
shredded cheese
Pepperoni Party Bread
What are you hoping the spread will be for Big Game on Sunday? No, I don’t mean the point spread, I mean the snack table spread! Anything and everything deep fried, grilled, buttered, battered and baked, I’m assuming! From chicken wings and crock pot meatballs to deep fried pickles and football shaped brownies, the food at Super bowl parties are as much fun (and sometimes way more fun) than the game itself! While we’re considering the menu of all the things we want to dip and dive into, here’s a very simple Pepperoni Party Bread that is a real “slice ‘n diver!” You slice it up and plunge it right into your favorite red sauce! It all starts with refrigerated bread dough; either Pizza or French bread dough. It’s loaded up with thin slices of pepperoni, some tasty shredded cheese like gruyere, mozzarella or a combination of both. (For this recipe, you want the cheese to pull and stretch when you slice and lift it out, and both gruyere and mozzarella are great “pulling” cheeses! Some sliced peperoncini and some seasonings for added flavor and you’ll have super party bread for a super game day!
Watch my Video for Pepperoni Party Bread here!
Fajitas
Fajitas
It’s one of those favorite dishes on the menu at Mexican, Tex Mex and Southwestern-style restaurants. Fajitas refer to grilled meat or chicken usually served as a taco or alongside grilled peppers, onions and flour or corn tortillas. Fajitas are so simple to make at home. A delicious fajita starts with a great marinade. For this recipe, I’ve chosen a simple combination of ingredients, but if you prefer more heat, you can always add some red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne. For the chicken, I prefer skinless boneless chicken thighs, but chicken breasts work well too. For the meat, you’ll want something with a little bit of fat like a skirt or flank steak. With colorful peppers always available, a combination of green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers make a beautiful presentation along with a large, sweet yellow onion. To give the fajitas a real authentic flavor, you can toss your flour tortilla into a hot dry skillet or griddle for just a few seconds to give it the char marks and delicious flavor. Of course, you’ll want to top off your fajitas with all of your favorite fixings’ like avocado, pico de gallo, cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream. Plan ahead so the protein can marinate for several hours, then fire up the skillet or grill and get cookin’ south of the border style!
Watch my How To Video for Fajitas here!
Chicken Enchilada Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings
Chicken Enchilada Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings
Here in the Southwest we love or Hatch Chile season! We’re right in the middle of the harvesting these flavorful versatile chiles that are known for their perfect balance of sweet and heat. Besides elevating the taste of enchiladas and rellenos, we also love hatch chiles in stews, soups, sauces and even smothered on burgers. In my opinion, there is no better hatch chile then when roasted or charred. It’s easy to do on an outdoor grill, in the oven, or with a grate over your gas cooktop! Just keep turning the chiles until they blister, place them in a Ziploc back while still warm and let them sweat. he charred skin will come right off and then you can scrape the seeds out and dice! While you can used canned chiles for this Chicken Enchilada Soup, the hatch chiles takes the freshness and flavor to a whole new level! Oh! And those cornmeal dumplings? The perfect topper to a this hearty Southwestern favorite!