Mashed Potato Balls

Mashed potato balls with hot sauce

One night I was laying in bed and wondered how I could make the mashed potatoes into an appetizer.  I love mashed potatoes and cheese so, I thought I'd fuse them into a tasty ball.  I roll the balls in seasoned bread crumbs and then bake them the balls a give a nice firm shell. Once baked I serve them with a spicy sauce to kick them up a bit.

Lasagna Shells

Lasagna Shells

I'm all about finger foods and lasagna is one of my favourite meals.  I got tired of cooking it in a big pan and then having to cut it and it getting messy.  So, I just decided to make a compact version in a neat little shell that I could easily pick up with my fingers.  No mess, no need for knives.  Just two quick little bites.

Filled shells is nothing new, but this version bursts with a savoury spinach meat sauce and is loaded with a three-cheese blend.  This is a complete meal all on it's own.

Birthday Formal Dinner

Last weekend I had the honor of catering a 40th birthday party.  The event was a formal dinner at the host's home for a group of 15 people.  My main focus is appetizers parties so this event was going to take more effort and planning.  I was confident in my food but I was nervous about everything happening at the right time. My biggest concern was serving warm, fresh food (I hate serving my food when it gets cold).  I wanted my food to be warm but not dry so I told the host it was very important for us to stay on schedule: appetizers at 5pm, dinner at 6pm.  We stuck to that time!

The host selected zucchini bites, chickpeas bundles, and island skewers for appetizers for the guests to enjoy before dinner.  I had 2 servers offering these to guests.   They did a great job making sure all the guests were satisfied. 

Servers with appetizers

Dinner started with the serving of butternut squash soup and mango salad.  The main course consisted of a choice of 2 meat selections (salmon, goat, jerk chicken), rice and peas, grilled vegetables dressed with balsamic vinegar, and plantain rolls.  Dessert was  my famous "bullet cake".  I got great compliments on the meal and service. 

My bullet cake

I'm glad the night went as planned and the host was happy.  I had a great time and it was good to see people's reaction to the flavours in the food.  

Salmon Squared

 I don't eat salmon.  I honestly don't have any particular reason why but at this point in my life I figure I've lived this long without it, why change now.  But my mother loves baked salmon and I make it for her regularly.

Salmon has it's own flavour so I don't over power it with excessive spices, I add just a few tangy spices to compliment it's natural taste.

I've been told I make a mean spinach dip. It's one of those recipes, I just made up and it worked.  One day I wondered how those two flavours would taste together.  The result is this savoury hors d'oeuvre that blends the taste of the creamy spinach dip with the locked in flavour of baked salmon.

Sweet Potato Puffs

Can you believe I've never tasted sweet potato pie in my life?  I've seen it around many times (everyone I know loves it) but it never appealed to me - the pudding filling isn't my thing.

So, I thought I'd try to make something that would taste like it but didn't have that cream texture.

This delicious appetizer is a moist, delightful bite of sweet potato pie heaven (so I've been told). Not overly sweet, but full of the warm flavour of spiced sweet potato, this is the next best thing to having a full pie.

Alan's Chili

I've made this chili a few times and each time it gets raving reviews.  It's nickname is "sex in a pot" because it starts of sweet then get hot.  LOL.  Here's the recipe for you to make it yourself.

Alan's Chili Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup chili mix
• 1 can red beans
• 2 tbsp barbecue sauce
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 cup of diced peppers
• 1/2 cup of onions
• 1/2 lb of ground beef
• 1 tsp Jerk sauce 

Steps:

1. Mix chili mix, oregano, garlic, thyme with the raw ground beef.  
2. In a large cast iron pot, cook the ground beef until fully cooked and the pot is dry (all the oil and seasoning is soaked up by the meat).  
3. Add in peppers, onions.  Cook with meat. 
4. Add beans to the pot.  Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, and jerk sauce to the mixture.  
6. Cover and cook on medium for 20 minutes.  

This recipe makes 4-6 servings.  Serve with your favourite topping.  

Alan's Chili

Southern Chicken Bites

Southern Chicken Bites

Going out to eat and getting served unflavoured and over-battered chicken strips made me decide that I needed to make chicken taste better.  So, I set out to develop a spice mix that would add flavour without compromising the texture.

These chicken bites are crispy and spiced just right to give them a bit of kick with each bite.

They're an ideal appetizer for any gathering.