Smoked Pigs in a Blanket

I'm a sucker for a nostalgic appetizer.  Pigs in a blanket were a party staple when I was a kid.  Crescent roll dough wrapped around a little smokie sausage and baked until golden brown and puffed.  Not only were these a hit at parties, but they made a great breakfast treat or after school snack.  NOW imagine that childhood favorite with an makeover that includes your backyard smoker?  When I say these are so much better made in the smoker I am neither lying nor exaggerating.  Something about the convection air of the smoker really gets the pastry dough golden and crisp.  With just a hint of smoke flavor and an extra boost from your favorite seasoning brushed on top.  These are truly ELEVATED pigs in a blanket.  We've made these several times.  Sometimes we brush them with everything bagel seasoning, and sometimes we use an all-purpose barbecue seasoning.  Mr. Devilish Dish likes to dip them in hot honey.  I don't they need dipping, their flavor and texture is perfect as is.  Definitely try these the next time your fire up the smoker, you won't be disappointed!

The best way to enjoy a pig in a blanket.
IN THE SMOKER!

Separate the crescent dough and cut each
triangle in half.  Roll up a cocktail 
sausage in each triangle.

Place 2 inches apart on a wire rack.

Brush each pig in a blanket with
melted butter.

Sprinkle with your favorite
barbecue seasoning or everything
bagel seasoning is good too.

Smoke for 10 minutes at 225 degrees F.
Turn up to 350 degrees F and smoke an 
additional 15 minutes, or until golden, crisp
and puffed up.

Enjoy.  These are amazing.

SMOKED PIGS IN A BLANKET

1 package little smokies (cocktail wieners)
1 can crescent roll dough
2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning (Or your favorite BBQ rub)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat smoker to 225 degrees F.  Unroll the crescent dough and cut each triangle in half.  Place a little smokie at the large base of the triangle and roll to the tip of the triangle.  Press lightly to make sure it stays rolled up.  (The ends of the sausage will not be encased in dough.)  Place each rolled up pig in a blanket on a wire rack about 2 inches apart.  Set the rack over a baking tray.  Brush each pig in a blanket with melted butter and sprinkle with seasoning.  Place the wire rack into the preheated smoker and smoke at 225 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Turn the heat up to 350 degrees F and continue cooking for another 15 minutes, until the dough it puffy and golden brown.

Garlic Butter Shrimp Sliders

This has been a boring summer.  With the exception of a trip to Omaha for the College World Series we haven't done much around here.  A visit from the tiniest devils is the highlight for sure.  Most weekends Mr. Devilish Dish puts something in the smoker and I make some kind of side dish to share with you.  We sit in our pool, listen to 80's Alternative music, and make frozen drinks in our Ninja Slushi machine.  It's been so hot, we run all of our errands early in the morning and just hang around all weekend.  Often in our menu planning we forget lunches.  We're so excited for a new smoker recipe or a new frozen drink recipe that I forget to plan lunch.  Not this time though.  I made these delicious Garlic Butter Shrimp Sliders - which were a simple, and less expensive twist on a traditional lobster roll.  How can you go wrong with lots of lemon, garlic and butter?  These were a huge hit, and a great test run for football season when I'll definitely need some new ideas for gameday watch parties.  I even got to use the abundance of fresh chives from my garden.  These made an ideal light weekend lunch, but they are perfect for parties too.

A delicious alternative to the 
traditional slider!

The ingredients

Cut out the top and center of
each Hawaiian roll.

Try to keep the slab together.
It should look like this.

Brush the rolls inside and out
with garlic butter and bake
 until golden brown.

Meanwhile cook the seasoned
shrimp.

Fill the toasted rolls with the
shrimp mixture.  Top with 
chopped chives.

Serve with lemon wedges if desired.

GARLIC BUTTER SHRIMP SLIDERS

1 package Hawaiian-style rolls
12-15 large shrimp - raw, peeled an deveined
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp paprika

1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice from 1/2 lemon
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Using a small serrated knife, cut out the top and center of each Hawaiian roll.  Place the slab of rolls onto a baking sheet and set aside.  

Cut shrimp into small pieces and place in a bowl.  Toss with old bay, paprika and olive oil.  Place in a skillet of medium heat and add sauté with butter and garlic until the shrimp turn pink.  Remove from heat and toss with lemon juice.  

