Categories
Appetizer Snack

Get cheesy with your snacking this week

Smoked Cheez-Its can be customized with any of your favorite seasonings and give a little extra oomph to an already delicious snack. These can also be made in the oven if a smoker isn’t an option.

When we went on family vacations during childhood, we always packed plenty of snacks and a cooler with pop for the journey.

I didn’t know until I was nearly an adult that people could actually buy the snacks and drinks at roadside convenience stores. What a world.

One of our stand-by car trip snacks was a box of Cheez-Its. As I’m sure they are for many of you, too, Cheez-Its are one of my weaknesses. I have to be really careful that I don’t polish off half a box—or, let’s face it, a whole one—in one sitting.

One of my favorite things to find in a box is an extra-toasty cracker. You know, the ones that have just a tiny bit of brown around the edges? When Cheez-Its starting selling extra toasted boxes, I was a big fan.

So it was no wonder that seeing a recipe online recently that featured roasting Cheez-Its on a smoker was extremely interesting to me. I absolutely had to give it a try. If you don’t have a smoker or a grill that you can keep at a steady temperature, you can do these in the oven, too. They just won’t have that extra smoke flavor.

I found this recipe on the blog “Crave the Good.” You can find the original at https://www.cravethegood.com/smoked-cheez-it-crackers/. I changed the cooking time a bit for my version, but with only three ingredients, there wasn’t much else to play with.

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Smoked Cheez-its

Smoked Cheez-Its can be customized with any of your favorite seasonings and give a little extra oomph to an already delicious snack. These can also be made in the oven if a smoker isn’t an option.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Keyword barbecue seasoning, Big Green Egg, Cheez-It, easy snack, Kamado Joe, pellet smoker, smoked snack

Ingredients

  • 1 box Cheez-it crackers
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons of your favorite barbecue seasoning

Instructions

  • Preheat smoker or oven to 275 degrees.
  • Toss the crackers in olive oil until they’re evenly coated. Start with three tablespoons. If it isn’t going to coat them all, throw in one more.
  • Add your seasoning and toss again to evenly distribute it on all the crackers.
  • Spread the crackers onto a sheet pan or into a roasting pan that will fit on your smoker.
  • Smoke/bake for about 30 minutes, and then stir them. If they aren’t as toasty as you like, let them go a bit longer until they reach your desired toastiness.
  • Let them cool a bit before enjoying. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

These were tasty, and honestly, I think I might like warm crackers now. I loved how easy these were to customize, and if you’re more of a Cheese Nips or Goldfish person, I think this would work great for those, too.

I was glad I showed restraint and made a slightly smaller batch for Joey and I to share alongside some amazing chicken thighs he made on his smoker along with my crackers, because we would have polished off as many as I made, regardless of the amount.

And hanging out with Joey and chatting while eating some Cheez-its brought me back to all those times my sister and I shared a box in the backseat in between driving each other crazy. Thank goodness for frugal road-trip snacks.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 5, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Side Dish Snack

Pepper recipes abound for whatever might pop up

These grilled jalapeno poppers feature sharp cheddar along with bacon instead of the traditional cream-cheese-filled offering. The combination of flavors is a delicious change of pace.

If you have read this column for any length of time, you know that I am, in no way, a gardener. Despite that, I still follow a Kansas gardening group on Facebook, and I love seeing the posts of beautiful gardens, weird plants and bugs that show up in people’s yards and discussions about how to keep everything alive.

One of my biggest fascinations this summer is with what local gardeners are calling “peppergate.” Apparently, a large seed manufacturer mixed up pepper seeds, and as plants are popping up and peppers are growing, people are discovering that their gardens aren’t producing exactly what they thought they would.

Unfortunately, that means many people who thought they were growing bell peppers are ending up with spicy ones instead. That has to be so frustrating.

In our house, we’re not scared of spicy peppers, although I almost exclusively use them to make salsa, so I was excited to try something a bit different—especially since Joey was firing up his smoker, and that meant I could make him actually cook my experiment for me.

