The gals came bearing a bevvy of delectable eats – gourmet pretzels with a raspberry mustard sauce, OK Café cheese coins (to.die.for.), mushroom flatbread, my big fat Greek appetizer plate (LOL), cheesecake stuffed strawberries, caprese salad – and I made two of my go-to hors d’oeuvres for the affair. Add these to your coffers, ladies, because they never disappoint and both can be prepared well in advance!
Salted Caramel Pecan Dark Chocolate Bars
1 c. chopped pecans
box of graham crackers
1c. brown sugar
3/4c. butter
2 T. whipping cream
1 t. vanilla
dark chocolate chips
coarse sea salt
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 10 to 12 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
2. Line a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil; lightly grease foil. Arrange graham crackers in a single layer in prepared pan, slightly overlapping edges.
3. Combine sugar, butter, and cream in a medium-size heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and pecans. Pour butter mixture over crackers, spreading to coat.
4. Bake at 350° for 10 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.
5. Top warm bars with dark chocolate chips. Let stand 3 minutes and spread chocolate over bars.
6. Immediately sprinkle with salt, and slide foil from pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely (about 30 minutes). Chill and break into bars.
Ham & Swissers
Bestie C’s sweet mother gave me this recipe from the Cherokee Entertains cookbook and I’ve made it more times than I can count.
Two packages mini Hawaiian Rolls (12 count each), sliced
1 lb. honey ham, coarsely chopped
8 oz. swiss cheese, shredded
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 T. worchestershire sauce
1 cup butter, softened
2 T. poppy seeds
4 T. prepared mustard
- On bottom halves of rolls, evenly top with ham and cheese.
- Soften butter and mix well with onion, worchestershire sauce, poppy seeds and mustard. Spread mixture on top halves of split rolls.
- Place sandwiches on baking pan and cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate. These are great to make a day in advance!
- Before serving, preheat oven to 250. Bake sandwiches until heated through – you have a lot of liberty here – I allow at least 30 minutes but have left them in the oven for an hour before a party!
And, while I had hoped to see The Help, Harry Potter, Bridesmaids and Moneyball bring home a few of those coveted statues, it was a much more suitable affair than the way I spent my evening last year (no offense Honey, but you just don’t get it.)
Thanks, girls, for a lively Sunday eve!!
xoxo
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