And the winner’s from the Cook Your App Off #3 are:
#1 Orange and Blue Oyster Poppers!
This creative plating was prize winning too, the delicate fried oysters were bathed in a spicy orange sauce and placed on shells. They were accompanied by a bleu cheese dipping sauce in hollowed out orange halves and toothpicks for spearing. This was all placed on a bed of rock salt in a shallow sided galvanized tray and sprinkled with parsley.
Hey, when your mom and your sister are having a party, you better show up with something good! [Yes, this was HHjr’s dish~but he had no help from us, and we only got one vote so it was all fair and square!]
#2 M & J Shrimp [Mike and Jill, isn’t that sweet and they are expecting their first baby in December!]
This too, was beautifully presented on a bed of greens, and smartly arranged so it was very easy to grab a bite and enjoy
#3 was a TIE!
Peach Brulee Burratta Bruschetta was impossible to resist, heavenly fresh peach slices on a cloud of cheese on a silver tray~
Here is a great tip from Lindsay, a busy, working Mom of a 1 year old, who is expecting #2 in 8 weeks:
to save time, she didn’t even toast the crostini, just sliced and spread and topped! And you know what, the softer bread was much easier to eat than the crunchier hard version!
Conecuh Sausage with Cheese Biscuits and Creamy Dipping Sauce was so inviting, it just screamed “Taste Me!” and the creamy dip was cleverly placed inside one of the ten specified party ingredients.
And how about this plastic plate she brought it on~it looks like ceramic but you don’t have to worry about carrying it home, the hostess can toss it away or re-use it!
Laura, another busy working Mom of 2, is one smart cookie, she says she buys them in bulk and always has them on hand~
Here are the recipes:
Orange & Bleu Oyster Poppers
Ingredients
Oysters
- 12 oz hot sauce
- 4 T honey
- 12 oz clarified butter
- 36 Gulf Coast oysters
- 2 cups seasoned flour
Bleu Cheese Dressing
- 8 oz Bleu cheese or Stilton
- 12 oz mayonnaise
- 2 oz sour cream
- 2 oz buttermilk
- 1 oz distilled white vinegar
- 1 1/2 oz salad oil
- pinch of kosher salt
- ground black pepper to taste
- 4 sprigs flat leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until serving
Oysters
- Mix Crystal hot sauce & honey in blender until combined. Heat butter to 140 degrees. Slowly add butter to hot sauce and honey mixture. Blend until combined.
- Place skillet over medium high heat. Add enough cooking oil to the pan in order to pan fry the oysters. Drain excess liquid off oysters & dredge in seasoned flour. Fry oysters until golden brown & crispy. Remove from oil. Place on a paper towel to rid excess grease.
- Toss oysters in sauce until coated.
- Serve oyster with Blue Cheese dressing in your favorite oyster dish or on the half shell.
This recipe is from the Dixie Fish Company, Birmingham Alabama
Note: HHjr fried the oysters in the afternoon and held them in fridge for several hours. Then he warmed them up in a 350 oven, and sauced them and plated them right before the party.
M & J Shrimp Canapes
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs of peeled Cajun steamed shrimp
- 1 carton cream cheese
- 6 slices of bacon
- I jar of tabasco pepper jelly
- 1 box of crackers
Instructions
- Cook bacon & crumble into small pieces.
- Mix bacon with cream cheese
- Spread bacon/ cream cheese onto crackers
- Spread pepper jelly on top of cream cheese
- Place one shrimp on top and serve cold
Peach Brulee Burratta Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 12 slices Italian bread toasted
- 6 ounces Burratta cheese or goat cheese
- 1 large fresh freestone peach cut into 12 slices
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Stir together herbes de Provence and sea salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Top each slice toasted bread with a generous spread of Burrata cheese. Sprinkle cheese with a pinch of the herbes de Provence sea salt mixture. Set aside.
- Lay peach slices flat in a single layer on a flame-proof surface or plate. Lightly sprinkle each slice with turbinado sugar.
- Using a kitchen torch set to a medium-low flame, melt the sugar by making short, even passes over the top of the sugar. Continue melting the sugar until it bubbles and turns dark brown, about 30 seconds.
- Place peach slice on each piece of toast and serve.
This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com
Conecuh Sausage with Cheese Biscuits and Creamy Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb. conecuh or smoked sausage
- 1 bag 24 count Mary B's frozen tea biscuits*
- 4 oz cheddar cheese grated
Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Cut sausage lengthwise in half, then in half again. Cut into 2 inch pieces and place ina skillet and saute until hot and beginning to caramelize on the edges. Drain on paper towels.
- Cook biscuits according to package directions, except during the last 5 minutes, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cheese and return to oven to melt cheese.
- Serve with Dipping Sauce if desired. Makes 24 servings
Dipping Sauce
- Mix everything together and add salt to taste. Makes 1 cup
Notes
If you are a stickler for details, you might think that some of the party recipes took liberties with the ingredient list…but all the entries were prepared with care and were definitely ORANGE!!
Lots of great ideas from this group, most of them I have known since elementary school and it makes my heart sing to see them grown up, starting families of their own and that they are such good cooks!
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I will be sharing with the fabulous blogs on my side bar and