February 2012 Potluck - "Man"luck

Our theme this was month was the "man"luck - meaning we didn't care what you brought but the guy had to do the cooking!  I expected loads of meat, so I was very pleasantly surprised with the assortment of offerings that the guys whipped up.  I'm pretty sure that this theme will become an annual tradition!

 Cory's Beef Kebabs

Clint's Pico de Gallo 

Casey's Grandmother's Potato Salad 

 Stacy's Sesame Orange Kale Salad

Taylor's Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips 

 Craig's Mac and Cheese

 Cameron's Feast of Grilled Meats - Chicken, Ribs, Bacon Wrapped Venison and Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

 Clint's Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Icing - this month's winning dish!

Andrew's Chocolate Pretzel Ice Cream (add about 1 c broken pretzel pieces in the last 5 minutes)

And now from the food and onto the peeps!

 Jennie, Taylor and Amanda chatting it up

 Andrew, Cory and Clint having some guy talk

 Erin, Candace, Robyn and Meagan trying to make it look like we're just there to pose for a picture but really we were there to chow down on the chips and salsa

 Lora and Jenni

 Craigles and Clinty

 Jennie and Robyn

 Candace, Erin and Lora

 The dudes hanging out by the grill (I have no idea why my husband is making that face)

 The chef with his grilled feast o' meats!

 Ah, showing some bro love!

 Erin chowing down on some of the badass ribs

 Candace was trying to look good while eating ribs

 Whoa, hold the presses!  LB is eating meat off a bone!!!

 The birthday boy

 The birthday girl

 Robyn and C-Ray

Time to choose the games for the evening's entertainment

 Isn't my husband cute!

 Cameron, Clint, Jennie, Stacy and Amanda - AKA Team Chairs (plus Meagan and Taylor)

Craig took his job of buzzing very seriously!

 Casey's turn

Craig, Candace, Cory, Robyn (AKA Team Couch - plus Erin, Andrew, Lora and Casey)

Clint's Pico de Gallo

3 cans Rotel (your preference)

1/2 - 3/4 cup cilantro

1/3 cup onion

2 T garlic, minced

1/8 t red pepper flakes

3 dashes chili powder

generous 1/4 t cumin

1/2 t salt

1/2 T lime juice (I used one whole lime)

1/8 t Tabasco sauce (more if you want some heat)

splash of white wine vinegar

Put all ingredients in blender and blend on low (time will depend on desired consistency).

If you like it hotter, add a jalapeno or serrano pepper

Casey's Grandmother's Potato Salad

- red new potatoes (leave skin on)

- cover with cold water and bring to a boil; boil at medium heat until potatoes are easy to cut with a knife (about 30 minutes)

- drain and cool to room temperature

- add cut celery

- add 1/2-1 sweet onion, chopped

- add Hellman's mayo (the real, original formula - not "lite" or some "salad dressing") one tablespoon at a time

- add following items and gently mix: green olives with pimentos; hard boiled eggs; salt; pepper; paprika

Stacy's Orange Sesame Kale Salad

Wash one bunch of kale and strip leaves off of stems.  Dry and cut into bite-size pieces.

Whisk together:

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 T sugar

2 T soy sauce or Tamari

1 T sesame oil

Pour dressing over kale and toss in:

2 T toasted almonds

1/4 cup pepitas

1/2 apple, diced

1/4 cup dried cranberries

crystallized ginger, optional

Taylor's Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips

4-5 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into strips

2-3 parsnips, peeled and cut into strips

Coat veggies in olive oil, sea salt, pepper and Tony Chacere's seasoning.

Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Five minutes before they're done, squeeze fresh lime juice and drizzle agave maple syrup on top.  Bake 5 more minutes.  Remove from oven, cool slightly and drizzle a bit more maple agave to sweeten.

Cameron's Feast of Grilled Meats

for the shrimp:

buy only gulf shrimp (farm raised taste different)

peel and devein shrimp

place shrimp in bowl with hickory flavored BBQ sauce

wrap in bacon, optional

grill until firm (for more flavor, grill over mesquite)

for the venison:

slice venison backstrap into 1/2-inch thick pieces (cutting against the grain)

place in bowl and add moderate amount of your choice of seasoning (salt, pepper, season all or Tony Chacere's)

wrap in bacon

grill until medium-rare to medium (for more flavor, grill over mesquite)

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January 2012 Potluck - Spanish Theme

This month's potluck was hosted by Candace and Craig and they chose to do a Spanish theme, Un Noche en Espana.  As always, the food was fantastic and the time spent with friends was even better.  Below I have all the recipes that we cooked up, and this month I included pictures of the people too!

