VINEYARD SPAM SALAD

s Recipe By     : 
 Serving Size  : 6    Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Salads
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    1       cn           SPAM Luncheon Meat, cubed
                         -(12 oz)
      2/3   c            Mayonnaise or salad dressing
    1       tb           Lime juice
    1       t            Dry mustard
    2       c            Seedless grapes
    1       c            Peapods, cut in half
      1/2   c            Thinly sliced red onion
 
   In skillet, saute SPAM over high heat 2 minutes,
   stirring constantly; set aside. In small bowl, combine
   mayonnaise, lime juice, and dry mustard. In large
   bowl, combine grapes, SPAM, peapods, and onion. Tos
   with mayonnaise mixture. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Flaming Strawberries

Yield:  About 20 cupcakes Cupcakes: 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 2 eggs 3/4 cup hot water 3/4 cup heavy cream 3 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil 2 tsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake papers and set aside. Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.  Add eggs, water, heavy cream, oil and vanilla.  Mix with a hand held mixer until smooth.  Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each half full.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool before frosting. Frosting: 2 sticks softened butter 4 cups confectioners' sugar 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together sugar, cocoa and butter; beginning on low speed then increase to high.  Beat until fluffy and lightened in color.  Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Frost cupcakes. Strawberries: 18-24 Strawberries - you'll need as many as you have cupcakes Vodka, rum, or your choice of liquor 80 proof or higher (use Bacardi 151 for fail-proof results) Hollow the strawberries carefully.  If you pierce the side of the strawberry accidentally, start with a new one.  Since you'll be setting the liquor aflame, it is important that your strawberry is leak-proof. Set one strawberry atop each frosted cupcake.  Fill strawberries with liquor just before lighting (see tips).  If you need to light them all at once, (say, for a party) use a turkey baster to quickly fill all the strawberries and a grill lighter in lieu of matches. Notes for flaming strawberries: Any alcohol below 80 proof will not light well.  I used 80 proof and got a nice blue flambe'. Note: some have had trouble getting 80 proof to ignite - lots of people are recommending Bacardi 151 as a fail-safe.   You can add a little sugar to the inside of the strawberry to sweeten things up. However, the flame seems to last longer without the addition of sugar. Make sure to use a liquor that you like.  Vodka is a good choice if you want very little flavor. Alcohol evaporates, so light the strawberry soon after you spoon the liquor in.  Do I have to say it?  Probably not, but my conscience will not let me go without.  Do not attempt to eat a flaming strawberry.  It's a relatively short burn time, lasting about 30 seconds to 1 minute. So, enjoy but be careful.  Use your noodle. www.sprinklebakes.com/2011/01/chocolate-cupcakes-with-flaming.html

Pizza Sliders

If  you can only find Italian sausage in link form, just slice through the casing and squeeze the sausage into a bowl before mixing with the pepperoni.  You can, of course, use any slider bun for these, but the pizza dough makes these really special.

12 pizza dough buns (see recipe below)
Marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought)
1 ½ lbs spicy Italian sausage
Several slices pepperoni, chopped
Mozzarella cheese (fresh mozzarella or grated)
12 leaves of fresh basil

Mix the chopped pepperoni and Italian sausage together.  Form into patties about 1 ½ inches in diameter.  Cook the sausages on a large griddle or skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray for about 6 minutes.  Turn the sausages and then top with the mozzarella cheese, covering with a lid to help melt the cheese.  Alternately, after they are cooked, you can place them in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the cheese.

While the patties are cooking, slice the buns in half and spread some of the marinara sauce on each half.  Place the sausage pattie on the bottom half, top with a basil leaf and then the top half of the bun.  Serve immediately.

Pizza Dough Slider Buns

1 lb of pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray

Slice the dough into small-ish pieces and form into balls about 1 3/4  inches in diameter.  Roll the balls in olive oil to completely coat and then place in the muffin tins, cover with a towel and let them rise for about ½ hour.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown and puffy.  Remove from the pan and let cool before slicing.

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