If Football Is Your Thing

Today, I have a post up at South Dakota Magazine. There, I am sharing an incredibly easy and delicious recipe that would be perfect for your Super Bowl party. Love pepperoni pizza? Love bread? Combining the two into a toasty, melty, gooey Pepperoni Pull-Apart Bread is a winning touchdown.

I also have you covered if the game goes into over-time and you need more snacks. Bloomin' Onion Bread was born of a love of Outback's Bloomin' Onions and, well duh, bread. I have adapted the recipe slightly to incorporate the seasoned butter that really makes Dine and Dish's Oven Ham Sammies so yummy. That butter takes these cheesy, toasty hunks of bread flying past the 50-yard line.

 Pepperoni Pull-Apart Bread is kicking off

at South Dakota Magazine.

(While you are there, spend some time checking out the rest of their site.
They really are South Dakota's cheerleaders.)

Bloomin' Onion Bread

(adapted from The Changable Table and The Girl Who Ate Everything,
with additions from Dine and Dish)

1 unsliced loaf sourdough bread
12-16 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 tsp ground mustard

2 teaspoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoon onion flakes
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup finely diced green onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Carefully, cut the bread in a crisscross fashion, lengthwise and width-wise without cutting through the bottom crust.
Place bread on a foil-lined baking sheet and stuff cheese between cuts.

Combine butter, ground mustard, poppy seeds, onion flakes, and Worcestershire sauce.

Drizzle over bread, coating the crust and any exposed cut edges of the bread.

Wrap loaf completely in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Unwrap and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Eeny, Meeny, Zucchini, Panini

There are a lot of days that I just don't know what to cook. My fridge, freezer, and pantry are overstocked, but nothing will jump at me from their depths. Nothing will scream at me to be prepared and enjoyed. I am hungry, but don't have a clue what I am hungry for. It is like a game of Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe to chose what's for dinner.

On one of those recent days, I had been busy working at home all day and followed it up with a late afternoon dental appointment. Sitting in the chair in my little paper bib waiting for the dentist, I was doing a mental inventory of the groceries stuffed into my fridge and remembered purchasing some zucchini. Mmm. Zucchini Oven Fries would be good. They would be excellent with Paninis. Yum. What a great pairing. Ding. Ding. We have a winner.

Or, rather, I had a winner until I sent a text to Hubby announcing the menu. He wasn't feeling it. He wanted something else, but didn't know what. I was back at square one. Ugh.

I think that I gave up that night and let Hubby create some concoction with leftover Chipotle Pork. I know that I didn't starve, but whatever we had for dinner wasn't memorable, and certainly wasn't crispy with Parmesan on the outside while moist and tender on the inside Zucchini Oven Fries or layers of deli meat and melted, cheesy goodness inside the crunch of a perfectly grilled Panini. A craving had developed, and there was no need for Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe the next night. I had to have Zucchini Oven Fries and Our Favorite Paninis On My Plate.

Zucchini Oven Fries

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
(I usually combine plain bread crumbs with garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning, all to taste.)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
(Honestly, the green can does work well for this, even though I prefer fresh grated.)
4-5 small zucchini
1 beaten egg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Trim zucchini and cut in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/4 inch wide sticks resembling french fries.
Combine bread crumbs and grated cheese in a shallow bowl.
Beat egg in a 2nd shallow bowl and dip zucchini fries into egg, then into crumb mixture.
Place on baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray.
Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and tender. (Serves 4)

Our Favorite Paninis

8 slices sourdough bread
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices provolone (or mozzarella) cheese
4 slices cheddar cheese
1/2 lb deli turkey
1/2 lb deli ham
1/2 lb sandwich pepperoni
1/2 lb Genoa salami
pepperoncini peppers, cut

Preheat the panini grill.
Combine mayo and mustard together and spread on each slice of bread.
Layer remaining ingredients on each of 4 slices of the bread.
Start with Swiss cheese, then ham, cheddar cheese, then turkey, provolone (or mozzarella) cheese, then salami and pepperoni, and finally peppers before topping with remaining 4 slices of bread.
Brush the outside of each sandwich with butter and grill until crispy on the outside and melty on the inside. (Serves 4)

Home Alone

I am home alone tonight as Hubby is out of town. Sometimes when he is away, I will cook up a storm and try recipes that I don't think that he would enjoy. However, tonight I am tired. Dinner, if you can call it that, is going to be simple and easy, with the emphasis on the easy. I have leftover Pepperoni Chips from the cheese tray from Saturday night's get-together, and I think that this will serve just fine. Add a little cheese, crackers, and wine and my meal is complete.

Pepperoni Chips are a simple, little, crispy snack that are great on their own or served in combination with cheese and crackers. Try them with a glass of wine, but they are just as tasty with a cold beer. I original found the recipe in an email from World Wide Recipes, and have made them many times since. Imagine the crispy crunchy bits of pepperoni on top of your favorite pizza. That is a Pepperoni Chip. Yum!

Pepperoni Chips

1 (8 ounce) package pepperoni, thin sliced

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place the pepperoni slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake until crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer to paper towels to absorb the fat and cool to room temperature.
Will keep for several days at room temperature. (8 servings)

Now that you know what is on my plate, are you interested to know what is in my glass? I am currently a fan of Menage a Trios California Red Table Wine by Folie a Deux. This is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. I am not a true wine connoisseur, and don't have the vocabulary to describe the flavor, bouquet and complexity of a wine, but I do know what I like, and I like this. It was discovered while having lunch with a friend at the Derby Cafe in Chamberlain. We had some fun laughs and giggles over the name, and the wine was not a disappointment. Hubby's joke is that the Menage a Trios part of it is that I could drink 3 bottles, if I let myself. He is quite the comedian, isn't he? Regardless, the wine is inexpensive, but good. Three bottles wouldn't break the bank, if I were so inclined. ;)

I am really enjoying savoring it in my new Stemless Wine Glasses. With 2 wild puppies and my own klutzy self running around, the stability of a stemless glass is genius. Mine aren't the Pottery Barn version, though. They were a gift from a friend, and purchased at Target. I love Target. It has the best things at great prices.