Here is a new series just for December: party appetizers! No matter which holiday party you’re celebrating (Hanukkah party, Christmas party, New Year’s party, etc.…), these appetizers are perfect small bites to delight your guests! And I’m starting off with one of my all-time favorite appetizers, caramelized onion and goat cheese tarts! They only require a handful of ingredients, aren’t very labor intensive, and the sweet-savory flavors meld perfectly in the flaky pastry crust! These holiday appetizers will fly off the plate!…
Homemade Dipping Sauce Two Ways
Like I said on Monday, in our house, March Madness is a big deal. I learned this pretty soon after my husband and I started dating. For years, he and his friends have taken off the Thursday and Friday of March Madness to watch basketball. Everyone brings food and beer (of course) and it’s really a lot of fun. (This coming from someone who watched very little in the way of sports before I got married).
This year, my husband and I are bringing the cheese-filled mini crescent dogs I posted on Friday. Today, I’m sharing the homemade dipping sauces I’m making to go along with them! They’re also great as additions to all-around game-day and party foods!
The Dipping Sauces
These dipping sauces are perfect to go along with the cheese-filled mini crescent dogs. They’re both sweet, spicy, and a little savory. And they only take two minutes to whip up–seriously!–meaning they’re perfect for any last minute game-day or party prep!
- For the Spicy Ketchup:
- 3 Tbsp. ketchup
- 2 Tbsp. barbecue sauce
- 1 Tbsp. sriracha
- ¼ tsp. soy sauce
- ⅛ tsp. pepper
- For the Honey Mustard:
- 2 Tbsp. regular or grainy Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1 to 2 tsp. honey
- Combine ingredients from each in their respective bowls, stirring until fully mixed.
- Serve next to your favorite appetizer!
So, if you’re watching March Madness, enjoy! If not, enjoy your weekend, too! (To balance out all the sports and testosterone, we’re going to the symphony on Saturday—yay!).
‘Till next time!
Cheese-Filled Mini Crescent Dogs
Next week is March Madness, and it’s always an event in our house. We go to my husband’s friend’s house and watch basketball, eat, laugh, and play Cornhole. It’s a lot of fun and my husband and his friends have been doing it for years.
Everyone also brings food, and this year my husband came up with a great idea—to bring mini crescent dogs filled with cheese! It has everyone’s favorite game foods all in one: cheese, hot dogs, and a doughy outside. What’s best beside the taste? Like most of my recipes, they’re really quick and easy to make.
And on Monday, I’ll be posting two sweet-and-savory dipping sauces to go with these crescent dogs!
Quick-and-Easy Game-Time Recipe
In all honesty, we were originally going to make our own pretzel dough to make pretzel dogs, but, like most people, we’re busy. We both work, we’ve have packed weekends, and there just isn’t enough time. So I’m taking a short-cut for this recipe and using ready-made crescent roll dough. Someday I promise I’ll publish a pretzel dog recipe, but for now, this recipe is perfect when you want party food fast!
A note: For the cheese, I used sticks of cheddar versus a block. It was a lot easier to cut them that way. I cut them in half horizontally, then in half again vertically, then cut those in half vertically, then in half vertically again, and finally one more cut in half horizontally so I ended up with small pieces of cheddar, like so:
I did a bit of experimenting and, even though the difference was small, small pieces like these made for easier stuffing and rolling.
- 1 can of pre-made crescent dough
- 1 package of hot dogs
- 4 to 5 sticks of cheddar, or a block of cheddar (I just found sticks to be easier)
- Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or foil.
- Cut each hot dog in half, then cut through each half length-wise but do not cut all the way through. You’re trying to make a small pouch for the cheese.
- Cut the cheese sticks in half horizontally, then cut each half vertically, then vertically again, and vertically one more time, and finally horizontally, until I had small pieces of cheese.
- Stuff each cut hotdog half with two small pieces of cheese.
- Take out the pre-made crescent dough, separate the triangles and cut each triangle in half length-wise (you want two triangles).
- Stretch the crescent dough slightly, then wrap each cheese-stuffed hotdog half with a triangle, covering the open side with the longest end of the triangle.
- Place each wrapped hot dog on the baking sheet and put into the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is lightly browned and the cheese is melted.
- Let cool for five minutes and serve!
And that’s it! These cheese-filled mini crescent dogs are not only perfect for game-time, but they’re perfect for party trays and fun treats for the littles in your family.
And don’t forget to check back on Monday for the dipping sauces!
‘Till next time!