Dill Pickle Cream Cheese #BrunchWeek

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Cindy Kerschner

Dill Pickle Cream Cheese serves as a dip or spread for brunch. Delicious flavor of tart pickle, garlic and dill for veggies, bread or crackers.Dill Pickle Cream Cheese
It’s day 5 of Brunch Week! Thanks go out to Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting our blogging group for #BrunchWeek! Don’t forget to scroll to the end to see all this great brunch idea links!
Pickles and cream cheese might sound like an unlikely combo, but it really works! Think how pickles and mayo works together for tartar sauce.

Dill Pickle Cream Cheese

This combo for a dip and spread will be a hit at any brunch. Easy, quick and delicious!

Dill Pickle Cream Cheese

Dill Pickle Cream Cheese

Dill Pickle Cream Cheese

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Servings 8 tablespoons

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces Cream cheese soften
  • 1/4 cup diced dill pickles
  • 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients together. Chill then serve as a dip or spread.

Friday #BrunchWeek Recipes

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Posted in #brunchweek, breakfast, brunch, cheese, dip, What's For Dinner? | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Eggs Benedict Waffle Fries #BrunchWeek

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Cindy Kerschner

Eggs Benedict Waffle Fries

Eggs Benedict Waffle Fries turn a classic egg dish into a fun treat. Diced ham and poached eggs sit on top of crispy waffle fries. A quick blender hollandaise sauce adds a velvety topping to this easy to make meal. A great choice for breakfast or brunch.
It’s day 3 of Brunch Week! Thanks go out to Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting our blogging group for #BrunchWeek! Don’t forget to scroll to the end to see all this great brunch idea links!

My versions of Eggs Benedict tend to be things like making it with steak or salmon, using homemade biscuits or an orange hollandaise sauce. Today is no different.
Today’s take led me to the freezer. I had some extra waffle fries in there that really needed to be used asap. I thought, I dip toast in sunny up eggs so why not waffle fries? Why not indeed!

Using different meats or bread bases is always a nice change. Hollandaise whether traditional or flavored is still a must. This blender version makes a sometimes touchy sauce into a quick fix. A quick whip of the yolks, lemon juice and salt then drizzle in melted butter. If undercooked eggs are a concern, you can use pasteurized eggs for the sauce.
Eggs Benedict Waffle fries
Poached eggs can be intimidating too. Here’s some easy poached eggs tips.
I add a few drops of vinegar to the water. The acid from the vinegar interacts with the protein in the egg which helps eggs set. Spooning the hot liquid over the eggs as it cooks lets the eggs cook better in place. It makes less chance for breakage.
Prep the meat ahead of time. You can use any meat you like in this dish. I just happened to have a ham steak on hand. Dicing whichever meat you use makes this so much easier to serve and eat.

Eggs Benedict Waffle Fries

Eggs Benedict Waffle Fries

Eggs Benedict Waffle Fries

5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 6 ounces waffle fries
  • 4 eggs, to poached
  • 1/2 cup diced cooked ham
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar

sauce

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • chopped parsley for garnish if desired

Instructions
 

  • Cook waffle fries according to package directions. Keep warm. Heat ham and keep warm.
  • To poach eggs, bring about 1 cup water to a boil in a small fry pan. Reduce heat to medium low. Add vinegar. Gently drop in eggs one at a time. Spoon hot water over eggs to shorten cook time. Cook until opaque, about 3 minutes.

sauce

  • Put yolks, lemon juice and salt in a blender. Puree until lemon yellow and thick, about 1 minute. While blender is running, slowly drizzle in melted butter. Mix until thick and smooth.
  • Plate fries. Top with ham and poached eggs. Drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

Wednesday #BrunchWeek Recipes

Beverages

Appetizers and Salads

Breads, Grains, and Cereals

Egg Dishes

Posted in #brunchweek, breakfast, brunch, egg, What's For Dinner? | 7 Comments

Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés #BrunchWeek

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Cindy Kerschner

Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés
Welcome to day 1 of Brunch Week! Thanks go out to Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting our blogging group for #BrunchWeek! Don’t forget to scroll to the end to see all this great brunch idea links!

