Cheeselandia

Part of the fun of this little hobby that I love, is the unique experiences that come up along the way. Wisconsin Cheese Board sent me an amazing party box loaded with napkins, cheese knives, a long bread board and 5 absolutely delicious varieties of cheese so I could have a small get together and share the goodness with friends. I figured my book club, "Reading Between the Wines" would be the perfect group to invite over!
We had a book swap, cheese and Scout & Cellar wine tasting that was so much fun!

I was sent:
The Blue Jay by Deer Creek - a quintuple cream blue cheese

Red Barn Family Farms Cupola - semi-hard handcrafted cheese 

Bread Cheese (Juustoleipa) - buttery and springy, served warm

Cello Copper Kettle Parmesan - Sturdy, dense and granular

Carr Valley Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar- spicy and smooth with a touch of sweetness

I truly loved all of the cheeses, but there was definitely a favorite of the group for sure! The Wisconsin Carr Valley Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar! I had just enough left over after the party to create some Cranberry Chipotle Pulled Pork Tostadas the next day.

I just loaded some leftover crock pot pulled pork onto a tostada shell, sprinkled it with shredded Carr Valley Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar  and broiled it just until the cheese was melted. Sprinkle with cilantro and dig in!

Are you following me on Instagram? If not, find me HERE where you can find a few videos of my set up, weekly lunchbox posts and, as always, updates from Beignet and Roux as well! 

#Cheeselandia #WisconsinCheese #visitcheeselandia

Bourbon and Bacon Birthday Bash

 This past weekend my friend and I threw a party for our husband's birthdays. We decided on a Bacon and Bourbon theme and it was so much fun I thought I'd share all the details of what we did. We found some cute quotes about Bourbon and an image of classic bourbon cocktails and framed them to decorate the bar area. We had about 12 different bourbons to taste, an assortment of bitters, mixers, fruit, mint, simple syrup....literally anything needed for everyone to make their favorite beverage.

My friend ordered these adorable cookies that were as delicious as they were cute!

 As per usual, right before the party I was running super late so I asked the birthday boys to take pictures for me. The bacon you see in the glass is "Bacon Man Candy" that Celena made- dangerously delicious!

Celena's daughter also made a decadent Chocolate Pecan Cake with Bourbon Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Maple Bacon Rice Krispie Treats 

 I had cheese stuffed mini peppers as one of the appetizers. All I did was mix goat cheese, Boursin cheese, thyme and bacon together and spooned that into halved mini sweet peppers. Roast them at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes and then drizzled them with a roasted garlic honey

 My bacon deviled eggs went fast! I couldn't believe we went through 48 of them!!

This Beer Cheese Spread is something I've made many times. It's so simple to make and can be made ahead of time. I served it with toasted baguette slices and mini soft pretzel bites.

 There's a small wine bar by my house that serves manchego stuffed bacon wrapped dates with a chimichurri dip that's to die for. I made my own version by stuffing pitted dates with a smoked goat cheese, wrapping them in bacon and roasting them until crisp. The chimichurri I made was actually a recipe my son and I came up with together while researching Argentinian food for his World Cultures class. It's delicious with grilled meats, as a dip, or as a salad dressing!

Chimichurri Sauce

2 cups packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup packed fresh oregano leaves (or 4 teaspoons dried oregano)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth

 A veggie and cheese tray is always a hit and for the main dish, I had pulled pork in the crockpot. I had a variety of sauces to choose from along with slider buns and tortillas allowing people to make sandwiches or tacos!

Overall, the party was a huge success. We had so much fun celebrating our guys!

Super Bowl Snacks Recipe Roundup

I'm looking forward to cheering the Saints on in the Championship Game this weekend! One of my favorite parts of football parties is the food so I came up with a list of awesome appetizers for your game day get together. Whether you're hosting a big party for your friends and family or hanging out at home, I promise you'll love these snacks!

