Appetizer

Crispy Maple Chipotle Baked Wings

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This is a simple recipe for Crispy Maple Chipotle Baked Wings.

With the Superbowl right around the corner I figured it was my food blogger duty to post something football-y. Not that I know the first thing about foot ball (I can however talk about car, and fishing all day long), but you know it’s my duty.

I actually really like to make these wings in the summer, since cooking wings on the grill is easy and it adds a little delicious smokiness to them that you don’t get in the oven, but in February we like to use the oven right?

What I like best about making wings at home is the array of sauces that I can use on them so that each wing can be its own flavor. Maybe that should be a party theme, sauce your own wing night? Though, that could get a little messy.

I’m rambling, I know. Let’s get back to the wings.

My favorite wing sauces right now are this one (obviously), Sweet Chili, Garlic Parmesan (coming soon), Curry, Garlic & Herb, Asian glazed, and standard barbecue.

Crispy Maple Chipotle Baked Wings

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: Serves 6

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken wings
2 teaspoons salt + ½ teaspoon more
2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, minced
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Set a wire rack inside of a large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and chipotle powder over chicken and place on the rack.
Place in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until they are cooked through and the skin has become crisp.
Meanwhile combine the maple syrup, tomato paste, remaining salt, onion, garlic, brown sugar, chilis, apple cider vinegar, and pepper in a small sauce pan over medium high heat.
Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. If the sauce is too thick add water by the tablespoon until desired thickness is reached. Set aside.
Remove the wings from the rack and toss with sauce.
Serve immediately.

Balsamic Roast Veggie Toasts with Gruyere

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

This is a recipe for Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Toasts, a simple appetizer that does double duty as a great vegetarian meal.

Winter is a time of soups, stews, roasts and sweets. Savory and filling are the stars this time of year, but it’s always this time of year that I want to bring a little freshness into my life. Things like lemon, balsamic vinegar and winter fruits are defiantly requirements in my house. They add a hint of brightness, complexity and freshness that so many meals this time of year are lacking.

This recipe is pretty adaptable in that it can easily be made into a sandwich, and eaten as a main dish or when cut to size it makes a wonderful appetizer to accompany most winter meals.

I love the way that the sweet balsamic melds with the stringy, salty gruyere. Using different vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, red pepper, onion or even roasted garlic only adds to the complexity of flavor and texture. I think this dish is so simple that it takes dinner party guests by surprise with its addictive flavor.

It’s also a good way to get young ones to eat their vegetables.

Balsamic Roast Veggie Toasts

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 16 Servings

Ingredients

8 oz broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, sliced thick
1 small red onion, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil (plus 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
8 slices sourdough bread, halved (or quartered depending on preference)
12 oz shredded soft gruyere cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F.
Spread the veggies out on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, salt pepper and toss well to coat. Place in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the veggies have softened and begun to caramelize, tossing once halfway through. Remove from heat and set aside.
On a separate baking sheet spread the bread slices out and lightly brush with olive oil and place in the oven until crisp and golden, about 22 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
After the bread has rested carefully divide the veggies up evenly on each toast. Top with cheese and place back in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Serve immediately.

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Pear & Brie Toasts

Engagement Tart

4 Cheese Red Pepper Dip

Honey Chili Veggie Pizza with Lemon

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

This is a recipe for a vegan Honey Chili Veggie Pizza with Lemon that can easily be made vegan and makes for a great appetizer.

Honey Chili Veggie Pizza

Before we dive into today’s recipe I want to take a moment to mention Food Blogger Pro, a website dedicated to helping food bloggers learn, grow, & monetize your blog. Membership enrollment will close on November 19th, and not be available again until spring 2016, with total membership being capped at 2,000 members! Don’t wait join now before you miss out.

Now on to this cheese-less sauce-less pizza.

This is an interesting one. I came up with it on a whim as I was trying to come up with new and interesting appetizer’s that are dairy free. Why dairy free you ask? Because one of our close friends has an allergy. I always make it a point to bring something that she can have, because that’s what good friends do, plus it gives me an excuse to flex my creative cooking muscles. As it turned out this pizza is actually vegan and makes a great appetizer!

This pizza came together quite easily and I was pleased with the results, as was the rest of the crowd. I actually got the idea from another Blue Apron Recipe. My favorite part of that recipe was the honey chili and I thought that the cheese kind of took away from that, because well cheese is delicious and tends to steal the show. So in remaking this recipe I decided to go cheese less and on that same note I went sauce less too, using sliced whole tomatoes instead. I think this made the whole thing a lot fresher.

All in all I think this is a great summer/early fall recipe, since it’s light and fresh and would go wonderfully with a nice chilled glass of sauvignon blanc. Now picture that on your back patio? Good scene right?

For the pizza dough you can use a pre-made store bought version or make your own. I really like this recipe and use it for pretty much all my pizzas. To make it vegan swap out the honey for maple syrup or agave.