I ended up making some jalapeno poppers that were a bit different from most recipes, because they used sharp cheddar instead of cream cheese, and they were certainly worth the try.

This recipe comes from the blog “Sur la table” and featured a recipe by chef Steve Raichlen. You can find the original post at https://www.surlatable.com/steve-raichlens-grilled-jalapeno-poppers/REC-283658.html. I added seasoning to my version and didn’t add almonds like the original recipe dictated.

Also, I used a jalapeno grill rack to make mine, which lets you stand the peppers upright while they roast. If you don’t have one, you can cut your jalapenos lengthwise instead. They may cook a little quicker that way, so be sure to keep your eye on them.

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Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

These grilled jalapeno poppers feature sharp cheddar along with bacon instead of the traditional cream-cheese-filled offering. The combination of flavors is a delicious change of pace.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword bacon, barbecue rub, barbecue seasoning, grilled, jalapeno peppers, jalapeno poppers, sharp cheddar cheese, smoker

Ingredients

  • 8 to 10 large straight(ish) jalapeno peppers
  • 4 to 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3 to 6 thin slices bacon
  • Barbecue seasoning of your choice

Instructions

  • You’ll want to get your grill heated up to about 375 degrees.
  • To prepare your jalapenos, cut the tops off of each, and carefully scoop out the seeds and ribs inside.
  • Cut the cheese into sticks that leave at least one-eighth of an inch clearance all the way around when you slide them into the jalapenos.
  • Cut the bacon slices into three pieces (not length-wise; you want short, wide pieces).
  • Pour about two tablespoons of barbecue seasoning on a small plate.
  • To assemble the poppers, roll a cheese stick in the seasoning, wrap the bacon tightly around it, and stuff it into the prepared jalapeno. Continue until all the jalapenos are filled.
  • Roast upright in a rack on your grill or smoker for 20 to 30 minutes or until the jalapenos are tender and the bacon is cooked through.
  • Serve hot.

These were a nice change of pace from traditional poppers. I really liked the combination of the sharp cheese with the spicy pepper and a little sweet from the barbecue seasoning.

The other nice thing is you can customize this for however many people you’re feeding. The original recipe made 18. I ended up making 10, because we didn’t have a ton of people coming over.

I can’t tell you how these reheat, as we didn’t have any left over, but I would guess they’re one of those things that’s best eaten right away.

If you happened to be a victim of “peppergate” this year, hopefully you’ll be able to find uses for all of your garden surprises. For me, this might be the first summer I’m pretty glad I just get my produce from the grocery store; gardening is already hard enough.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 10, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Snack

No need to ‘Harp’ about this amazing pub cheese

Irish pub cheese is a fantastic party dip that goes especially well with salty snacks like pretzels but can also pair with vegetables and even apple slices.

At least 10 years ago, I first tried making homemade soft pretzels for this column.

They were messy, extremely tricky to knot and delicious.

Since that first foray into pretzel-making, I have made the recipe again several times, but I have always opted to make pretzel bites instead of going through the arduous process of knotting dough. It’s hard to have patience when you have freshly baked pretzels in your immediate future.

I made those pretzels again recently, but not just because I had a hankering for pretzels. Instead, I had what promised to be a delicious pub cheese recipe that I wanted to try, and what better way to enjoy a thick, tasty cheese dip than with a warm, homemade pretzel?

And let me tell you, this dip did not disappoint.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “A Spicy Perspective” by Sommer Collier. You can find her original post at https://www.aspicyperspective.com/irish-pub-cheese/. I changed the amounts of several ingredients in my version below.

