Fun Food Saturdays!!

When football season rolls around, we start planning for Fun Food Saturdays. It’s a tradition that goes back to our years in Gainesville – we have wonderful dishes we rotate throughout every fall. One week it might be French Onion Quiches and Caprase, or Pigs in a Blanket and Three Cheese Fondue with all kinds of dippers, or Swedish Meatballs and Chicken Pesto Crostinos. You get it. It is so fun to work our way through all the dozens of options each fall, finding the best dishes that match the weather (i.e., you can’t have Swedish Meatballs if the weather is too hot or Caprese if the tomatoes are out of season!). 

It kind of takes me back to our fall Saturdays in Gainesville when we would host a big party at the house around a Gator road game – and where I’d make all the food and Larry would oversee the bar. I’d like to think it was an invitation a lot of people looked forward to receiving – there would be a mix of really cool people – politicians (city and county commissioners, state attorneys’ folks, state senators), UF people (athletics and others throughout the university), local business people, and our close neighbors. Still remember the year I made gazpacho and had small plastic cups and spoons, but everyone thought it was salsa without the chips – lol). Still, I loved making all the dishes and welcoming dozens of friends and colleagues to enjoy the game and good food. Here are a few of the great dishes.

French Onion Quiches

15-oz. Package Pillsbury All-ready Pie Crusts (will be two crusts in the package)

Filling:

¼ c. margarine or butter (1/2 stick)

1 ½ cups finely chopped onions

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup half-and-half

3 eggs, slightly beaten

½ teasoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove pie crusts from box.  Let stand at room temperature 15-20 minutes while preparing filling.

In medium saucepan, melt margarine on medium heat.  Saute onion until light golden brown (5-7 minutes).  Remove from heat.  Stir in flour until mixed.  Add half-and-half, eggs, sat and pepper.  Blend well.

Unfold pie crusts and using glass or some other circle, cut circles (approximately 12-15 per pie crust sheet.  Note:  Measure across a single muffin cup and have a circle slightly larger than that circle).  Press each circle into ungreased miniature muffin cup.  Fill about 2/3 full with filling.  Sprinkle about a teaspoon of the grated parmesan on each muffin.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (if it starts to get too brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil).  Cool slightly in muffin tin.  Then remove.  Serve warm.

Should make about 24-30 appetizers.

Chicken Crostinis

1 rotisserie chicken of your liking

1-2 baguettes (depending on how many people you want to serve – there will be plenty of chicken for 2 baguettes – if that’s the case can make one batch early and another later in the party)
Prepared pesto
One of the shredded cheese mixes (Mexican or Italian (don’t get one with spices).

Take roasted chicken and remove meat and shred (use your fingers, it’s a lot faster). If doing ahead of time, store in Tupperware container until serving.  Bring to room temperature before assembling crostinis. 

Take baguettes and slice on a diagonal (also can be done ahead and stored at room temperature in Ziploc bag.  Spread pesto on each baguette, top with chicken and sprinkle with cheese.  Heat on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Watch to make certain they don’t burn.

Classic Swiss Three Cheese Fondue

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

8 ounces Gruyere cheese, rind trimmed and discarded, and shredded (about 2 1/2 cups)

8 ounces Emmentaler cheese, rind trimmed and discarded, and shredded (about 2 1/2 cups)

3 ounces Appenzeller cheese, cut into cubes (about 1/2 cup)

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon kirsch

A few gratings of fresh nutmeg

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

What to dip: crusty mixed grain bread, French or Italian bread, cut into bite-sized cubes (leave a piece of crust on each cube); Cooked chicken breast, skin and bone removed, cut into bite-sized cubes; cooked garlic sausage or knockwurst, cut into bite-sized wedges; boiled new potatoes; asparagus spears, broccoli florets or cauliflower florets prepared for dipping.

Rub the inside of a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan with the garlic; discard the garlic. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a bare simmer over medium heat.z

In a medium bowl, toss the Gruyere, Emmentaler, and Appenzeller cheeses with the cornstarch. A handful at a time, stir the cheese mixture into the wine, stirring the first batch until it is almost completely melted before adding another. The fondue can bubble gently, but do not boil. Stir in the kirsch and season with the nutmeg and pepper.

Transfer to a cheese fondue pot and keep warm over a fondue burner. Serve immediately with dipping ingredients