6 Appetizers for the Holidays

Premier Wine & Spirits has great appetizer ideas for the holiday season! Come visit Premier Wine at the Southbury Plaza, 100 Main St. North.

Smoked Salmon Spread

• Prep Time: 5 Minutes
• Ready In: 5 Minutes
• Servings: 9

“A delicious and easy spread that always gets many compliments. Serve it with somewhat bland crackers to taste the smoked salmon. You can add some chopped capers for more flavor, if needed. I usually serve this on a nice plate and put the spread in a mold before serving.”

Ingredients:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 12 ounces smoked salmon, chopped
• 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 3 drops hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill weed
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Directions:

In a medium bowl, stir cream cheese until it is no longer in a hard form. Add salmon, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, dill and onion; mix well. Serve.

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Sausage Stuffed-Jalapenos

• Prep Time: 25 Minutes
• Cook Time: 20 Minutes
• Ready In: 45 Minutes
• Servings: 12

“Jalapeno pepper halves are stuffed with cheese and sausage. You will love this spicy appetizer treat!”

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground pork sausage
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound large fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

• Place sausage in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.

• In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed halves in baking dishes.

• Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing.

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Easy Beef Brisket

• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 4 Hours
• Ready In: 4 Hours 10 Minutes
• Servings: 6

“Simply the best and easiest beef brisket there is. Great recipe to make the day before and reheat to serve. Make extra, so you can be sure to have leftovers too!”

Ingredients:

• 1 (3 pound) beef brisket, trimmed of fat
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can beer
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle tomato-based chili sauce
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

• Season the brisket on all sides with salt and pepper, and place in a glass baking dish. Cover with a layer of sliced onions. In a medium bowl, mix together the beer, chili sauce, and brown sugar. Pour over the roast. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.

• Bake for 3 hours in the preheated oven. Remove the aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Let the brisket rest and cool slightly before slicing and returning to the dish.

• Reheat in the oven with the sauce spooned over the sliced meat.

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Rosemary Braised Lamb Shanks

• Prep Time: 30 Minutes
• Cook Time: 2 Hours
• Ready In: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
• Servings: 6

“Lamb shanks that are slowly simmered with fresh rosemary, garlic, tomatoes, and red wine. Great served with polenta, or my family’s favorite--roasted garlic mashed potatoes--as you need something to soak up the wonderful sauce. fantastic dish for company, as all the prep work is done at the beginning, and then you just have to wait.”

Ingredients:

• 6 lamb shank
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 large carrots, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
• 5 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

• Sprinkle shanks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook shanks until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer shanks to plate.

• Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in wine, tomatoes, chicken broth and beef broth. Season with rosemary and thyme. Return shanks to pot, pressing down to submerge. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.

• Remove cover from pot. Simmer about 20 minutes longer. Transfer shanks to platter, place in a warm oven. Boil juices in pot until thickened, about 15 minutes. Spoon over shanks.

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Cabbage Rolls

• Prep Time: 30 Minutes
• Cook Time: 9 Hours
• Ready In: 9 Hours 30 Minutes
• Servings: 6

“Cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef, onion and rice, covered in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce and cooked in a slow cooker.”

Ingredients:

• 12 leaves cabbage
• 1 cup cooked white rice
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbage leaves 2 minutes; drain.

• In large bowl, combine 1 cup cooked rice, egg, milk, onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper. Place about 1/4 cup of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf, and roll up, tucking in ends. Place rolls in slow cooker.

• In a small bowl, mix together tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over cabbage rolls.

• Cover, and cook on Low 8 to 9 hours

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Super Stuffed French Bread Pizza

• Total Time: 35 min
• Prep: 10 min
• Cook: 25 min

Ingredients

• 1 (2 foot long) loaf French bread
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach defrosted and squeezed dry
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 pound sweet sopressata from the deli, sliced thick, chopped
• 1/2 stick pepperoni, chopped
• 1 sack (10 ounces) shredded mozzarella
• 1 sack (10 ounces) shredded provolone
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

• Split bread lengthwise and hollow it out. Cut in half across, making 4 shells for pizzas.

• Heat a skillet over medium high flame and brown sausage in extra-virgin olive oil. Brown and crumble sausage. Add red bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, add spinach. Remove mixture from heat and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, to your taste.

• Transfer to a bowl. Combine sausage and veggies with ricotta, Parmesan, sopressata and pepperoni. Fill bread shells and top with mounded mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Place in hot oven on cookie sheet and bake until cheese melts and bubbles and bread is super crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Top pizzas with oregano and hot pepper flakes. Serve immediately, or snack all night!

Photo by La Mia Cucina