Pine Cone Cheese Ball & Christmas Strawberries

We had our 4^th annual Secret Santa Christmas party with our friends last night.  It was potluck style and we actually had a really awesome variety of food this year (it seems like lots of our potlucks end up being only desserts).  I made almond-coated cheese balls that looked like pinecones and dipped strawberries in white chocolate with festive sprinkles.  Both these recipes were really easy – so if you’re looking for something to bring to Christmas dinner, try one (or both!) of these out!

Pine Cone Cheese Ball (adapted from Chicabug)

Ingredients:

• 1 8-oz package cream cheese
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (the original recipe called for mayonnaise, which I always substitute for yogurt in recipes)
• 6 strips bacon
• ¼ cup white cheddar cheese
• 1 T chopped green onion
• 1 t chopped dill weed
• ½ t pepper
• 1-1/4 cup whole almonds, toasted

Directions:

1. Cook your bacon until crispy. 

2.  Combine the cream cheese and yogurt (you can use a food processor or blender, but I used my KitchenAid mixer…) Stir in the cooked bacon, cheddar cheese, green onion, dill, and pepper.  Cover and chill overnight. 

3. Shape the cheese into two pinecone shapes on a serving platter.  Starting at the narrow end, place toasted almonds into the cheese at a slight angle, forming rows.  Garnish with rosemary and serve with crackers.

Christmas Strawberries

Ingredients:

• Strawberries
• White chocolate chips
• Sprinkles

Directions:

1. Wash strawberries and allow to dry completely.   

2.  I used a makeshift double boiler to melt the white chocolate chips evenly without burning.  Boil water in a small saucepan with a glass bowl fitted on top.  Add the chocolate to the bowl and stir until completely melted. 

3. Dip the strawberries into the white chocolate, then into sprinkles.  Let cool on a parchment paper lined sheet. 

You may want to make extra of these strawberries.  These were eaten almost immediately when we got to the party! 

The Corner Store & Parkesdale Farm Market – Plant City, FL

Yesterday we spent our day wandering Plant City.  Besides going to the Strawberry Festival once in high school, I don’t think I’ve ever spent time in Plant City, even though it’s only a half hour away. 

We started off with some lunch at The Corner Store (which I’d read about on the blog Eat a Duck).   It’s in a cute brick building on the corner of E. Reynolds St. and N. Palmer St in downtown.  The atmosphere is warm and inviting – it feels like an old-timey general store.  The menu consists of salads and sandwiches – with most of the ingredients organic and local.  We ordered our food at the window, and then walked around to check out the shelves stocked with local honey, spices, homemade soaps, and sweet treats. 

We sat by the front window to people watch while enjoying our food.  Lance had The Italian Job – ham, salami, provolone, red onion, spinach, tomato, mustard, mayonnaise, and Italian vinaigrette on a ciabatta roll.  

I ordered The Goat – which had goat cheese, roasted red peppers, red onion, tomatoes, and spinach on multigrain bread.   

They also serve beer, wine, and sangria, so Lance had a Jai Alai and I had an Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager (seemed appropriate for Plant City).  They didn’t skimp on the ingredients on my sandwich.  It was oozing with goat cheese, and my strawberry beer paired perfectly.  I would definitely visit again. 

We wandered the quaint downtown shops afterwards – there were about a dozen antique stores within a few blocks of each other. 

That afternoon we headed to Parkesdale Farm Market – the largest family-operated strawberry & citrus market in Florida.   

It has a wide selection of decently priced fruits and vegetables grown on their hundreds of acres of farm land.  It’s been around since 1969, and while it is charming, I don’t think it’s had many updates since then.  It looks like someone went a little overboard decorating with tinsel garlands and fringe that has faded over the years.    

Food Network claims that Parkesdale has “America’s Best Strawberry Milkshake,” so we ordered a shake and a parfait.  Wow they were sweet - the shake was so thick I had to eat it with a spoon.  The parfait had large chunks of strawberries and was loaded with whipped cream on top. 

We picked up a watermelon and some Strawberry Rhubarb spread to take home (we bought the no-sugar-added kind that’s just sweetened with natural juices).    

After all the food, we ended our afternoon at Edward Medard Park – a pretty state park with boardwalks, campgrounds and a big lake.  The short trip to Plant City was the perfect way to relax and get out of the "big city" feel of Tampa for the day. 

