Perfect Holiday Crowd Pleasers

Dishes of Deliciousness- 

from my Budweiser Project 12 Friends-giving.

Nothing like good food, good company, a fire and a couple of cozy drinks to take off the winter chill! I love really homestyle staples mixed with a little ingenuity and some good cheese, this is where the magic in making great dishes comes. 

I made four great appetizers or small plate courses for my past friends-giving and I thought I'd share the recipes in honor of the holiday season being upon us.  

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BEER-COOKED PIGS IN A BLANKET

   | THE FINISHED PRODUCT, serve with a side of spicy mustard and ketchup |

| WHAT YOU'LL NEED - 1 pkg cocktail frankfurters - 2 cans of light beer - 1 roll crescent dough |

( I bought two for this, but only needed one for the whole pkg of hot dogs.)

| POUR beer into the pot, place in the separated hot dogs. Bring to a boil. |

| STRAIN them little piggies. |

| OPEN your crescent dough. Carefully lay it out.  I like to cut each triangle to make two each instead of one.  I do this for each perforated piece of dough. |

| PLACE the hot dog down on the straight edge of the dough with the tip pointing away from you. Carefully roll it over and over until the tip of the triangle is neatly on top and in the middle |

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VANILLA BOURBON BEER ESPRESSO RUBBED STEAK

WITH A VANILLA BOURBON BEER GORGONZOLA CREAM

| WHAT YOU WILL NEED for the rub: 1 tsp coarse blk pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp chili pepper, 1 tsp hershey's cocoa powder, 1 tbsp espresso, 1 tsp brown sugar  |

| MIX all dry rub ingredients together |

| WHAT YOU WILL NEED for the topping: gorgonzola cheese, heavy cream a dash of vanilla, blk  |

| BEAT gorgonzola cheese and cream, once they begin to come together add seasoning, vanilla and a splash of the vanilla bourbon beer. |

| MIX the dry rub with a bit of the vanilla bourbon beer and mix till you have a nice paste. Let's call it the not so dry rub. | RUB the steak down on both sides. |

| GRILL for about 8 minutes on each side, dependent on how you would like it cooked. |

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FRENCH ONION STUFFED MUSHROOMS

| YOU WILL NEED: large stuffing mushrooms, 1 whole white onion, butter, worcestershire sauce, beef stock, creme, minced garlic, gruyere or Swiss cheese |

| WASH and remove the stems from the mushrooms. |

| MINCE the onion. I'm no pro at chopping to perfect proportion so I've been doing this, which is my boyfriend's preferred method. I just cut even rows horizontally and then vertically into the onion and then slice it up, leaving me with perfectly minced onion. |

| ADD butter and them get nice and golden.  Lightly brown them, just till they get perfectly golden.

| HEAT large sauté pan with butter then add the mushrooms |

| ADD about 3/4 of a cup of beef stock, 3-4 dashes of worcestershire sauce, and a nice splash of cream.  Bring to a bubbling simmer.  Then turn down low and let it thicken. |

| SPOON the creamy onion mixture into each mushroom on a lightly olive oiled baking sheet. |

| OPTIONAL -I like to add a touch of bread crumbs on top of the onion topping -holding true the the french onion, you need bread underneath the cheese.  Although they'll still be delicious without.  I actually was out of bread crumbs, but used crushed crackers instead. So good! |

| TOP with swiss or gruyere cheese.  Then sprinkle paprika and parsley over top for a presentable finish.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. |

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BALSAMIC PORTOBELLOS, BACON, 

GOAT CHEESE WITH TOMATOES, 

ORANGE SEGMENTS & BASIL

TOPPED WITH A BALSAMIC REDUCTION

| YOU WILL NEED: baby spinach, bacon, goat cheese, sliced grape tomatoes, a segmented orange, mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil, balsamic reduction.  |

| COOK chopped bacon. |

| MAKE sure its nice and crispy.  Nothing worse than not cooked all the way bacon. |

| SAUTEÉ mushrooms in the same pan the bacon was cooked in (with the excess grease drained only leaving a lightly greased pan), add garlic and balsamic and continue to sauté. Layer all ingredients layered in, drizzle with balsamic and serve !  | 

Which recipes will you be making for the holiday?

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