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Irish Pub Cheese

Irish pub cheese is a fantastic party dip that goes especially well with salty snacks like pretzels but can also pair with vegetables and even apple slices.
Course Snack
Cuisine Irish
Keyword beer cheese, cheese dip, cream cheese, easy snack, garlic, ground mustard, Harp lager, Irish cheese, paprika, pub cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, spicy brown mustard

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces Irish or sharp cheddar shredded or block
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup Harp lager or another pale lager, like Heineken
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground or spicy brown mustard
  • 1 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

  • Place the cheddar into a food processor (break it into chunks first, if you’re using a block), and process until the cheese is in small crumbles.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the mixture is smooth and all the ingredients are well incorporated.
  • Give it a taste and add ingredients as desired.
  • Transfer the pub cheese to a bowl for serving and serve alongside pretzels, crackers or whatever else sounds good for dipping.

There is a pronounced beer flavor to this cheese dip, but it compliments the taste of the sharp cheese really, really well, so it’s definitely worth adding to the mix. I wouldn’t say a non-drinker would immediately be turned off by the flavors here, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re serving snacks to someone who has a major aversion to the flavor of beer.

You could easily use a non-alcoholic beer in this, too, if you’d rather. Heineken should be a good substitute for Harp’s, and they have a non-alcoholic version.

As I expected, this pub cheese paired great with some salty soft pretzels. It was also fantastic with good, old-fashioned crunchy pretzels, though. Honestly, you might be able to make cardboard taste good if you dip it in this (not that I’m advocating eating cardboard…).

And, if you’re wondering, I didn’t go for knotted pretzels for my snack table this time around, either. No one seemed to mind the lack of effort, though, as we demolished this bowl of dip with pretzel bites. It was still a huge crowd pleaser on the snack table, believe it or…knot.

This piece first appeared in print on April 13, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Main Dish Snack

It’s time to pig out on rolls from across the pond

Sausage rolls are a popular fast food for groups from the British to the Irish to Australians. They feature seasoned ground pork, baked in a flaky, delicious puff pastry. They’re great for dinner or an appetizer.

I have always loved British entertainment.

Lately, my obsession has been with a British podcast called “Off Menu.” It features comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster, and the premise is really simple. They ask guests to join them in their fictitious “dream restaurant,” and then they go course by course through the guest’s dream meal.

It’s a fantastic basis for great conversation, and it has not only left me pondering what I would choose for my own best meal, but I have also found myself looking up recipes for a variety of dishes they discuss.

So far, I have tried one: sausage rolls. While it isn’t fancy at all—it’s really just something you grab on the go—after hearing about the concoction several times, I decided I had to give it a try.

The recipe I used for this comes from the blog “Australia’s Best Recipes” by Greer Worsley. You can find the original post at https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipes/french-onion-sausage-rolls-recipe/68pmwql0. I added extra seasoning in my version and changed the measurements to U.S. standards.

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Onion sausage rolls

Sausage rolls are a popular fast food for groups from the British to the Irish to Australians. They feature seasoned ground pork, baked ina flaky, delicious puff pastry. They’re great for dinner or an appetizer.
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Keyword catsup, dijon mustart, French onion soup mix, ketchup, minced garlic, onion soup mix, puff pastry, quick appetizer, quick dinner, sausage roll, spicy brown mustard, Worcestershire

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 envelope onion soup mix 1 ounce
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons spicy brown or dijon mustard
  • 4-6 cloves garlic minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 sheets puff pastry 17.3 ounces, defrosted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 390 degrees. Prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, soup mix, ketchup, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix it well with a spoon or with your hands until it’s well combined.
  • Roll out the pastry sheets to about nine inches wide, and cut them each into three, even, long strips (there should be a fold seam to guide you).
  • Divide the pork mixture evenly between the six strips, forming a long log down the center of each strip.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush the mixture the entire length on either the left or right side of the meat mixture on each strip. Roll the pastry, starting with the side you didn’t brush, to create a very long tube, surrounding the meat mixture. Press the seam to seal it, and then, using a sharp knife, cut the roll into about six pieces. (You can do fewer pieces if you’d rather have larger sausage rolls.) Place the rolls about an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
  • Serve with mustard for dipping.