I made these Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés with baked polenta crostini spread with black garlic cream cheese. Topped with flaked smoked trout, rehydrated sun dried tomatoes and capers. Sun dried tomato tuiles added for garnish! An elegant yet easy appetizer to wow your brunch guests!

Here’s the breakdown!

So what’s a canapé?

A canapé may also be referred to as finger food, although not all finger foods are canapés. Crackers or small slices of bread or toast or puff pastry, cut into various shapes, serve as the base for savory butters or pastes, often topped with a savory foods as meat, cheese, fish, caviar, foie gras, purées or relish. (definition courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canapé)

I wanted to do something different than a base of bread or crackers. I’ve been a polenta fan from way back and love to eat it several ways.

One of those ways is fried. Making your own polenta let’s you control the texture. That’s important when you fry it or bake it.

cheese steak skewers
For these polenta crostini I left out cheese and made a thick, spreadable texture. Once the polenta is cooked, spread it out on a parchment lined cooking sheet to about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness. If you have trouble spreading it, you can cover the polenta with a parchment sheet and press it down with another cooking sheet.
polenta
Chill at least an hour, then you can cut out the desired sizes. For canapés, try to keep the circles under 1 1/2 inches.
polenta circles
Bake at 375 degrees until polenta starts to brown (10 to 12 minutes). You can also give the crostini a quick shot under the broiler to brown it if baking doesn’t brown it in under 12 minutes. You want to keep the inside a bit soft.

I’m lucky to have a friend that smokes his own trout. Thanks Joe!

You can use smoked salmon not lox, smoked whitefish or even smoked sardines for a similar flavor.

If you can’t find black garlic in stores, try online. I get it at Wegman’s but try Whole Foods and even Walmart online.

Mixed with cream cheese, black garlic brings a touch of sweetness. I can compare it to how onions sweeten when caramelized.

You want to save the water from rehydrating the sun dried tomatoes to make tuiles.

These crunchy, lacey food decorations are easy to make. All you need is a ratio of 2 parts fat, 2 parts liquid and 1 part flour. These decorative tuiles are not the sweet cookie version. Using the water  from rehydrating the sun dried tomatoes produces a tomato flavor and delicate crunch.

Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés

Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés

Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Servings 12 canapés

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup flaked trout or similar smoked fish
  • 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
  • 1 cup warm water

polenta

  • 1/2 cup corn meal
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

cream cheese spread

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cloves black garlic
  • 1/16 teaspoon salt

tuiles batter

  • 2 tablespoons water from sundried tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • capers for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Soak sun dried tomatoes in warm water for about 30 minutes or until rehydrated. Remove tomatoes and refrigerate until use. Reserve the water for tuiles.

tuiles

  • Whisk together  2 tablespoons sundried tomato water with 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon flour to form a loose batter. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat for about a minute. Drop 1 teaspoon of batter onto hot skillet. Be careful of splashing. Cook batter until it starts to firm up. As the water evaporates, the holes form. Carefully remove tuiles from pan with a spatula and drain on paper towel to cool.

polenta

  • Bring broth and polenta to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and cook, whisking constantly for about  5 minutes until polenta is smooth and thickened.
    Once the polenta is cooked, spread it out on a parchment lined cooking sheet to about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness. If you have trouble spreading it, you can cover the polenta with a parchment sheet and press it down with another cooking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Cut cold polenta into pieces approximately 1 1/2 inches.
    Bake pieces at 375 degrees until polenta starts to brown (10 to 12 minutes). You can also give the crostini a quick shot under the broiler to brown it if baking doesn't brown it in under
    12 minutes. You want to keep the inside a bit soft.

cream cheese spread

  • Mix softened cream cheese, black garlic and salt together until creamy. Refrigerate
    until ready for use.

assemble

  • Place a dollop of cream cheese spread on polenta crostini, and garnish with sun dried tomatoes, capers and tuiles.

