There are plenty of reasons to make appetizers and party food this time of year. Whether you are gathering around the T.V. with friends to watch football or hosting a holiday party at your home, hand-held snacks are the name of the game. I’m sure some of your go-to appetizers are delicious, but be prepared to knock some off of your list (and table) to make room for this Rosemary Asiago Pull-Apart Bread.
This cheesy, buttery pull-apart bread is out-of-this-world delicious but there are few things to keep in mind before taste testing.
Make sure you are working with crusty bread. Fluffy, airy bread is difficult to cut for pull-apart purposes, so make sure you buy a dense loaf for slicing. Once you’ve picked out your perfect loaf, try this trick for cutting the bread.
Place the bread on your kitchen counter between two cutting boards (it helps if they are the same thickness). Place a damp paper towel under each cutting board to keep them from slipping while you slice the bread. Then cut 1 inch slices diagonally across the bread, from end to end. Your knife will stop once it hits the cutting board, ensuring that you aren’t cutting all the way through, leaving the bottom in tact. Cut 1 inch slices diagonally in the opposite direction to form diamonds in the bread. These cuts are what make the bread easy to pull apart.
With a generous portion of shredded cheese and butter added, wrap the pull-apart bread in aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted and the bread is golden brown and crisp on the top.
When you’re at the grocery store, be sure to grab some extra napkins and maybe (definitely) a second loaf of bread – your first attempt won’t last long. Thank your go-to appetizer recipes for their service and welcome this party-perfect pull-apart bread into your savory snack circuit.
Using a bread knife, slice top of bread into 1/2-inch diamond cuts. (See tip below.) Set aside.
In a food chopper, blend butter, rosemary, garlic and salt. With a small spatula, spread butter inside each of the slices of bread.
Fill bread cuts with shredded cheese.
Spread remaining butter over top of bread. Wrap in aluminum foil
Bake until cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
To slice bread without cutting all the way through, place the bread on the counter between two cutting boards of the same thickness, about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Place a damp paper towel under the cutting boards to keep them from slipping. Cut 1 inch slices diagonally across bread from end to end. Your knife will stop at the cutting board to ensure that you do not cut completely through the bread, leaving the bottom intact. Cut 1 inch slices diagonally in the opposite direction to form diamonds.
This 4-ingredient slow cooker bbq shredded pork tenderloin recipe is exactly what you want on your gameday menu. It only has 4-ingredients, so there isn’t a long grocery list to worry about. And it cooks from start to finish in the slow cooker. So you can set it and forget it while you decorate the house in the winning (fingers crossed) team’s colors and put out a few last-minute appetizers.
In the slow cooker crock, stir together barbecue sauce, a can of root beer, and halved jalapeños (if you want a spicer pork, don’t remove the seeds from the jalapeños).
Add the pork tenderloins (you can easily fit two in the slow cooker) and turn until they’re well-coated with the flavourful sauce.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 3 ½ hours or LOW for 6 to 7 hours. When the pork is done, shred with two forks. The tenderloin shreds easily and is ready to serve right from the slow cooker (you can even switch it to WARM so the meat stays that way throughout all four quarters).
We wanted this deliciously simply pork to speak for itself, so we served it on hamburger buns with a sprinkle on cilantro – no frills. But it would be delicious served with baked beans or as a taco filler if you set up a taco bar to feed the fans.
Winter, spring, summer, fall – you’ll find any excuse to make this pork all year long. Whether it’s front and center at your gameday buffet, your backyard bbq go-to this summer, or a simple weeknight dinner, you can’t go wrong with this 4-ingredient meal.
I’ve never met a mozzarella stick I didn’t like. Whether they’re baked, deep-fried, homemade, or served with an array of other fried goodies – like onion rings and french fries – at a bar or restaurant, they’re all good.
If you’ve ever tried making your own mozzarella sticks at home, you may have ended up with a mess on your hands (literally). Dredging cheese sticks in egg and breadcrumbs can be quite messy (crummy even – hold the “b”). The Test Kitchen experimented making mozzarella sticks in wonton wrappers instead of the classic breadcrumb mixture and it worked wonderfully.
