While I was trying to figure out what recipe to make for Wednesday’s Weekly food post, I got a package in the mail.  In it were 3 jars from Fratelli Mantova: artichoke paste, olive paste, and pesto Genovese.  First, let me tell you that I just mixed a teaspoon of each with some pasta and it was so yummy!!

For the first recipe from the trio, I decided to make Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp. butter

about a pound of fresh spinach

1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise or sour cream (or plain yogurt)

1 (6.5 oz) jar of artichoke paste

2/3 cup shredded four cheese mix

Directions:

Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and spinach, cook until spinach is soft.  If you haven’t seen it before – here is how amazing spinach is:

one pound of spinach before

one pound of spinach after

Add cream cheese and mayonnaise and cook till creamy.

Add artichoke paste and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted and everything is well mixed. Serve with baguette slices or tortilla chips.

Eat in moderation as the calorie count is pretty high on this one!!

I was not compensated in any way for this post.  I purchased the products that I am recommending.

You can find artichoke paste at your local Italian deli or specialty grocery store, or you can buy it by clicking on the link below.

Enjoy!!

What is skillet bacon jam? you ask.  Here’s the definition from Skilletbaconjam.com:

 What is bacon jam? Well, we take a big bunch of really, really good bacon and render it down…add a bunch of spices, onions, etc. and let it simmer for about 6 hours, give it a quick puree, blast chill it…take a left turn, and end up in pure bacon heaven.

I was lucky enough to receive a sample of skillet bacon jam to try for this review.

Skillet Bacon Jam is shelf stable and can be eaten right out of the jar (if you go for that sort of thing).  I did try a small spoonful of it and it reminded me of barbecued pork. Yummy!!

I made two recipes with the Skillet Bacon Jam.  Here they are with critiques from my taste testers (Bud and his friends):

Bacon Cream Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

1 part Skillet Bacon Jam

2 parts cream cheese

Directions:

Combine the ingredients, then microwave for about 20 seconds on 80% power.  Spread on your favorite cracker.

Reviews:

“Sweet”, “a sweet explosion in my mouth” and “not bad.”  8 out of 10 spice jars

Skillet Bacon Jam Cracker PIzzas

Ingredients:

Skillet Bacon Jam

shredded cheese

crackers

Directions:

Spread one tablespoon of Skillet Bacon Jam per cracker, then top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese.  Broil on low for 3-5 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Reviews:

This was the runaway favorite – “so good”, “I like this on the best,” and “can I have another”. 9.5 out of 10 spice jars!!

Personally, I think they were both good, but the bacon cream cheese spread is a lot more rich.  So it’s up to you.

For more information go to the website: Skillet Street Food or send an email to eat@skilletstreetfood.com

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

WARNING: This is not a healthy recipe!!

Last Sunday, Art and I went to a Superbowl party that ended up being a sausage fest.  I mean, the only meat there was pork – hot dogs, and lots and loits of cocktail smokies. There were smokies in crescent rolls and bacon wrapped smokies (so yummy!!)  Not to be outdone, we brought the fixings for mini corn dogs.  We thought it would be more fun if, instead of making them ahead of time we let people fry their own in a fondue pot.

Mini Corn Dogs

serves quite a few (1 package of smokies has about 30 or so, so it depends on how many you think each guest will eat)

Ingredients:

1 package cocktail smokies

1 package hushpuppy mix

1 cup water plus a little more

vegetable oil (for frying)

Mix the hushpuppy mix and the water.  Add more water, a tablespoon or two at a time.  The batter should be thin but not runny.

Heat the oil in the fondue pot to 375F.

If you are frying a batch, drain the package of smokies, then dump them into the batter.  Stir it up.  Dip then out with a slotted spoon and drop the gently in small batches into the fondue pot, cooking until golden brown.

For our purposes, we skewered the smokies lengthwise on wooden skewers, then each person could take their individual smokie, dip it into the batter and fry it in the pot.

Again, fry it until goiden brown.  I was surprised how quickly it  was done.  Also, make sure to rotate the stick so the smokie doesn’t brown on just one side.

The Finished Product:

These were so good.  Not too heavy, since we’d thinned the batter.  Everybody had a good time frying their own (make sure if you have kids you supervise them or have adults fry the smokies for the kids).

Towards the end of the party people started getting creative and deep frying cheese and even green olives (not bad).

I’m not going to give you a calorie count on this one – just remember my disclaimer at the top of fhe page.

Enjoy!!