Monday #BrunchWeek Recipes

Beverages

Appetizers and Salads

Breads, Grains, and Cereals

Egg Dishes

Main Dishes

Desserts

Posted in #brunchweek, appetizer, fish, garlic, What's For Dinner? | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Blackberry Chicken Thighs #BBQWeek

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Cindy Kerschner

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BBQWeek. The sponsors, Rainier Foods and Intensity Academy, generously provided samples to participants to aid in the creation of the #BBQWeek recipes and prize packages to give away to the readers. However, all opinions are mine alone.

Blackberry Chicken Thighs

Blackberry Chicken Thighs serve moist, tender grilled chicken topped with fresh blackberries in a smoky-sweet blackberry sauce. A bit of red wine and Chambord add richness to an easy recipe that will kick up any BBQ or weeknight meal. Rainier Foods Blackberry Smoky Honey Seasoning & Rub is in the sauce and sprinkled on top.

Welcome to day 5 of the third annual #BBQWeek hosted by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. We are excited to have 15 bloggers sharing over 50 recipes this week as we head toward grilling season. The amazing sponsors have donated some great prizes for the #BBQWeek giveaway. The giveaway is below, but make sure to read about the prize packages and our generous sponsors!

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Don’t forget to scroll down and enter our giveaway and get more great #BBQWeek recipes!

Fruit and chicken really go well together. I love orange chicken, and chicken salad with grapes…

Pecan Chicken and Grapes Salad

and of course, berries and chicken.

Blackberry Chicken Thighs

Wine also goes well in chicken dishes. Normally I use white wines with poultry but today we go with red. Why red? Red works better with blackberries and smoky flavors. A bit of Chambord gives a raspberry undertone to the sauce. Rainier Foods Blackberry Smoky Honey Rub & Seasoning dissolves easily in the wine. The more berry flavor the better, right?

Next, I add fresh berries right into the saucepan. Fresh blackberries cook down to juice and bits in the sauce. The berry juice easily blend in when strained. You can reduce the sauce to desired thickness.

Blackberry Chicken Thighs

I like using chicken thighs. Dark meat is more forgiving on high heat like a grill. The meat stays moist inside. You can use chicken breasts but I would sear it on the grill and finish in the oven.

Serve topped with sauce or sauce on the side.

Blackberry Chicken Thighs

Blackberry Chicken Thighs

Blackberry Chicken Thighs

Print Recipe
Servings 4 each

Ingredients
  

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Rainier Foods Blackberry Smoky Honey Seasoning & Rub
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sauce

  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup Chambord
  • 1/4 cup Rainier Foods Blackberry Smoky Honey Seasoning & Rub
  • 2 cups fresh blackberries, divided

Instructions
 

  • Preheat grill to medium high. Brush thighs lightly with vegetable oil. Season with salt and Blackberry Smoky Honey Seasoning & Rub. Grill over medium heat until internal temperature reached 180 degrees. Remove from grill and keep warm.

sauce

  • In a 2-quart saucepan, whisk together wine, Chambord and Blackberry Smoky Honey Seasoning & Rub. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to ow-medium and add 1 cup blackberries. Simmer, stirring frequently until sauce begins to thicken and berries cook and break apart, about 5 minutes. Strain and return strained sauce to pan. Continue cooking until reached desired consistency.
    Remove from heat. Fold in remaining berries and spoon over chicken.

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Friday #BBQWeek Recipes

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Thank you #BBQWeek sponsors Saucy Queen and Rainier Foods for donating the prizes for this event. The #BBQWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner are checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning.
Two (2) winners are selected at random from entries received. The prize packages are fulfilled by and sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. #BBQWeek bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household are not eligible to enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #BBQWeek posts or entries.

Posted in #BBQWeek, barbecue, berries, chicken, picnic, What's For Dinner? | 13 Comments