cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 stick butter

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Melt the butter over low heat with the minced garlic

Un-roll the crescent rolls and break them apart to individual triangles

Cut the kielbasa to length, use the base of the dough triangle as a guide

Then quarter each piece length-wise (see if you can take off the kielbasa casing)

Cut your cheese into similar size blocks as the kielbasa

Brush each of the spread out crescent rolls with mustard (don't be shy with the mustard)

Take two pieces of kielbasa, two pieces of cheese, and roll them up in the crescent dough (starting with the base of the triangle)

Repeat with each piece of crescent dough, placing the rolls on the sheet pan (leave a couple of inches between each roll as the cheese will likely ooze out)

Brush each roll with the garlic butter

Bake until the rolls are golden brown and remove from the oven

If you have any leftover melted butter, you can brush them again with the rest of the garlic butter

When done, let them rest at least 5-10 minutes to let the cheese cool down a bit

Serve hot or cold with some mustard available for dipping (they are fantastic right out of the fridge and perfect for a picnic)

Notes

I've also made these leaving out the garlic butter and they are still fantastic. The crescent dough is already kind of buttery. Feel free to substitute the smoked kielbasa with other fillings.

February 19, 2022 By patrickdulmage

Casserole/ PartyFood

Cuban Slider Casserole

On the menu tonight – Cubano Slider Casserole!

After seeing this made on The Kitchen, I knew that I was going to make it. Difficulty level – Easy.

For my version, I made my own pulled pork. However, you could take a shortcut and buy the prepared pulled pork to make it even easier. I used brioche slider buns. If you haven’t bought slider buns before, they come attached and you have to break them apart. For this dish, you don’t break them apart. Slice the entire sheet of buns like you are making one giant sandwich – which you kind of are.

Put the bottom half of the buns in the casserole dish, slather some yellow mustard, then a layer of pulled pork, then a layer of ham, a slice of Swiss cheese, and finally some sliced pickle. I used spicy pickles to add a little kick to the sliders. Slather the top half of the buns with some more yellow mustard and then place on top of the “sandwich”. I used a pastry brush to paint melted garlic butter on top before putting them in the oven.

Bake, covered, for about 20-25 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve with the rest of your Superbowl Sunday spread. I hope you will try my version of Cubano Slider Casserole!

Now that you know this technique, you can go wild with the variations of slider casseroles. You could make a breakfast slider casserole with scrambled eggs, bacon (or sausage), and cheese. What about a roasted vegetable slider casserole using roasted red bell pepper, egg plant, and onions? Let me know what version you make.

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Cuban Slider Casserole

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 minutes – Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cuban Slider Casserole

Ingredients

12-16 oz pulled/shredded pork (homemade or store bought)
12 oz thinly sliced ham
12 count brioche slider buns, (potato buns are used a lot as well) cut in half
1/4 cup Yellow mustard
8 oz spicy pickles, sliced
12 slices Swiss cheese
1 tsp Oregano
1 stick butter
2 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Melt the butter over medium heat

Once the butter is melted, add the minced garlic and cut the heat

Put the bottom half of the slider buns in a baking dish

Evenly spread the yellow mustard on the buns

Then, spread the pulled pork

Add the ham

Sprinkle on the oregano

Put the pickles on next, followed by the Swiss cheese

Evenly spread mustard on the top buns and cover the cheese

Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of the buns with the melted garlic butter (feel free to gently pour it on)

Cover with tin foil and bake 25 minutes

Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes

February 13, 2022 By patrickdulmage