Christmas Entertaining: More Appetizers

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. ~Washington Irving

I always have good intentions of posting more often during the holidays but things never seem to settle down. Since I have a lot of last minute recipes and ideas I'll be posting today and the next three days. A mini-marathon of holiday blogs:) Today I'm starting with more appetizer recipes. I can seriously never have too many appetizer or snack ideas. Between my teens, our family get gatherings and friends dropping by I always need quick finger food.

Rueben Appetizers

1 cup diced cooked corned beef, roast beef or chipped beef
8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise

1/8 tsp. garlic powder
8 ounces (1 cup) sauerkraut
2 cups grated Swiss cheese
Loaf Party Rye Bread

Combine the beef, cream cheese, mayonnaise, sauerkraut and garlic powder. Set up the pieces of bread, and spread each one with the cheese/beef mixture. Sprinkle with the Swiss cheese on top of each appetizer and broil until bubbly. Serve warm.

Notes: You can also add a pickle to this appetizer, or serve pickles on the side near it.

Pepperoni Bread

1 loaf frozen bread dough

1 tbsp. dried oregano

1 package sliced pepperoni (small pack)

2 eggs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Lightly rub the frozen loaf with oil, place it in a bowl or on a cookie sheet with a clean tea towel over it. Allow the dough to thaw and double in size. Roll out the dough. In a small bowl beat the eggs, Parmesan and oregano. Spread about 2/3 of this mixture on the dough. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and place the pepperoni evenly on the bread dough. Roll up the dough with the cheese/pepperoni etc. inside. Seal the edge by pinching with your fingers then brush the rest of the egg mixture over the bread on the outside. Place the rolled bread on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with butter after removing from the oven.

Slice and place on a platter to serve.

Notes: I like adding a little garlic powder to the butter before brushing.

Jalapeno Poppers

12 whole Jalapeno peppers

12 cubes Colby Jack cheese (or Cheddar)

1 cup Bisquick

1 egg

1/2 cup beer

Cut the tops off of the peppers with a very sharp knife and clean out the seeds. Stuff with the cheese cubes. Set aside. Mix the Bisquick, egg and beer. Dip in each pepper to coat it and deep fry in grease for 2-4 minutes. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Herb Deviled Eggs

12 hard boiled eggs

6 tbsp. Parmesan Cheese

4 tbsp. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. dried basil, crushed

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Peel the eggs, then cut in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks, and set the whites aside. Mash the yolks with a fork, in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the cheese, mayonnaise, basil, garlic and pepper until smooth. Spoon or use a pastry bag (or plastic bag with the corner tip cut off) the yolk mixture into the egg white halves. For garnish you can sprinkle with paprika, or a few snipped chives. Serve on a platter after they've been chilled.

By the way, do you need tips on caring for your poinsettia?

http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/poinsettia.html