Italian Pinwheel Skewers

 Last week I made a few "appetizers" for my cousin's Preschool fundraiser. I wanted to make some sort of tortilla pinwheel but I wanted them to be small enough to stick on a skewer for easy eating, which is why this delicious recipe was created.

Ingredients:
10 (10 in.) tortilla
1 1/2 block (12 oz.) cream cheese
Basil pesto (homemade or store bought)
Red, yellow and orange sweet peppers, cut in thin strips
Basil, ripped into large pieces
2 containers of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

To assemble:
Lay out tortilla. Spread about 2 Tbs. or more onto the surface of the tortilla, making sure to spread as close to the corners as possible. Spread 1 1/2 Tbs. basil pesto onto the cream cheese and leave about 1 inch around the edge. Scatter the bell pepper slices on the tortilla. Starting at the part closest to you, roll the tortilla up tightly. Wrap tightly in tinfoil and refrigerate for at least a half an hour so it is easier to cut into pieces. When you are ready to put the skewers together, Add the tomato, cut side down, a piece of basil, and then a pinwheel. I used a bamboo knotted end toothpick.

This may seem like a lot of tortilla's and you can always cut this recipe down. I ended up cutting each tortilla into 15 pieces once rolled up and made about 150 for the fundraiser. 

Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs

Herb Goat Cheese

Dried Figs

Prosciutto

Take a dried fig and slice in half almost going all the way through. Take a small piece of goat cheese while still cold from the refrigerator and form into a ball with your fingers. Place inside the cut open fig. Garnish with a small slice of prosciutto. This recipe is so easy, has elegant flavors, and tastes great! 

Prosciutto-Melon Kiss

1 package (6-8 slices) Prosciutto 

Cantaloupe

Chives

Cut your cantaloupe in half and scrape out the seeds. With a melon baller, shape out 12-16 melon balls and leave one flat side so that the kisses do not fall over. Lay out the prosciutto and cut each in half. Place one melon ball flat side down on a piece of prosciutto and bring the sides up around the melon. To secure, take a piece of chive, wrap around the prosciutto kiss and tie in a knot. 

I found this on a Restaurant's website that was served for an Amuse Bouche, and they looked so good and simple I had to try them!

Buffalo Chicken Cucumber Cups

2 small cans chicken, drained

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c. Frank's Red Hot Sauce

1/2 c. Ranch dressing

1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 English cucumbers

Parsley, for garnish

Cut each cucumber into 1 inch slices. Take a spoon and remove the soft inside almost to the bottom of the slice. In a medium sized bowl, add the first 5 ingredients. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir, and microwave again for at least one more minute. Let the mixture cool slightly. Then spoon into a Ziplock freezer bag. Cut the corner off of the end of the bag and pipe into the cucumber cups. Serve with a piece of parsley and I like to dot it with hot sauce. They are SO yummy with the cool and spicy mixture!

Pear with pancetta and goat cheese

I found this recipe in a magazine, and it looked SO GOOD! I made it for my college graduation party. They turned out great!

2 pears, cored and sliced sideways so they make thin rings. 

4 oz. goat cheese, spread out and crumbled on top of pears.

Pancetta, baked for 10-14 minutes at 375 degrees and are crispy, then crumbled on top.

Honey to drizzle on top of the stacks.

Garnish with a thyme sprig.

Carrot Cake Balls

Ingredients:

Box of carrot cake mix (and ingredients on the back of the box)

Cream cheese frosting 

White chocolate decorating chips

Crushed Walnuts

Lollipop Sticks

 

Directions:

Prepare cake as directed on box. When cake cools, crumble half of the cake with your fingers into a medium sized bowl. Add 1/2 cup of cream cheese frosting and mush the cake and frosting with your fingers. Roll the cake mixture into 1- 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and stick in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Melt the white chocolate according to the back of the package. Stick the end of the lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and push into one of the cake balls. Repeat until all of the cake balls have sticks in them. Let the chocolate harden (takes a few minutes). Then dip the cake ball into the melted chocolate using the sticks. Put the crushed walnuts onto a plate in a thin layer. Roll the side of the cake ball into the walnuts. Stick into a piece of Styrofoam wrapped with saran wrap so that the cake pops are standing up. Or, if you would like them to sit on a plate, just place them back down on the parchment paper with the stick standing up.

Side note: I usually put the other half of the cake into a freezer bag, that is if I'm not making a double batch. It freezes pretty well.

Hummus Vegetable Crostini

Ingredients:

Rosemary Focaccia 

Original Hummus

Alfalfa Sprouts

English Cucumber

Red Bell Pepper

Radishes

Directions:

Slice focaccia into thin rectangular slices. Spread a thin layer of hummus onto the bread. Decorate with different vegetables. Easy enough, right? They may not sound over the top, but they are easy to make and you can throw them together quickly.