(FYI - If the recipe doesn't have a link underneath it's picture, then the recipes will be at the very bottom of the post.)

 Robyn's Shrimp & Chorizo Tapas

 Stacy's Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

 Erin's Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates (this month's winning dish!)

 Lora's Cheese & Olive Platter with

Amanda's Spicy & Sweet Almonds

 Erin's Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper Dip

 Jennie's Spiced Roasted Chickpeas

 Clint's Sun-Dried Tomato Goat Cheese 

 Amanda & Taylor's two Spanish tortillas - the first one had potatoes, egg, mushrooms, turkey bacon & spinach; the second one was traditional (eggs and potatoes)

 Candace's Paella

 Meagan's Spanish Chocolate Torta (AKA Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake!)

Jennie also made some awesome chocolate cake balls with orange frosting as the binder, but I didn't get a picture of them.  Oops, sorry Jennie!

 Jennie, Lora and Meagan

Amanda, Taylor, Casey and Baby Mae

Robyn & Cory

 Lora, Mae, Jennie, Erin, Meagan, Stacy, Amanda, Robyn and Candace

 Andrew and Clint blowing out their birthday candles (sorry you missed it Cameron!)

 Craig holding Mae

 Casey and the Cash-Man

 Robyn, Jennie & Clint

And it wouldn't be a potluck without some rowdy board games!  I think this was right around the time when the girls guessed Andre 3000 (we were wrong) and Craig, who was acting as the reader, got so excited he yelled out the answer (Dr. Dre) before the guys could guess...(Lora, we totally needed you on that question!)

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil (can be omitted)

16 asparagus spears, trimmed

16 slices prosciutto

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with olive oil.

Wrap one slice prosciutto around each asparagus spear, starting at the bottom, and spiraling up to the tip. Place wrapped spears on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 5 minutes. Remove and shake the pan back and forth to roll the spears over.  Return to pan for another 5 minutes, or until asparagus is tender, and prosciutto is crisp.  Serve immediately.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

8 oz sherry

1 8-oz package dried dates

4 oz cream cheese

16 oz bacon, cut in half

Marinate dates in sherry for at least 3 hours.  Drain.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a wire rack atop a foil-lined baking sheet. 

Slice dates open (it's really easy to do using kitchen scissors) and stuff each date with a little less than a teaspoon of cream cheese.  Wrap each date with half a slice of bacon and place seam side down on the wire rack. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy and browned.

Spicy & Sweet Almonds

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups raw almonds

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

finely chopped fresh rosemary

Mix oil and spices together, add nuts and stir to coat thoroughly.  Spread the nuts on a baking sheet.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25, or until nuts are toasted.

Paella

3.5 oz chorizo, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons olive oil

6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks

2 onions, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped

2 cups paella or risotto rice

1 teaspoon smoked or regular paprika

generous pinch saffron threads, about 1/2 teaspoon

scant 1/2 cup white wine

4 1/4 cups chicken or fish broth

6 small cleaned squid, sliced into thick rings

11 oz mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

12 large shell-on uncooked shrimp

1 handful frozen baby peas

1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 lemon

salt and pepper

Put a large frying pan or paella pan over medium heat, then add oil.  After 30 seconds, add chorizo.  Fry until golden, about 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.  

Add chicken to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and fry for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden.  Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers to the chicken, stir well and then cook gently for 10 minutes, or until the onions and peppers are softened.

Add the rice and turn up the heat.  Stir well to coat with the oil, then add paprika, saffron, wine and broth.  Season with salt and pepper.  Simmer the rice for 20 minutes, or until nearly soft.  Stir several times as it cooks.

Meanwhile, tap any open mussels sharply on the work surface.  Discard any that do not close after a few seconds.

Add the shrimp to the pan, tucking them into what sauce is left around the rice.  Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, then scatter the squid, mussels, peas and chorizo over top.  Cover and cook for another 2 minutes, or until mussels have opened and the squid is no longer transparent.  

Discard any mussels that haven't opened.  Sprinkle parsley over the paella.  Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over paella.

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