Melt the 4 tbsp of butter and stir in the other two cloves of minced garlic.  Brush the rolls inside and out with garlic butter and bake for approximately 5 minutes or until they are golden brown and slightly crisp.  

Remove from oven and fill each roll with cooked shrimp. Top with chopped chives and serve with lemon wedges if desired.

Pit Beans

Shout out to Mr. Devilish Dish for this recipe.  It took some convincing for me to let him make this.  I'm partial to my Baked Beans recipe, which is really my mom's method which is really just emptying a bunch of random stuff from the fridge into a dish and baking it.  I rarely make my baked beans the same way twice, but we always love how they turn out.  When I say empty out the fridge I seriously mean add part of a jar of salsa, add a little bit of tomato sauce etc...So when Mr. Devilish Dish volunteered to make Baked Beans in the smoker, I was a little bit hesitant.  Not that I don't like the things he makes in the smoker.  For the most part.  Sometimes I don't want every part of the meal to taste like smoke.  And what's delicious to me about baked beans is that sweet and savory flavor combination.  I was afraid a batch of beans cooked in the smoker would be too smoky.  I was wrong!  These beans have that sweet baked bean flavor, with all the savory goodness of a traditional barbecue side dish, with just the faintest hint of smoke.  And that's not even the best part.  The best part is he mixes it all up in a foil pan and cooks it in the smoker so I don't even have to worry about the cooking or dishes.  This is literally a win for everyone involved.  And, you can cook these alongside whatever meat you are smoking making it so simple to prepare.

Cooked right alongside your smoked meat.

Thick and delicious.  The perfect combo
of sweet and savory with a little bit of
smoke and spice.

We used a Dutch oven for this, but you can
easily prepare in a large foil pan 
making clean up a breeze!

PIT BEANS

1 small white onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (28-31 ounce) cans Pork & Beans, drained
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup barbecue sauce (NOTE- this doesn't have to be fancy sauce, grab one on sale)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/8 cup prepared yellow mustard
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce (or Allegro, Dale's or W Sauce)
salt & pepper
barbecue seasoning/rub (use your favorite)

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions approximately 5-7 minutes until the onions become translucent.  In a large foil pan, or fire-safe Dutch oven pour in the drained beans.  Stir in the cooked onions, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.  Season well with salt, pepper and a little bit of your favorite barbecue rub/seasoning.  Cook uncovered until the beans have thickened slightly.  The best part about this side dish is it can be cooked right along whatever meat you are cooking.  You just need to cook the beans long enough for them to reduce and thicken.  For 250 degrees F, they will cook approximately 3-4 hours.  At 300 degrees F, approximately 1.5-2 hours.  Be sure and stir a couple of times during the cook.  

Monterey Chicken

This recipe is an oldie, but a goodie.  I think I've been making this one since early marriage and that has been quite a while.  We love to cook and experiment so we are constantly trying new recipes here.  with the exception of some of our tried and true family recipes that we make often like Green Chile Stew, Greg's Chili or Gran Gran's Chicken Spaghetti, there are not a lot of recipes that are in regular rotation.  In fact, when we made this, we both agreed this is a recipe we should make more often.  I love grilled chicken.  One of the recipes that IS in our constant rotation is a Green Chile Chicken Sandwich.  Just a marinated chicken breast, grilled and topped with cheese and diced green chiles.  This chicken preparation is just a tasty variation of that.  It's a hearty main dish, it would be delicious as chicken sandwich, and it's a great way to use up a little leftover bacon and cheese. We will definitely be making this more often.  

One of our favorites. We need to make 
this way more often.

Once your seasoned chicken breasts
are cooked, brush them generously
 with your favorite barbecue sauce.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Add cooked and crumbled bacon,
diced Roma tomatoes and chopped
green onions.

Broil under a low broiler until cheese melts.

Serve with your favorites side dishes
for a delicious and flavorful main course,
or on a toasted bun for a
delicious chicken sandwich.

Be sure to add this one to your regular
recipe rotation.  I know we will!

