Category Archives: Appetizers

BAKED ARTICHOKE PARMESAN DIP

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The Chinese year 4712, the Year of the Horse, begins today.  If you’re looking for a recipe to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Baked Artichoke Parmesan Dip is a good one.  Not really — just horsing around. 🙂   But if you’re looking for something to snack on while watching commercials during the Super Bowl, this dip is great.  If you bring it to a Super Bowl party, I promise you will be a very popular guest.  Although it’s usually served as an appetizer or snack, it makes a memorable main course for a pity party — I am not ashamed to admit that I dined on this more than once when studying for the bar exam.  😉

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BAKED ARTICHOKE PARMESAN DIP
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Recipe type: Appetizer
 
Ingredients
  • 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (use the real stuff, not the stuff in the green can)
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • Corn chips, for dipping (we like Fritos)
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into food processor and process until fairly smooth, but not completely pureed. Place in an oven-proof dish and bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm with corn chips

IMG_3179A super bowl of addictive dip

 

DEVILED HAM SALAD

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This Christmas, my Dad sent us a Ready-to-Cook, Bone-In, Corn Cob Smoked Ham from Harrington’s of Vermont:

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This was a special gift for two reasons.  First, gift giving used to be my Mom’s domain.  After she passed away in 2012, Dad half-heartedly took over gift giving.  I was impressed  — this was a really thoughtful gift, a holiday treat for the whole family to enjoy.  Second, this was a really great ham.  My Dad commented that my daughter would enjoy watching my husband carve it at the table.  He was remembering a Thanksgiving about a decade ago, when my young daughter could hardly wait for the picture-perfect turkey to be brought out in all its crisp-skinned glory.  My Dad, however, had carved the turkey in the kitchen, and when my daughter saw the pile of sliced turkey, she burst into tears.

The ham baked up nicely, and the tantalizing smoky aroma filled the house:

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As much as we enjoyed the baked ham, I think we were looking forward to the leftovers even more.  My daughter has set some aside for Spaghetti Carbonara.  The meaty bone will be put to good use in bean soup.  And today I made Deviled Ham Salad for lunch on this lazy New Year’s Day.

Whether you’ve got leftover ham, or just start with a package of ham from the deli section, Deviled Ham Salad is easy and tasty, either as an appetizer with crackers, or as a sandwich filling.  I like to finely chop the ham and pickles in a food processor, making sure not to overprocess, so that the ham salad has some texture.

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DEVILED HAM SALAD
Author: 
Recipe type: Pork, Salads, Appetizers
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups finely chopped ham
  • ¼ cup finely chopped dill pickles
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Serve with crackers, or use a sandwich filling.

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The food processor makes quick work of finely chopping the ham

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The canned stuff ain’t got nothing on this!