The Corner Store is located at 121 E Reynolds St, Plant City, FL 33563 and is open 10am – 3pm Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sundays & Mondays.  First and Third Saturdays of the month they are open until 9pm.  The Parkesdale Farm Market is located at 3702 W Baker St, Plant City, FL 33563 and is open every day from 9am – 6pm (they are closed on Mondays from May through September and closed the first two weeks of August). 

Veggie Platter

Our condo has a party at a different person’s unit each month, and this month is our turn to host!  We threw together some appetizer platters - I’m really happy with how the veggie tray turned out. 

We hollowed out a pepper and filled it with bleu cheese dip & ground black pepper.  We also have cheese & crackers, grapes, and chocolate dipped strawberries.  Time to dig in! 

tbt 4th of July

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, so today I’m sharing recipes I’ve made previous years. 

When I was a kid, our neighborhood had a parade that ended with a big block party with a competition to see whose bike was decorated the best. 

In recent years, I’ve celebrated the 4th by making patriotic foods.  For the last potluck, I made my mom’s recipe for coconut cake topped with a strawberry & blueberry flag decoration (recipe below).  I also made white chocolate dipped strawberries with blue sprinkles, and chocolate dipped pretzel rods with sprinkles, almonds, or coconut.  The recipes for those are pretty self-explanatory…I usually use Baker’s brand dipping chocolate.  I’ll also include a recipe below for my Star-Crust Apple Pie that I made 3 years ago.   

Mom’s Coconut Cake (4th of July version)

Ingredients:

·        1-18 oz box white cake mix

·        1-14 oz bag sweetened shredded coconut

·        Vegetable oil (amount instructed on box of cake mix)

·        Eggs (amount instructed on box of cake mix)

·        1-15 oz can Coco Lopez cream of coconut

·        1-16 oz container Cool Whip

·        Fresh strawberries, cut in slices

·        Fresh blueberries

Directions: 

1. Bake white cake mix as directed, but with the addition of 1/3 the bag of coconut to the ingredients. 

2. Right when you take it out of the oven, poke holes with a fork and pour cream of coconut over the cake.   

3. Allow cake to cool.  

4. For the normal version of the cake, mix the remaining bag of coconut with the Cool Whip then spread evenly over the cake.  For the 4th of July version, just spread the Cool Whip over the cake, then arrange the strawberries and blueberries in the shape of an American flag. 

Star-Crust Apple Pie (adapted from annies-eats.com)

Ingredients:

Dough:

·        2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·        2 T sugar

·        1/2 t  salt

·        2 sticks (16 T) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

·        6 T very cold water

Filling:

·        5-6 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

·        1/3 cup sugar

·        3 T brown sugar

·        1 T all-purpose flour

·        1/2 t ground cinnamon

·        1/4 t grated nutmeg

·        1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

·        2 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

·        1 large egg beaten with 1 T cold water (for egg wash)

Directions:

1. First, make the dough.  Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix briefly to blend. Add in the butter pieces and mix on medium-low speed to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand and the largest butter pieces are not much bigger than peas.  Mix in the cold water on low speed just until the dough comes together.

2. Shape the dough into 2 balls, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. Take the first ball of dough out of the fridge & roll out on a lightly floured work surface.  Place in the bottom of a greased 12” pie pan, crimping the edges.  Place pie pan back in the fridge. 

4. Preheat your oven to 400˚ F with an oven rack in the upper-middle position.  

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced apples, sugars, flour, spices and lemon juice.  Toss well to combine.  

6. Pour the apple mixture and accumulated juices into the bottom pie crust and use a spatula to even the top out slightly.  Dot the surface of the apples with the pieces of cold butter.  

7. Roll out the remaining pie dough on a floured work surface.  Cut out numerous star shapes and use these to cover the top of the pie.  Brush the top and edges of the crust with the egg wash.

8.  Place the pie on the upper rack and bake until the crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 50 – 60 minutes.  Make sure to place a sheet pan on the rack below to catch any juices that may bubble over.  Keep an eye on it since all ovens cook differently (mine got slightly too toasted on the edges). 

9. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve on its own or à la mode with vanilla ice cream.  

Enjoy your 4th of July celebrations!