I know that I would need to take a trip across the pond to get “real deal” sausage rolls, but these were really yummy. Cutting them into the smaller pieces also makes them perfect for an appetizer table, but we ended up just eating a few for dinner, and they were filling and delicious. The flavor profile actually reminded me just a bit of bierocks—without the cabbage, of course.

The puff pastry was also a great touch, making the rolls awesome and flaky. I highly recommend giving them a try.

If I were challenged to create my dream menu, I don’t think sausage rolls would make the cut—I have had way too many great dishes, I’m afraid. But I do think I’ll make these again sometime. They were a nice change of pace, an easy dinner, and it finally satisfied my craving. Win-win-win.

This piece first appeared in print on March 23, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Dessert Snack

You ‘cran’ easily whip up these delicious holiday bites

Cranberry orange bites are incredibly easy to make, and not only are they a pretty appetizer or item for your holiday dessert table, but they’re delicious, too.

For all the complicated dishes that come along with the holidays, I tend to be especially attracted to all the fun snacks, candies and sweets that people make throughout November and December.

Our family get togethers always feature a wide array of goodies on the snack table. It would be easy to skip the actual meal altogether and fill up on all the delicious bites on the side. I love digging into a homemade cheeseball or peanut clusters, filling my plate with tons of completely uncomplimentary flavor profiles. It’s the best.

We recently hosted a get together at the office, so I decided to try a recipe for some cranberry orange bites to share on our snack table. They turned out great, and they were really pretty, too, with the color of the cranberry peeking out around buttery crescent dough.

This recipe comes from the blog “Play, Party, Plan” by Britni Vigil. You can find the original post at https://www.playpartyplan.com/mini-cranberry-orange-bites/. The only thing I changed is the amount of sugar, and I decided not to glaze these, too.

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Cranberry Orange Bites

Cranberry orange bites are incredibly easy to make, and not only are they a pretty appetizer or item for your holiday dessert table, but they're delicious, too.
Course Appetizer, Dessert, Snacks
Keyword cranberries, cream cheese, crescent roll dough, dried orange peel, orange, orange zest, powdered sugar

Ingredients

  • 1 can crescent roll dough
  • 2/3 cup cranberries fresh or thawed
  • zest of one large orange
  • 1 teaspoon dried orange peel
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a mini muffin tin by spraying each well with cooking spray.
  • In a food processor, process the cranberries until they’re fully chopped up.
  • Add in the orange zest, orange peel, cream cheese and two tablespoons powdered sugar and process until the mixture is smooth.
  • Taste it and mix in more powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, until the mixture reaches your desired sweetness. (It will be just a bit tart, but it shouldn’t make your lips pucker.)
  • Roll out the sheet of crescent rolls and, with a pizza cutter, cut it into 36 to 38 squares.
  • Using your hands, flatten out each square just a bit before placing it into the prepared muffin tin.
  • Scoop about one teaspoon of the cranberry mixture into each piece of dough, and then pinch the opposite corners together to make a little bundle.
  • Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until the crescent rolls are lightly browned.
  • Store the bites in an airtight container.

My filling was incredibly tart when I first tried it, which led to me adding quite a bit more sugar to get it to a place where I didn’t think people would screw up their faces when eating it.

These were a very simple treat that went over well with our guests, and it made me excited for all the holiday snack tables to come over the next couple of months.

As those big meals come, I won’t mind skipping a larger scoop of mashed potatoes or foregoing the gravy. I’d much rather spend my holiday calories in a little different way.

This piece first appeared in print Nov. 24, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Main Dish Side Dish Snack

Kick football season off with a bang by making shotgun shells

These smoked shotgun shells are made with seasoned sausage stuffed into manicotti shells and wrapped in bacon. They are a fantastic dish for a football snack table.

