Bacon-and-Cornbread Muffins
Little White Rolls
Sugar-Cured Ham with White-Wine Honey Mustard
Chicken-Fried Beef Tenderloin with White Onion Gravy
Brownie Bites
Gingerbread Men
BLUE-CHEESE STRAWS
½ pound blue cheese, softened
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups flour, sifted
½ cup finely chopped smoked almonds (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place blue cheese, butter, and cream cheese in bowl or mixer. Cream them together. Mixing by hand, add the rest of the ingredients, one at a time, until fully incorporated.
Turn the dough out on a floured board. Roll out to a medium-thin dough (about ¼-inch thick). With a sharp knife, cut the dough into ½-inch-wide strips. Twist each strip until it is a loose spiral from top to bottom and lay the spirals on an ungreased cookie sheet, not touching their neighbors.
Bake until strips are golden brown, 5-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks and let cool.
Store in tightly covered tins lined with wax paper until ready to serve.
STUFFED CHERRY TOMATOES
1 8-ounce block cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sour cream
1 small bunch chives, washed and chopped, about 3-4
tablespoons (Reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish.)
2 cloves garlic, cleaned and minced
20 fresh basil leaves, washed and cut into thin strips
Pinch kosher or sea salt, to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, washed and dried
Make the filling by combining the first six ingredients in a bowl and stirring well. Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large star point, if desired. Otherwise, the filling can be spooned into the tomatoes. Set filling aside.
Using a sharp paring knife, cut a small slice off the bottom of a cherry tomato so that it will sit firmly on its tray without rolling around. Cut an X into the top of the cherry tomato with the same knife. Either use a watermelon baller to remove the pulp from the tomato, or squeeze it gently over a waste bowl to get the pulp out. Repeat with all the cherry tomatoes, laying them out in rows on the serving tray, ready to be filled.
Pipe the cream-cheese mixture into the prepared tomatoes, or spoon it, for a more rustic look.
Sprinkle finished dish with reserved chopped chives. Serve chilled.
ASPARAGUS SPEARS AND LEMON BUTTER
1 pound fresh asparagus stalks, washed, tough stems cut away
¼ pound butter (if unsalted, add ¼ teaspoon salt)
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
Juice of one medium lemon
Place asparagus in a steamer basket. Place steamer basket into a large pot with about a half inch of boiling water in the bottom, and cover. Steam asparagus until bright green, but still a bit crisp, about 3-7 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus.
While asparagus is steaming, melt butter in a small saucepan. Add salt, pepper, parsley, and lemon juice and whisk well. Pour into serving bowl.
Remove steamed asparagus. Place on oblong platter. Place the bowl of butter on one end of the platter with a small ladle for guests to pour it over their asparagus as they serve themselves.
Serve warm.
GARLIC-GREEN BEAN BUNDLES
Two pounds fresh green beans, washed, ends and strings removed
1 pound good-quality smoked bacon, sliced
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, cleaned and minced
Preheat oven to 350° F.
On a sheet pan, cookie sheet, or jelly-roll pan (a large, flat pan with an edge sufficient to prevent the grease you’re about to make from running all over your nice, clean oven), divide the green beans in bundles of roughly 10-12 beans, with beans bundles laid out in parallel formation.
Wrap each bundle loosely with a slice of bacon, tying it on top with a simple knot and arranging the loose ends artistically.
In a bowl, whisk the olive oil and the garlic. Brush oil liberally over the green-bean bundles.
Bake until the bacon is cooked to taste and the green beans are warmed through, approximately 15 minutes.
Remove bundles to a serving platter, using a spatula. Serve warm.
MINI RED POTATOES WITH SOUR CREAM, CHEDDAR, AND CHIVES
2 pounds small red new potatoes, scrubbed, peels still on
1 cup sour cream
1 small bundle fresh chives, washed and chopped (about 4 tablespoons)
6 slices precooked bacon, crumbled
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
3 ounces good sharp Cheddar cheese, finely grated
Boil the red potatoes in enough water to cover until they are fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes, and let cool enough that they are easy to handle.
Cut each potato in half. On the uncut end of each half, slice away a small amount of peel and flesh so the potato half will sit flat and securely on a platter. Using a melon baller or a spoon, scoop out the middle of the potato. Arrange the prepared halves on a broiler-safe serving tray.
Make the filling by mixing the sour cream, chives, bacon, and salt and pepper to taste. If the bacon is very salty, I often don’t add additional salt. Spoon filling into potato halves. Sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese. At this point the tray can be set aside, or even refrigerated, until ready to cook.
Place under broiler until cheese begins to melt and filling begins to bubble, about 3-5 minutes.
Serve warm.
BACON-AND-CORNBREAD MUFFINS
½ cup canola oil
¾ cup cornmeal (preferably stone-ground, but regular will work if you can’t find the good stuff)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
½ cup grated Cheddar cheese (Sharp is what I prefer, but use a cheese you like eating.)
1 bunch chives, washed and chopped (about 4 tablespoons)
8 slices precooked smoked bacon, chopped into ¼-inch strips
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Put 1 tablespoon of canola oil into each well of a standard 12-cup muffin pan, and place muffin pan into oven to heat the oil.
Meanwhile, working quickly, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar together into a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until the butter is blended in. Add buttermilk and eggs all at once, and stir just until ingredients are barely blended. A few lumps are fine; this batter gets tough if you overwork it. Add the cheese, chives, and bacon, stirring only until the ingredients are roughly mixed in.
Pull hot muffin tin from oven. Drop batter into the muffin cups, filling each roughly three-quarters full. The hot oil should make the batter bubble and brown on the sides. Place pan into oven and cook until muffins are done and golden, roughly 20-25 minutes.