MONTEREY CHICKEN 

(serves 2)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
your favorite seasoning
salt & pepper
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Roma tomato, diced
3 green onions (green parts only) sliced

Season your chicken breasts on both sides with your favorite seasoning.  We used Cuso's Southwest Sand and salt & pepper.  Place in a hot skillet with a small amount of neutral oil.  Cook approximately 4-5 minutes per side, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.  When the chicken breasts are done, place on a baking sheet that is lined with foil or parchment for easy clean-up.  Brush the chicken breasts allover with barbecue sauce.  Top with shredded cheese, bacon, tomatoes and green onions.  Broil in the oven on low broil until the cheese melts.  Serve immediately while the toppings are hot and bubbly.

Twinkie Poke Cake

I'm a sucker for nostalgic desserts.  One of my favorite things to prepare is Twinkies on our Blackstone Griddle.  Once they become crisp and caramelized, I serve them with fresh strawberries and whipped cream and call it Griddled Twinkie Strawberry Shortcake.  It's a really fun and impressive dessert, but it's not one I made when we are busy entertaining, or absorbed in watching a baseball game.  I say that, because I made this specific cake when we had guests over to watch OU Baseball playing their way to the national championship.  In the past both my Southern Pecan Praline Poke Cake and Coconut Cake have been huge hits.  And both start with a boxed cake mix.  I figured a Twinkie poke-style cake would be a huge hit, easily made ahead and a great dessert to enjoy while we watched the game.  This cake turned out unbelievably delicious, with a frosting that is so reminiscent of that delicious sponge cake filling. Seriously the frosting could just be in a post by itself, it is that good. 

A delicious, nostalgic dessert.

The ingredients.
Make sure you have oil and eggs 
to prepare the boxed cake mix.

Prepare the cake mix according
to the package directions.
Bake and let cool completely.

Mix together butter and marshmallow
fluff until smooth.  Add the powdered
sugar, milk and vanilla to create 
the tastiest frosting.

Place part of the frosting into a piping
bag and pipe into holes made in the 
cooled cake.

Use the remaining frosting to frost 
the top of the cake, spreading until smooth.

Serve and enjoy.

TWINKIE POKE CAKE

1 box yellow cake mix PLUS: oil, eggs, water needed to make the cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 large (16 ounce) container marshmallow fluff
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions in a 9x13-inch baking pan.  Allow the cake to cool completely.  With the bottom of a wooden spoon, poke holes allover the cooled cake.

While the cake is cooling prepare the filling/frosting.  In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter and marshmallow fluff, mixing until smooth.  Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time until combined.  Add in the milk and vanilla.  Once this is smooth and combined, place about 1/3 of the frosting mixture into a piping bag fitted with a larger tip.  (The open-circle style works best.  I could not find that one, so I used a larger star tip and it worked just fine.)

Carefully pipe the frosting into the holes in the cake, making sure to fill them up.  Use a spatula to smooth out any overfill.  Use the remaining frosting to frost the top of the cake, spreading until smooth.

Roasted Tomatoes & Burrata Cheese with Crostini

Since all of the food recalls this year, I've been skeptical about serving lettuce and other ingredients.  Which is really frustrating because the weather has been so hot.  We should be right in the heart of cool and refreshing salad season.  Since we can't really trust the produce right now, we've mainly been sticking to stuff from our own garden, which means tons and tons of cherry tomatoes.  Earlier in the summer, the Devilish Nephew and family came to visit. I certainly did not want to make anyone sick so I kept it safe and made a watermelon and feta cheese salad.  The adults enjoyed that and the tiniest devils love a good wedge of watermelon.  Mr. Devilish Dish grilled some delicious spice rubbed chicken thighs.  We enjoyed a batch of Frozen Aperol Spritzes.  All I needed was something featuring my harmless and abundant cherry tomatoes from my garden.  I've seen variations of this recipe allover the internet, featuring all kinds of ingredients, but I decided to keep it simple.  You could definitely add olives, fresh basil or anything else you desire, but the simple combination of tomatoes, roasted garlic and cheese tastes absolutely delicious as is.  This was a huge hit with everyone.  It would make a lovely snack with a crisp glass of wine, but since we are not eating lettuce right now, this has become a side dish in our meal rotation with no complaints!

This is so good.
We could eat this every day.

Easy to make and easy clean up.
Everything goes in one dish.

While the tomatoes and garlic roast,
get your baguette ready to
toast into crostini.

Look how good this looks.
Roasted well and a tiny bit of char
on a few tomatoes.

Use tongs to squeeze the roasted
garlic cloves out of the head 
of garlic.