As soon as the weekly forecast came out, telling us that the opening weekend of football would be perfect for spending some time outside, Joey announced we were going to invite some folks to watch the games and throw some food on the smoker.

Of course, I had to stick my nose in and announce to him that I already found the perfect recipe to try, and being completely used to me regularly doing this to him, he immediately agreed—even though the name caught him off guard for a second.

I wanted to make shotgun shells.

The recipe is actually aptly named, considering it consists of stuffed manicotti shells. I suppose it sounds a little more macho than calling them stuffed tubes.

Also, I know I have given you a couple smoker recipes of late, but these can also easily be made in your oven or on a normal grill (as long as you watch your temperature).

This comes from the website “Or Whatever You Do” by Nicole Johnson. You can find the original post at https://www.orwhateveryoudo.com/2022/05/traeger-smoked-shotgun-shells.html. I added garlic and extra spices to my version and used sausage instead of ground beef.

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Smoked Shotgun Shells

These smoked shotgun shells are made with seasoned sausage stuffed into manicotti shells and wrapped in bacon. They are a fantastic dish for a football snack table.
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Keyword bacon, barbecue rub, barbecue sauce, barrel smoker, Big Green Egg, football snack, garlic, ground sausage, Kamado Joe, manicotti, shredded cheese, smoker, Traeger

Ingredients

  • 1 pound sausage
  • 1 cup shredded cheese I used Mexican blend
  • 2-3 tablespoons barbecue seasoning
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 12 manicotti shells uncooked
  • 12 slices bacon not thick sliced
  • about 1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Instructions

  • At least six hours before you want to start cooking, prepare your shotgun shells.
  • In a large bowl, mix the sausage with the cheese, seasoning and garlic. Once it is well combined, stuff each manicotti shell with the sausage and wrap each one with a strip of bacon.
  • Place the assembled shells in an airtight container or on a plate wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerate for six hours or overnight.
  • To cook them, preheat your smoker or oven to 250 degrees. Place the shells about an inch apart on the grill and let them cook with the lid closed for at least one hour before opening to check the temperature (you’re looking for 160 degrees for done sausage) and turning them on the grill to make sure they cook evenly.
  • Just before the shells are finished cooking (ours took about one and one-half hours), baste them with barbecue sauce on all sides.
  • Once the sausage in the center of the shells is cooked through and the bacon is crispy, remove them from the grill and serve.

These were absolutely fabulous. We didn’t have a single shotgun shell left by the time Sunday Night Football came on TV—and I made a double batch. It was absolutely perfect, both for lunch and for snacking during the later afternoon games.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, the manicotti cooked all the way through on the smoker. Joey and I were both really skeptical and almost par-boiled the shells just in case, but I decided to trust the process, and they were perfectly al dente by the time the sausage and bacon was done. It was a strange sort of magic that I don’t understand but definitely appreciate.

Hopefully we’ll have a few more weekends of dragging our TV outdoors for football and enjoying good food with good people in our backyard. But even if winter comes quickly and drives us indoors, I think shotgun shells will remain a regular on the menu.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 15, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Breakfast Main Dish

You have ‘Scotch’ to try these tasty smoked eggs

This twist on Scotch eggs is made on a smoker, using barbecue seasonings and sauce and wrapped in bacon. They can also be baked in an oven.

Just as French fries are from Belgium and Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada, Scotch eggs are actually a British creation.

Traditionally, a Scotch egg is “a shelled hard-boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage, covered in breadcrumbs, and then deep-fried or baked until crispy,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

They’re often served cold in pubs, but in the U.S., people most often serve them hot instead.

Joey has been hinting—strongly—for a few weeks that he would really like to try making Scotch eggs on his smoker, so on a recent day when the heat lifted for a bit, we finally decided to give them a try.

I will tell you that these are not traditional—they lack the breadcrumbs, have barbecue flavors, and we added bacon to ours, too. But they were very, very good.