Honey Chili Veggie Pizza

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: Serves 6

Ingredients

1 lb plain pizza dough recipe
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more)
3-4 gloves of garlic, minced
8 ounces baby spinach, chopped
1 tomato sliced thin
¼ red onion, sliced thing
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon cracked red pepperflakes
¼ teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Lay the pizza out on a rimmed baking pan or pizza stone.
In a large skillet heat oil and garlic over medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until the garlic begins to brown and become fragrant. Remove from heat and use a brush to gently spread the garlic oil over the pizza dough until it is coated in a thin glossy layer.
Add more oil to the pan if needed and return to heat. Stir in the spinach and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until wilted. Remove from heat and set aside. Once cooled slightly use a strainer to press down the spinach and remove as much of the liquid as possible.
Arrange the sliced tomato and onions on the pizza dough. Sprinkle with lemon zest. Spread the spinach over the top of the pizza.
Place the pizza in the oven and cook for 18 minutes, or until the outer crust begins to brown.
While the pizza cooks combine the honey, cracked red pepper and chili powder.
Once browned remove the pizza from the oven and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle with honey chili combination and sprits with as much lemon juice as desired.
Cut into slices and serve Immediately.

What are some of your favorite pizza toppings?

Maple Chipotle Squash, Bacon & Onion Quesadillas

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

These Maple Chipotle Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Onion Quesadillas are the perfect appetizer for any fall party and are sure to be a big hit!

So you know how sometimes I go on a tirade and tell you guys how much of a genius I am for coming up with something new and delicious? (exhibit A) Well, today is one of those days. Today I may very well have come up with one of the best fall appetizer recipes I have ever tried. You guys, I’ve eaten a lot of things.

It’s got all the calling cards of a great fall treat. It’s hot and oozy. There are bacon and cheese! It’s a little messy. There is dipping sauce. And it can be eaten with your hands! Seriously those are like all of the calling cards am I right?

You all know I love smoked cheddar since I’ve made it into soup, mac & cheese, and a few other things. Well, the same goes for maple and chipotle, so when the idea struck me to slap these two amazing flavors together I was, in fact, a bit scared. Let’s be serious though what could go wrong with this exactly? They maple smoke bacon and cheddar already I’m just doing what I feel is right here in combining these things with even more maple and chipotle.

Seriously, people, it was so right.

Then the maple chipotle barbecue sauce comes into play and it’s just freakin heaven. Now, this sauce is one of my favorites I’ve made it a few times for various events and it’s always well received. I added some shredded Brussels sprouts and chipotle toasted squash seeds (sprinkle with salt, chipotle powder and roast @ 300 for 10 to 15 minutes) to top the barbecue dipped quesadilla triangles because of everyone like a little freshness and some crunch.

Maple Chipotle Squash, Bacon & Onion Quesadillas

2 cups butternut squash cubed
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
½ tsp chili powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 onions (sliced thin)
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 slices of bacon (cooked & crumbled)
6-8 large tortillas
2 – 3 cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese

Maple Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (minced)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. If the sauce is too thick add water by the tablespoon until desired thickness is reached. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl combine olive oil, chipotle powder, chili powder, salt and pepper, until well blended. Add the butternut squash and toss to coat. Spread the squash on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 25 to 30, minutes or until fork tender.
While the squash cooks heat the butter and oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and continue to cook for about 20 minutes, regularly scraping the brown bits from the pan. The onion should become brown and soft when done.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Place 1 tortilla in the pan and top with a fourth of the squash, onions, bacon and cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Once the bottom tortilla begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes, carefully flip the quesadilla and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cut into equal sized triangles before serving. Repeat until ingredients are gone.

Similar Recipes:

Maple Chipotle Turkey Chili

Apple Spice Meatballs

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Pear & Brie Toasts with Honey Balsamic Drizzle

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

A recipe for Pear & Brie Toasts with a simple honey balsamic drizzle. Perfect for a fall or winter pot luck.

As the cooler temperatures start to take their toll a simple bowl of chips and guac is not cutting it anymore as an appetizer amongst our group of friends. We are all craving something warm and comforting, but we also don’t want something super heavy such as meatballs or cheese dip. We just aren’t there yet.

In our house we are still holding out on turning on the heat, and most weekends are still spent outside, albeit on house projects as opposed to camping of hiking as I would like. While we aren’t jumping in pools anymore we are not ready to give up our outdoor time to the impending northeast winter. It’s still fall and we plan on living it up regardless of how cold it might be when we get up in the morning.

That’s what’s nice about these little toasts. The warm crunchy bread is covered in buttery, melty cheese and topped with a single slice of fresh cool pear, and a nice balsamic honey drizzle to add some sweetness. Now that is balance people. You’ve got a little bit of everything there to please everyone as well as give a nice little nod to the season’s flavors. This is an appetizer that would be great to serve throughout fall and winter since pears tend to be in season well into the cool months.

Pear & Brie Toasts with Honey Balsamic Drizzle

Author: JC

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 10 Servings

Ingredients

1 baguette, sliced at an angle
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 large triangle of brie cheese, rind removed & sliced to fit the toast
3 teaspoons honey
3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 large pear, sliced
Baby arugula for garnish (opitional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the oil and thyme in a small bowl. Lay the baguette slices on a sheet tray and brush with the oil mixture.
Place in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until the bread begins to turn golden. Add a slice of cheese to each toast and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese just begins to melt. Remove from heat and move to a serving tray.
Meanwhile combine honey, and balsamic vinegar until well blended.
Place a pear slice on each toast and drizzle with honey balsamic mixture, garnish and serve.

Scallops w Apple Cider Beurre Blanc

Engagement Tart

Apple Spice Meatballs

Appetizer

Maple Chipotle Squash, Bacon & Onion Quesadillas

Maple Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

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