Hey all! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! We spent a nice and quiet Christmas Eve at home with my parents, eating a delicious meal and exchanging gifts. I cooked brisket for the first time and it was amazing!
Now it’s time for that Happy New Year, my friends! The holiday marathon continues!
We’ve been busy at home with a new painting job (holy high ceilings, batman!), work as usual and all the other various things we have going on, but I wanted to stop in and share these easy appetizers with you just in time for New Years Eve!
Happy Eating!
Sausage & Onion Stuffed Mushrooms with Balsamic Glaze
Servings: 30 mushrooms
Ingredients
- 30 medium Cremini Mushrooms
- 1 lb Ground Pork
- 1/2 Yellow Onion finely chopped
- 1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Sausage Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Ground Sage
- 1/2 tsp Ground Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Chili Powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- In a large pan over medium heat, add the ground pork and sausage seasoning. Brown the meat for 5-10 minutes. Transfer the meat from the pan to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- There should be about 2 Tbsp of fat left over in the pan. If not, add a bit more of your favorite fat. Add the onions and cook them down for about 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- While the onions are cooking, remove the stems from the mushrooms and discard half of them. Place the other half of the stems in a food processor and pulse until the stem bits are about half the size of a grain of rice.
- Add the stems and sausage back to the pan and stir to combine.
- With a small spoon, fill the mushroom caps with the sausage mixture and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the sausage has browned on top.
- While the mushrooms bake, add the balsamic vinegar to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer the sauce until it reduces by half, for 10-15 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- Remove the mushrooms from the oven and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Bacon Wrapped Apricots with Sweet & Salty Coconut Dip
Servings: 30
Ingredients
- 1 lb Bacon (about 15 strips cut in half)
- 30 Dried Apricots
- 1 cup Coconut Cream
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt, scant
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the coconut cream, maple syrup and salt. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is preferred.
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Place a wire rack on a baking sheet.
- Wrap a half strip of bacon around the apricot with ends overlapping. Stick a toothpick through the bacon and apricot, and set on the rack.
- Bake the wrapped apricots for 20-30 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked through.
- Serve with the chilled sweet & salty coconut dip, and enjoy!