This comes from Susie Bulloch at the blog “Hey Grill Hey.” You can find the original post at https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-scotch-eggs/. I added bacon to my version.

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Smoked Scotch Eggs

This twist on Scotch eggs is made on a smoker, using barbecue seasonings and sauce and wrapped in bacon.They can also be baked in an oven.
Course Main Course
Cuisine British
Keyword bacon, barbecue rub, barbecue sauce, barrel smoker, Big Green Egg, breakfast sausage, ceramic grill, hard-boiled egg, Kamado Joe, Scotch egg, smoker

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • 1 pound ground breakfast sausage
  • 1-2 tablespoons sweet barbecue rub
  • 12 slices bacon
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat your smoker or oven to 225 degrees. (Use a lighter flavored wood; we used pecan in ours.)
  • Place the eggs in a saucepan large enough for them all to fit in a single layer and fill with cold water until they are all just covered.
  • Place the saucepan on the stove over high heat. Once the water boils, turn off the heat (leave the pan on the burner), cover with a lid, and let the eggs sit for five minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl by filling it with ice and cold water. Carefully remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and submerge them in the cold water for another five minutes before peeling them. Set them aside.
  • Divide the pound of sausage into six even balls.
  • To assemble, flatten one of the balls of sausage into a disc in your palm. Carefully place the egg in the center and then wrap the sausage evenly around the egg, making sure it is completely covered. Sprinkle a healthy amount of barbecue rub onto the sausage-wrapped egg, and then finish off by wrapping two slices of bacon around it. Set the finished Scotch egg aside and repeat to complete all six eggs.
  • Place the eggs in the refrigerator until the smoker/oven is ready. When ready, place the eggs onto the grates of your smoker or on a aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet in your oven. Let the eggs cook for about one hour, turning them at least once during the cook time to let them evenly crisp. (They’re done when the sausage reaches 160 degrees.)
  • During the last 10 minutes, glaze the eggs with the barbecue sauce.
  • Serve with additional barbecue sauce or along with breakfast fixin’s.

These turned out great. They’re extremely filling, because they’re packed with a ton of protein between the eggs, sausage and bacon. We did try them both with and without the barbecue sauce, and I recommend using it. The glaze was really nice and added a great flavor to the eggs.

Also, these did reheat OK from the fridge later in the week, but they were much better fresh off the smoker. You could also accomplish these in your oven, although you’ll really be missing out if they don’t have that smoked flavor.

I’m not sure the Brits would approve of this Americanized version of Scotch eggs, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it. I figure we stopped paying attention to British judgement a long time ago.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 1, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Side Dish

You won’t want to hush about this week’s southern dish

Homemade hushpuppies are a pretty easy side dish to create.

This summer, we have had the privilege of welcoming an intern from the University of Kansas into our newsroom.

It’s amazing how quickly someone can go from being a stranger to being part of the family, and that’s definitely been the case with Will. So, with his final day looming this week, Joey and I decided to have him over for dinner to treat him to a home-cooked meal and thank him for all of his work this summer.

I sent him a text message before setting the menu, double checking that he didn’t have any allergies or major dislikes before I started planning, and he gave me a carte blanche to do whatever I liked.

As anyone who knows me is aware, that can be a bit dangerous, but after some pondering and discussion, Joey and I decided it was going to be Cajun night at the Youngs, mostly because Joey has been craving some hushpuppies lately.

I’ll share the other recipes from the weekend with you in future columns, but I wanted to start with those hushpuppies, because they were absolutely delicious and actually way easier to make than I ever would have thought.

The recipe I used comes from the blog “Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen.” You can find her original post at https://www.melissassouthernstylekitchen.com/hushpuppies/. I added extra seasonings in my version.