Baked Buffalo Chicken Bites

Mini-letta Swirls

Seven Layer Dip Egg Rolls

Brats N Beer Cheese Bites

Everything Bagel Oven Fries

Pass The Pigskin Cheese Spread

 Cape Cod Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce

 Green Chile Ham Hush Puppies with Chipotle Honey Mustard 

 Bacon Fried Potato Salad Bites with Fry Sauce

 Street Corn Mashed Potato Poppers with Ancho-cado Dip

Cheddar Jalapeno Churros with Cilantro Ranch Dip

Cubano Meatballs with Mustard Cream Sauce

Super Bowl worthy Supreme Pizza Gyoza

Crispy Chicken Parm Egg Rolls

Greek Salad Style Potato Skins

Bacon Pimento Cheese Cherubs

 Chili Cheese Dog Egg Rolls

Mexican Street Corn Won Tons

 Muffuletta Egg Rolls

Five Bean Salad Mini Muffulettas

Playoff Pudding Parfaits

Shark Attack Birthday Party

My son and his best friend both turned 12 in July an they had a joint Shark themed birthday swimming party to celebrate! Since the party was at his friend's house I was able to spend my time having fun creating the food and snacks for the boys! The big cake was pretty simple: chocolate cake with vanilla icing and a fondant shark cutout. The cupcakes were coconut cake, filled with berry jam and coconut cream cheese frosting. I used the extra fondant from the big shark and made mini shark fins for the cupcakes. For the favors I took rice krispie treats, dipped them in blue candy melts and decorated them with goldfish crackers and sprinkles.

For the snack table there was a drink dispenser with blue gatorade and mini Swedish fish frozen in ice cubes so they would float. Veggie Straws were pool noodles and Goldfish crackers and potato chips were called "Fish & Chips"

I had fun carving the watermelon and cucumber into sharks for the fruit and veggie platters and at the end of the day even the shark cucumber was eaten!

I think the best part of the whole party was the severed hands and feet floating in the pool! The kids got such a kick out of that and never stopped laughing at the "slow swimmers"

It was a great party and the kids had a ton of fun swimming!

Chopped Jr Birthday Bash

Last weekend we threw my daughter a birthday party at the house. I tried to offer numerous other options and even attempted bribing her, but she wouldn't budge. She wanted a Chopped Birthday Party. I wondered about the state of my sanity while pulling it together and was really nervous at the thought of having 9 little girls over to my house for a Chopped competition, but to my surprise it went way better than I could have ever expected! The girls had an absolute blast and seeing them so excited made it all worth it!

I ordered the Invites, score sheets, banner and all of the cute printables here from Etsy

I also ordered kids plain aprons and some fabric markers so as the girls were arriving they could each decorate an apron to use while cooking. I was thinking instead of the usual bag of annoying noisemakers/stickers/candy that dyes their mouth green and gets left on the floor of your car after a party this was at least something they could keep and use at home too!

 We had the girls pick a number and then divided them into 3 teams of 3. I set up 3 small stations that they could cook and prep at and had a "pantry" table of extra ingredients they could use as well

The Pantry Table before it was raided is below

Afterwards it looked like a swarm of locusts had cleaned it out

For the entree round the secret ingredients were tomatoes, pizza dough and cheese (I had 5 types of cheese and they could pick the one they wanted)

I pre-cooked bacon and Italian sausage to give them some proteins to choose that didn't need to go on the stove and made sure I had a ton of veggies to choose from too.

For the most part I was really impressed with the final dishes. A few of the girls were worried and told me before we even started that they had never cooked anything before so my expectations weren't very high to begin with. 

Just in case you're wondering, yes that is a pizza surrounded by cool whip in the bottom shot. 

Yeah, it was rough...

They were so excited for the reveals! 

There was a lot of squealing...it was LOUD y'all

Team 1 hard at work

 So stinking cute!

 I loved seeing how intense they were as the clock was running and had a great time teaching them a little bit of knife skills for those that were interested

Hands Up! Round 1 is over!

 For the dessert round, I had a whole dessert bar in the middle of the table so that served as decoration and their stash to work with plus the pantry table for them to pick from. For their secret ingredients they had to use any flavor cupcake, sprinkles and their choice of icing.

There were sprinkles EVERYWHERE

Overall, it was a blast and I hope the kids had as much fun as Brianna did!

Cajun Cod Fish Cake Sliders with Mardi-Gras Slaw

I am so excited to share my entry for the Blogger Saltfish Recipe Challenge! I'm always excited to try new ingredients and saltfish is something I've never worked with before. When I was younger, I remember my grandpa making Cod Fish Cakes during Lent on Fridays. He always used canned cod (similar to canned tuna), mixed it with mashed potatoes and fried them to a crispy golden brown. I loved them as a kid and probably haven't had one in over 20 years. I knew I wanted to try that same method with the salt cod and modernize it and what I settled on I think you'll really love! Cajun blackening spices jazz up these crispy Cajun Cod Cakes and I made a quick and easy remoulade sauce to go with it. The purple, green and gold Mardi Gras Slaw is colorful and crunchy and, let's be honest here, who doesn't love sweet Hawaiian style rolls? It's a delicious pairing that I hope you enjoy!

