party food

Twice-Baked Potatoes Two Ways

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mini twiced bake potatoes

I love twice baked potatoes all ways, but I am posting recipes for two of my favorite versions. The casserole is great for pot lucks, tailgating, and casual parties. The mini twice-baked potatoes are a great appetizer, look fancy, but have that comfort food factor, and… are mini. As some of my readers know, I live for mini. Unfortunately, there is no way around baking the potatoes twice, so both recipes require time. It is worth the wait, though!

twice baked potato casserole

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

Ingredients

  • 8 medium-size baking potatoes (~4 lbs), baked and cooled
  • 2 c. (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
  • 1 (16-oz.) container sour cream
  • 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
  • ½ c. milk
  • ½ c. butter, melted
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 T. chopped fresh chives
  • 1 ½ t. salt
  • ½ t. pepper
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Directions

  • Scoop pulp out of potatoes into a large bowl and coarsely mash with a potato masher (discard the empty skins).  Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, sour cream, and the next 7 ingredients.  Spoon into a lightly greased 13×9-in. baking dish.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese and bacon.  Can garnish with additional chives too if desired.

twice-baked new potatoes

Twice-Baked New Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 12 new potatoes, scrubbed clean
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 4 oz. sour cream, softened
  • 1/2 c. sour cream
  • 1 1/2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese or white cheddar
  • 1 T. minced chives
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
  • salt and pepper to taste

scooping potatoes

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and toss to coat. Roast the potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes until tender, and the skin is slightly crisp. If your new potatoes are on the large size, you will need longer roasting time.
  • Remove potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. Halve the potatoes. Use a small scoop (I like my little gelato scooper) and remove the insides leaving a little margin of potato. Put the scooped out part of the potato in a mixing bowl.
  • Add cream cheese, sour cream, grated cheese, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper to the potato pulp. Mash until the potato mixture is smooth. Taste and add salt as needed.
  • Scoop potato mixture back into the shell (gelato scooper works well for this too). Sprinkle bacon bits on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

twice baked potatoes pre baked

Super Bowl Super Dips

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pan fried onion dip2

I am trying to decide which one of my favorite party dips will make the Super Bowl cut this year– definitely something with cheese.

I am including a new recipe for Pan-Fried Onion Dip courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa in tonight’s post, and the recipe is followed by photos with links to my other favorite party dip recipe posts. Please leave a comment to vote for the Super Bowl dip recipe TheRoomMom should serve this Sunday. If you vote for the winning dip choice, you will have the satisfaction of the knowing that you made TheRoomDad (aka my husband) very happy.

Ingredients

  • 2 large yellow onions
  • 4 T. butter
  • 1/4 c. vegetable oil
  • 1/4 t. ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 t. kosher salt
  • 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 1/2 c. sour cream (or a little more)
  • 1/2 c. good mayonnaise (or a little less)

carmelizing onions

Directions

  • Cut the onions in half, and then slice them into 1/8-inch-thick-half-rounds. (You should have about 3 cups of onions.)
  • Heat the butter and oil in a large sautee pan on medium heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt, and pepper and sautee for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and carmelized.
  • Allow the onions to cool. I scooped mine out of the pan with a slotted spoon and let cool on a couple of layers of paper towel on a plate.
  • Place the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the onions and mix well. Taste for seasonings.
  • Serve at room temperature with kettle cooked potato chips, pretzel sticks, or veggies.

Black Bean Salsa Dip

Black Bean Salsa Dip

hot artichoke dip

Hot Artichoke Dip

I recently tweaked this recipe, and I love the new combination. I especially like the blue corn tortilla chips, but it is also good with mini party rye slices.

bacon almond cheese dip w cracker

Bacon Almond Cheddar Dip

This meets the cheese criteria, and it has crumbled bacon. It is a classic!

dill dip in bread bowl w veggies

Dill Dip

I scoop out the center of a round loaf of bread to use as a serving dish and surround with carrots, celery, red and yellow peppers, pita chips, and pretzel dipping sticks.

sun dried tomato dip

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

The best raw veggie for this dip is definitely sugar snap peas.

Dinner with Friends

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parmesan bowl with salad

We tried to have an adult dinner with another couple at a restaurant Saturday night, but I struck out with babysitters. We moved to Plan B, which was to meet at our house and park Mr. Star Wars and Miss Priss in front of a movie upstairs. Our friends offered to bring salad, and Mrs. Friend showed up with Parmesan Salad Bowls. Holy Pinterest! According to Mrs. Friend, they are pretty simple to make. She did say it took one or two tries to get the hang of the thickness of the cheese.

parmesan salad bowl

Ingredients

  • 2 c. freshly grated Parmesan (1/4 c. per bowl)
  • large non-stick skillet
  • small bowl the desired size of the final cheese bowl (about a 6-inch diameter)

Directions

  • Spread 1/4 cup cheese thinly and evenly over the bottom of the skillet to form a (roughly) 7-inch circle.
  • Put the pan over medium heat and cook until the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the heat.
  • Put the bowl upside down on a cutting board. When the cheese stops bubbling,  lift the cheese pancake out with a metal spatula and drape over the bottom of the bowl. With the spatula, gently mold the cheese around the bowl.
  • Let cool.
  • Carefully remove from the top of the bowl. Can be stored in an airtight container. Do not fill with salad until ready to serve.