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Hushpuppies

Homemade hushpuppies are a pretty easy side dish to create.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Keyword cornmeal, fried, garlic powder, hushpuppies, Old Bay, onion powder, seafood seasoning, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning I used Old Bay
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup buttermilk or regular milk with a splash of vinegar
  • 1 yellow onion minced
  • 4 to 6 cups canola or vegetable oil

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, seafood seasoning, salt, garlic powder and onion powder and stir until everything is well combined.
  • In a small bowl, beat the egg with the buttermilk, and then add the mixture to the larger bowl, mixing until all of the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
  • Fold in the minced onion, and then set the mixture aside.
  • In a stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. (You’ll want to put enough oil in the pot to make it a couple inches deep.) Using a two-inch ice cream scoop or a large spoon, carefully drop the batter into the hot oil. (I was able to do about five hushpuppies at a time in my pot.) As the hushpuppies cook, slide a slotted spoon underneath them to make sure they’re not sticking to the bottom.
  • Let them fry, turning them to let them evenly brown, for about four minutes or until your hushpuppies have reached your desired color.
  • Carefully remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper-towel-lined plate. Sprinkle them with a little more seafood seasoning, if desired.
  • Wait until the oil is back to 350 degrees, and repeat until you have used all of the batter.
  • Serve hot.

These were everything Joey had been dreaming of, and he was super excited with how they turned out. I was, too. They were a little sweet but also had fabulous onion flavor without it being overwhelming, and they were a great side dish.

Truth be told, I could probably just eat a plate of them for dinner by themselves, too.

We ended up having a wonderful dinner together with Will, and we’ll be sorry to see him go back home this week. He’s been a great addition to our crew. Maybe someday we’ll be able to entice him into coming back and working with us again. I mean, at least he knows he’ll eat well.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 18, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Snack

Wow guests with an appetizer that’s a ‘tini’ bit fancy

It may seem like a strange combination, but a creamy blue cheese spread, combined with warm, roasted grapes on crunchy crostini is a fantastic, fancy snack or appetizer.

Joey and I aren’t normally Valentine’s Day people. Generally, romance on Feb. 14 is us hanging out at home and playing a board game or watching TV.

But when some good friends of ours asked us to go on a double date with them this year, we were ready to celebrate.

We ended up at the Coneburg Grill and Pub in Peabody for their Valentine’s dinner, which consisted of several courses and some specialty cocktails, too.

We had a fabulous time, and as has always been my experience at the Coneburg, we had a fantastic meal, even though it was far, far more upscale than the décor of the restaurant would’ve otherwise dictated.

Since we went, I haven’t been able to get the appetizer we were served out of my head. It was one of those dishes that looked super weird at first, but the flavor combinations were perfect, and I finally decided I just had to try it.

So I started Googling and found a recipe that seemed to fit the bill from the blog “Babaganosh.” You can find the original post at https://www.babaganosh.org/blue-cheese-spread-roasted-grapes/. I added to the instructions for making your own crostini and added a bit more thyme in my version.

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Roasted Grapes and Blue Cheese Spread

It may seem like a strange combination, but a creamy blue cheese spread, combined with warm, roasted grapes on crunchy crostini is a fantastic, fancy snack or appetizer.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Keyword baguette, blue cheese, crostini, fresh thyme, olive oil, red grapes, sour cream

Ingredients

Crostini Ingredients

  • 1 baguette
  • olive oil for brushing
  • fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste

Grapes Ingredients

  • 4 cups seedless red grapes rinsed and drained
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • cooking spray

Spread Ingredients

  • 4 ounces blue cheese crumbled
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 pinch nutmeg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Slice the baguette into about one-quarter inch slices. Brush each slice with a light coating of olive oil and place them in a single layer on a large baking sheet (line it with parchment or foil for easy cleanup). Sprinkle the slices with salt and pepper, and bake for about 10 minutes, checking after 5, until the slices are at your desired crispiness.
  • For the grapes, spread the grapes out in a baking dish (an eight-by-eight-inch or a nine-by-13 would each work fine). Spray the grapes with cooking spray, and place the sprigs of thyme around the pan.
  • Roast the grapes at 375 for 15 to 25 minutes or until they are starting to burst. Stir them at around the 10-minute mark.
  • (You can roast your grapes and brown your crostini at the same time.)
  • Transfer the grapes to a serving dish, and serve warm.
  • For the spread, combine the blue cheese, sour cream, leaves of the thyme sprigs and nutmeg into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a small serving dish and top with a few more thyme leaves for decoration.
  • To eat this dish, spread some of the blue cheese mixture on a crostini and then top with a few warm grapes.
  • Refrigerate any leftover spread or grapes, and store crostini in an airtight container.