Cajun Cod Fish Cake Sliders with Mardi-Gras Slaw
Cod Fish Cakes:

1 pound Cristobal salt cod fish filets

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 Tablespoon Cajun blackening seasoning

¼ cup minced shallot

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mardi-Gras Slaw:

2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage

1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper

1/4 cup sliced green onion

2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

2 Tablespoons olive oil 

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper 

Remoulade Sauce:

2 tsp Louisiana style hot sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise 

1/4 cup Creole style whole grain mustard

1/2 cup ketchup 

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

15 Sweet Hawaiian style slider rolls, lightly toasted 

Place the salt cod filets in a bowl and cover with cold water. Refrigerate for 8 hours, draining the water and replacing it with fresh water every 2 hours. After 8 hours, rinse the cod in cold water, pat dry and cut into 3-inch sections.

Place the cod and potatoes into a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender and the cod flakes easily with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled cod and potato mixture, Cajun blackening seasoning and minced shallot and roughly mash with a potato masher. Stir in the eggs until the mixture is evenly combined. Using a cookie scoop, make 15 equal portions, and gently press them in the panko, flattening slightly, creating mini patties. Place the cakes in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss together the red cabbage, yellow bell pepper, green onion, parsley, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Chill until ready to use.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the hot sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and lemon juice. Chill until ready to use.

Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the cod cakes in batches until golden and crispy on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

To assemble the sliders, spread a thin layer of the sauce on each side of the toasted slider rolls, place a small scoop of slaw on the bottom half of each roll, top with a cod fish cake and the top half of the buns. Serve immediately.

You can find Cristobal salt cod fish filets at: Brookshire Brothers, HEB, Fiesta, Food Town, H Mart, Kroger and Los Altos Ranch Market

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Bacon Fried Potato Salad Bites with Fry Sauce

How many times after picnics, BBQs or tailgates have you been left with a container, half filled, of potato salad?

Growing up in the South, there's not a party or BBQ without potato salad on the menu! Trying to use up the leftovers the next day, I came up with this dish. I pump up my potato salad with bacon and then deep fry it! What's more Southern than deep fried party food?! Dip it into the delicious fry sauce and you've got an appetizer or side the whole crowd will love!

Bacon Fried Potato Salad Bites with Fry Sauce

6 cups cubed, peeled Idaho potatoes

1 Tablespoon salt

4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

6 slices cooked bacon, chopped fine

1/3 cup minced celery

1/3 cup sliced green onion

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning blend

¼ cup sweet pickle relish

2 Tablespoons yellow mustard

2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

1/3 cup mayonnaise

6 cups vegetable oil

1 cup flour

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons water

2 cups panko bread crumbs

For the Fry Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon sriracha

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Place the cubed potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Season the water with 2 teaspoons of the salt, and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to hot pot to dry.  

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the chopped egg, bacon, celery, green onion, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, pickle relish, mustard, parsley and mayonnaise. Add the potatoes and stir, slightly mashing, until the mixture is evenly blended and there is an equal amount of smooth and cubed potatoes.

Line a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Using a small cookie scoop, create small balls about 1 heaping Tablespoon each, of the potato salad mixture and line them up evenly on the cookie sheet. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until the balls are firm enough to roll.

Heat the oil to 375 degrees in a large, high sided pot over medium-high heat, fitted with a candy thermometer.  

To set up the breading station, pour the remaining 1 teaspoon of the salt and the flour into a small pie plate and whisk it together. Whisk together the eggs and water in another pie plate and the panko in a third plate. Set aside for later use.

Remove the tray of the potato salad bites from the freezer, and handling them carefully, dredge first in the flour, then egg mixture and finally in the panko mixture. Place the breaded balls in the hot oil carefully and fry for 3-5 minutes, or until browned and crisp. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel lined tray.

To make the Fry Sauce, whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha and apple cider vinegar in a small mixing bowl.

Serve immediately with dipping sauce. Makes 45 bites