Spinach & Bacon Puff Pastries with Sun Dried Tomato Aioli

After a day of helping our friends move into their new house, Michele and I invited everyone to our house for a party. The plan was to keep things simple. We'd buy some beer, order some take-out and take it easy. Despite moving for 5-6 hours, I couldn't let the opportunity to cook for guests (and create a new blog entry) go to waste. I cruised around Pinterest for a bit on Saturday morning, and came up with these. Enjoy!

Spinach Puffs
2 10oz Packages of Frozen Spinach, thawed
6 Strips of Bacon, cooked and chopped
8oz Softened Cream Cheese
1 Package Store Bought Puff Pastry Dough
1 Egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook bacon strips and set aside. Drain spinach very well. I squeezed the liquid out through a kitchen towel. I was going to use cheesecloth, but Michele told me that it was unnecessary and that I should just use a towel. Combine drained spinach, bacon and cream cheese in a large bowl.

Unfold pastry dough onto lightly floured surface. Cut pastry dough into 3 x 1.5 inch rectangles. Place a marble sized amount of spinach mixture on one half of each piece of dough. Fold dough in half, pressing down all sides making what looks like a ravioli. Fold corners under and place corner side down on a pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place pastries on the paper with some space between each one. Crimp the pastries on exposed edges. Brush the top of each pastry with egg wash. Bake at 400 degrees until pastries are golden brown.

Sun Dried Tomato Aioli
1/4 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes
3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Serve with spinach puffs.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I tried Buffalo Chicken Dip for the first time on February 3rd, 2008. I had just moved to Boston, and was at a Super Bowl party with one of my new roommates. The night didn't end well, so I've blocked out most of those memories. One thing I did remember, however, was that I tried the bold flavor explosion that is Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Months later, my then girlfriend, now beautiful wife gave me a Crock-Pot for Christmas. Soon after I made Buffalo Chicken Dip for the first time. I looked up a few online recipes, bought the ingredients and got to work. My Buf Chx dip has been the star of parties, family events, Fall Meat Night 2011, and was the inspiration for Gupta Media's monthly Dip Day celebration.

Whenever I'm asked for the recipe, I say "I've never made it the same way twice." which is true, but there is a general formula. Here it is:

5-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts

23 oz Bottle of Frank's Red Hot
16 oz Sour Cream

16 oz Cream Cheese 

2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

4 oz Crumbled Blue Cheese (Michele doesn't like Blue Cheese, but once it's melted it's not as noticeable, but definitely kicks up the boldness of the flavors)

Place chicken breasts in Crock-Pot with 1/2 cup of Franks Red Hot and cook on low 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts and allow them to cool a bit. Pull chicken apart and return to the Crock-Pot. Turn Crock-Pot to high and cook for 20 minutes. 

 

Add remaining ingredients and stir. If you'd like, add smaller portions of certain ingredients, save the rest , and then add more to suit your taste. Cook on low for an additional hour or 2, then set Crock-Pot to warm setting until guests are ready to enjoy!

Chef's notes

 - Preparing the Buffalo Chicken Dip as I have above, takes about 5 hours. If you're short on time, you can prepare in about an hour or less. Cook the chicken breasts in a pan, then pull apart with forks (DON'T CHOP!!!). Place all ingredients into the Crock-Pot and heat until melted.

- You can dip anything into this dip. I've seen people dip many things into this dish including tortilla chips, potato chips, pita chips even italian sausage! The absolute BEST thing to dip in BCD is a Fritos Scoops corn chip. If anyone says different... they're wrong. 

Chicken Meatball Patty Sandwiches

This recipe was inspired by Jeff Mauro, the Sandwich King's Fried Meatball Sandwich. I, like Jeff, think that traditional meatball sub sandwiches provide inconsistent bites. I also wanted to try a more lean version while keeping bold meatball flavors.

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan
1 egg
2 cups spinach
4 cloves garlic
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella
1 large loaf ciabatta bread
1 cup tomato sauce

Saute spinach with garlic and olive oil, set aside. Combine chicken, bread crumbs, parmesan,  egg in a bowl and combine. Create 4 equal sized patties

Brown each patty in a saute pan, 4 minutes per side. Place patties in oven safe dish with tomato sauce in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Slice ciabatta bread to match the number of patties, and then slice each piece in half. Spread spinach on bottom half of each sandwich. Distribute mozzarella slices evenly among top pieces. Place on baking tray in oven for 5 minutes.

Remove tray from oven, place chicken patties on each spinach covered half. Set oven to broil, place tray back in the oven until cheese bubbles.

Assemble sandwiches, cut diagonally. Enjoy!