So, yeah, I served roasted grapes, which sounds super weird, but it’s so, so good. Adding that fruitiness to blue cheese is a great combination, and who doesn’t like eating crispy crostini?

I wouldn’t say my version is better than the pros at the restaurant, but since I’ll probably have to wait another 11 months to have theirs again, this is a darn good substitute.

I never would have guessed you could learn about fine dining in a humble town like Peabody, but I am (and my tastebuds are) so glad I did.

This piece first appeared in print on March 10, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Appetizer Main Dish Snack

Don’t let delicious sandwiches slide by you

Turkey cheese sliders are easy and cheap to make with a package of Hawaiian rolls.

Being the good aunt that I am, when my niece came to spend the night with us this past week, I made sure to have a bag of chocolate mini donuts ready for breakfast.

When my sister and brother-in-law came to pick her up, I asked her if she wanted me to send the leftovers with her, and of course, she happily took them home.

Joey just shook his head.

“You’re such a pusher,” he said.

That’s when I held up the package of Hawaiian dinner rolls my mother had somehow weaseled us into taking back to our house on a recent visit.

“I learned from the best.”

So, what’s there to do with leftover Hawaiian rolls? Well, you could work yourself into a carb-induced food coma, or you can do what we did and make some delicious turkey and cheese sliders.

The recipe I used came from the blog “The Novice Chef.” You can find the original post at https://thenovicechefblog.com/cheesy-turkey-sliders/. I changed the ingredients and removed the sugar, figuring I’ve had enough sweets over the past couple months.

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Turkey Cheese Sliders

Turkey cheese sliders are easy and cheap to make with a package of Hawaiian rolls.
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Keyword baked, butter, cheese, deli turkey, dijon mustard, garlic, Hawaiian rolls, onion powder, sandwich, sliders, spinach, Worcestershire

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound deli turkey
  • 12 Hawaiian rolls
  • 6 to 8 slices cheese I used pepperjack
  • about 1/2 cup fresh spinach
  • 4 tablespoons butter melted
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • garlic salt and pepper to taste
  • sesame seeds to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-nine-inch pan (or whatever size you have that can fit the entire package of Hawaiian rolls in it) by spraying it with cooking spray.
  • Leave the rolls all connected, and using bread knife, cut the Hawaiian rolls in half to create a top and bottom.
  • Place the bottom part into the prepared pan. Place the turkey evenly over the rolls, add the cheese, and then finish off with a layer of spinach leaves. Place the top layer of buns on top, and poke just a few holes in the buns with a sharp knife.
  • In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, dijon, onion powder, Worcestershire, garlic salt and pepper, and pour it evenly over top of the rolls, spreading it out with a spoon, if necessary to evenly coat the rolls.
  • Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 14 minutes.
  • Remove the foil and bake for another two minutes or until the tops brown.
  • Cut the sliders apart and serve immediately.

These were excellent. Joey and I ate them on New Year’s Eve while we played a board game, and it was the perfect, low-key night.

We recreated the recipe a couple days later (my mom actually gave us two packages of rolls) with deli-sliced pastrami, and it was excellent that way, too. I’m going to keep track of this one for when we’ll inevitably have folks over for the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl. It would be great for the snack table.

And now we know what to do with leftover Hawaiian rolls. As far as mini donuts, find yourself a willing 4-year-old.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 6, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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