We made one mozzarella stick at a time, but recruit the kids to help speed up the process. Place the wonton wrapper diagonally on a cutting board. Arrange two pepperoni slices in the center of the wrapper (they will overlap slightly). Feel free to skip this step for a vegetarian option. Then sprinkle the pepperoni with Italian seasoning or pizza seasoning. Place one-third of a cheese stick on top of the pepperoni (cut your cheese sticks before you start wrapping so your assembly line runs a little smoother).
When your filling is assembled, moisten the edges of the wrapper with water. Bring the bottom point of the wrapper up and over the cheese stick. Fold in the sides, then roll. Finally, press the top point down to seal. It will look like a miniature cheese-filled envelope when you’re done (they’re pretty cute). Repeat the steps with the remaining ingredients.
Place the wontons in a single layer in the deep-fryer basket and carefully lower the basket into the oil (preheated to 375 degrees). Fry the wontons for about two minutes, until they bubble slightly and turn golden brown.
We served these little bites of heaven with marinara sauce – but pizza sauce or ranch dressing would be deliciously dunkable as well. The next time you’re hosting a birthday party for one of the kids, a gameday watch party, or just need a poppable appetizer recipe – make these wonton mozzarella sticks.
Have leftovers? Freeze the mozzarella sticks and reheat in the toaster oven the next time you need an quick after-school snack or appetizer.
Working with one wonton wrapper at a time, place diagonally on a cutting board. Arrange 2 pepperoni slices, overlapping slightly, in center of wrapper. Place one-third of cheese stick on top of pepperoni. Sprinkle lightly with Italian or pizza seasoning.
Moisten edge of wrapper with water. Bring bottom point of wrapper up and over the cheese stick. Fold in sides, then roll. Press top point down to seal. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Place wontons in a single layer in deep fryer basket and carefully lower basket into the preheated oil.
Fry wontons until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Serve with marinara or pizza sauce for dipping.
Recipe Notes
Test Kitchen Tips: While working with wontons, keep them in the package to prevent them from drying out before rolling. The wonton cheese sticks can be made ahead. Store in airtight containers and refrigerate. The wrappers will be moist and take on a smooth texture, but will fry up just fine. Fried wontons can be frozen to reheat later. Store in the freezer. To reheat, heat toaster oven to 450°F. Arrange frozen wontons in a single layer in toaster oven pan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until crispy.
I think we can all agree that if it’s covered in Buffalo sauce, it’s likely (definitely) delicious. Whether you’re noshing on Buffalo Chicken Dip, Buffalo pasta salad, Buffalo macaroni and cheese, or classic Buffalo chicken wings, you’re savouring every single minute.
The Test Kitchen discussed what would and would not “Buffalo” well and settled on attempting to “Buffalo” fried cauliflower.
As previously mentioned, Buffalo sauce is the nectar of the Gods/undisputedly tasty and guess what? That holds true when fried cauliflower is covered in the tangy, bright orange sauce. Surprise, surprise.
This deep-fried snack is a creative vegetarian option to serve at your tailgate, party, or in front of the T.V. during the big game. Our tasting panel couldn’t have been more pleased with the result and would gladly eat these instead of or along side classic Buffalo wings on gameday. We all agreed on one thing though – get them while they’re hot. Right out of the deep fryer is the best way to enjoy these vegetarian delights so go ahead and fry up the entire head of cauliflower – you’ll be shocked at how quickly they’re gone. And according to any Buffalonian, it’s ONLY acceptable to serve these bites with bleu cheese dressing (don’t even mention ranch). They’ll be quick to tell you that anything else is completely unacceptable.
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine cornstarch, flour, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and white pepper. Add water to bag. Seal bag and shake until smooth.
Add half of the cauliflower florets to bag. Seal bag and shake until florets are well coated.
With basket lowered, carefully drop florets into the preheated oil. Fry florets until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from fryer, drain on paper towels.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with hot pepper sauce, remaining garlic powder and celery seed. Stir until blended.
Add fried cauliflower to sauce and stir to coat. Remove from sauce and serve while warm with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.