Grab a fork or potato masher
and mash everything together.

Get some burrata cheese.
Drain away the liquid.

Tear the burrata into pieces and 
nestle it down into the hot
tomatoes and garlic.

Once the cheese melts, stir
everything together.

Serve with toasted crostini.

So delicious and a great use
for a big harvest of cherry tomatoes.

Serve as a side dish, or enjoy as an 
appetizer with a crisp glass of wine.

ROASTED TOMATOES & BURRATA CHEESE WITH CROSTINI

2 cups fresh cherry tomatoes
3 heads fresh garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
one container burrata cheese
1 baguette

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Add the cherry tomatoes.  Generously drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Leaving the garlic heads intact, cut off the top.  Drizzle the cut part with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Nestle amongst the tomatoes and bake in the oven for an hour.  Remove the dish from the oven.  Using tongs, carefully squeeze the roasted garlic from its paper
squeezing the roasted garlic cloves into the tomatoes.  Discard the garlic papers.  With a potato masher or fork, smash the garlic and roasted tomatoes together.  Remove the burrata cheese from its liquid.  Tear into pieces and place in the hot tomato mixture.  Stir together allowing the cheese to melt completely.  Serve with crostini for dipping.

To make the crostini:  Slice the baguette into thin slices and place on a baking tray.  Lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake in the 400 degree oven approximately 4 minutes per side or until crisp.

Frozen Santoni Spritz in the Ninja Slushi Professional Drink Maker

I told you a while back that the Frozen Aperol Spritz has been my drink of summer.  Total Wine loves to see me coming for Aperol and Prosecco.  I had read an article a while back that said if you enjoy Aperol, to try Santoni. Santoni Aperitivo is a bittersweet Italian liqueur featuring botanicals, rhubarb and olive leaf.  Aperol is sweetest and lightest of these styles of bitter aperitifs.  Campari has the deeper more intense bitter flavor.  Santoni sits in the middle of those two.  A traditional Santoni Spritz is 2 parts Santoni, over ice with 4 parts Prosecco.  Garnished with an olive.  AN OLIVE.  In a spritzer.   Since I enjoyed the Frozen Aperol Spritz so much, I went straight for a Frozen Santoni Spritz without even trying the liqueur first.  The first drink I had was slightly more bitter than the Aperol I was used to.  I thought I had made a mistake.  Upon a few more sips, I realized the flavor is very good.  But it seemed like it was missing something.  I always garnish my Aperol Spritzes with an orange slice, so I thought I would stick to tradition and throw in a couple of Castelvetrano olives.  IN A SLUSH.  So here I am drinking what looks like a cherry Icee from 7-11 with the bitterly botanical flavor with olives floating around.  And you know what?  There's a reason Italian food is some of the best in the world.  Italians simply know what they are doing with flavor.  The addition of those olives with a touch of their brine completely changed the flavor of the drink.  If you don't like Aperol, then you probably will not enjoy a Santoni Spritz, but if you do like the flavor of Aperol or Campari, then most definitely give this a try.  If you don't have a slushi maker, then just make a traditional spritz that isn't frozen.  The sophisticated flavors and beautiful red color make this drink unusually refreshing. 

This is actually really good.
*IF* you like Aperol or Campari.
If you hate Aperol, you probably 
won't enjoy this as much as we did.

The traditional garnish is an olive.
The flavors compliment this liqueur
so much.  It's really a tasty drink.

I'll say it again...The Italians REALLY
know how to put delicious flavors together.

Despite looking like a cherry ICEE,
this grown-up drink is full of 
botanical flavor.  Truly a sophisticated sip.

FROZEN SANTONI SPRITZ IN THE NINJA SLUSHI DRINK MAKER

(1) 750 ml bottle Prosecco
1 cup Santoni Aperitivo Liqueur
2 cups Club Soda
1-2 tablespoons olive brine
Castrelvetrano olives for garnish

Combine the Prosecco, Santoni, club soda and olive brine in the drink machine.  Choose the spiked slush setting and one frozen, garnish with a couple of Castrelvetrano olives and enjoy.

For a TRADITIONAL SANTONI SPRITZ:

Pour 2 parts Santoni Aperitivo over ice.  Top with 4 parts Prosecco or sparkling wine.  Garnish with olives.