Parmesan Crackers

  • You can also scoop 1 T. piles of Parmesan on a cookie sheet with a silicon baking mat and bake until browned and bubbly (350 degrees about 6 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool. Serve these little cheese crackers as a tasty appetizer bite.

My dessert was not nearly as fancy as the salad bowls. I served Banana Peanut Ice Cream Sundaes. I think my mom created this combination years ago when she was craving a banana split. The salty/sweet is perfect. It is always enjoyed, easy to make, and requires little prep. If you put it in a wine goblet, you can give the impression of fancy!

banana peanut sundaes2

Ingredients:

  • good vanilla ice cream (I like Haagen Dazs)
  • sliced bananas
  • peanuts, lightly salted
  • chocolate sauce

Directions:

  • Put two scoops of ice cream in bowl.
  • Sprinkle with banana slices and peanuts.
  • Drizzle with chocolate sauce. Serve.

banana peanut sundae close2

The Cookbook Collection

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cookbook collection

Part of the Cookbook Collection

After a slow start to my meal planning for the holidays, I got into the groove with the Breakfast Cups. I cooked many of my favorite comfort foods over the past few days. Some of the highlights have been Almond Bacon Cheese Dip, Dill Dip, Orzo with Roasted Vegetables, and my family’s sausage breakfast casserole.

Some of my recipes are family recipes, but many come from key cookbooks that anchor my cookbook library. Below is a list of my most used cookbooks along with the names of the best recipes (in my opinion) from those cookbooks. If you click each cookbook name below, it is linked to an Amazon listing.

What cookbooks do you have that you cannot live without?

The Artful Table

The Artful Table: Great Food from the Dallas Museum of Art League (This is the best cookbook I own. Everything turns out well.)

  • Pork Tenderloin with Red Onion Confit
  • Heavenly Potatoes
  • Country-Fried Chicken Salad (use store bought chicken tenders)
  • Picadillo Sarita
Notice the post it notes marking the most used recipes

You can tell which cookbooks are my favorites by the Post-it notes and other scraps of paper sticking out of the top to mark good recipes.

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

  • Sun-Dried Tomato Dip
  • Turkey Tea Sandwiches
  • Banana Crunch Muffins

Barefoot Contessa Parties

Colorado Collage

  • Carrot Basmati Rice Pilaf
  • Ginger Chicken Kabobs
  • Telluride Tortellini with Chicken

Creme de Colorado

  • Pasta with Broccoli

kansas city junior league

Company’s Coming (out of print– available used)

  • Steak Soup

Beyond Parsley

  • Spaghetti Pie
  • Artichoke Sausage Soup
  • Sugared Bacon

Above and Beyond Parsley

  • Pacific Rim Tenderloin
I find scraps of paper with old party notes in many of my favorite cookbooks.

I find old party notes in many of my favorite cookbooks. I never throw the notes away, so I can go back and recycle good ideas I may forget.

Southern Living Easy Entertaining

family cookbook

Family Cookbook (Not for sale at the present time)

  • A few years ago I compiled all of our traditional family recipes into a Shutterfly album with family photos. My dad is famous for kitchen pictures. These are the pictures of people caught mid-bite, or people standing in their sweat pants on a holiday morning stirring a pot of some kind (see photo below). There is usually one group photo at the table during a large gathering too. These were the photos I used to “enhance” the family cookbook. I use my family cookbook all of the time. I have all of my favorite recipes in one location and do not have to hunt through every loose piece of paper and recipe card box I own to remember how to make our family’s Christmas Eve egg nog. This makes a great birthday gift, Christmas gift, or Mother’s/Father’s Day gift.
Making Mashed PotatoesThanksgiving 2007

Check me out making mashed potatoes.
Thanksgiving 2006

Breakfast Cups

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breakfast cups 2

My holiday houseguests arrived Thursday night (about 5 hours after school let out for Christmas break). I did not make it to the grocery store before they arrived, so I offered a few leftover rosemary nuts and some slices of cranberry bread that I received as a teacher gift for breakfast Friday morning. We did not even have milk for coffee– my husband had to run out to the gas station.

breakfast cup close up

This morning, I actually had breakfast food for my guests after a major trip to the grocery store (courtesy of my husband– I almost considered that a Christmas gift). I served up some Breakfast Cups to the group, and people were not disappointed. I need another quick prep meal for tomorrow morning. Can anybody help a hostess?

breakfast cup filling

Ingredients

  • 1- 10 oz. Can Ro-Tel tomatoes (I use mild version)
  • ½ c. mayo
  • 1 c. grated cheddar and Monterey Jack (or just cheddar)
  • 1 t. dried basil
  • 8-10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • ½ small onion chopped
  • 1-2 cans 10 oz. refrigerated flaky layered biscuits (I use Pillsbury Grands Original Flaky Layer Biscuits)

separating biscuits

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • In a mixing bowl, stir together tomatoes, mayo, cheese, basil, bacon, and onion.
  • Separate each biscuit into 3 layers.
  • Press each layer into a lightly greased mini muffin tin and fill with tomato mixture.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

unbaked breakfast cups