Tag: hot sauce

Mini Buffalo-Blue Potato Skins

These two-bite potato skins stuffed with blue cheese, hot sauce, and cheddar are the ultimate game day snack!

 

Yeah, so these mini buffalo-blue potato skins happened… and they’re every bit as awesome as I hoped they’d be!

We went out for lunch at my favorite diner the other day and for some reason the loaded potato skins caught my eye. I haven’t had potato skins in years, but after seeing them on the menu I just couldn’t get the idea of them out of my head. I just had to have them. And then I needed to put my own spicy spin on them and shrink them down to a two-bite treat that’s perfect for snacking.

To make these delicious treats, I started by precooking some small potatoes in the microwave. Then I sliced them in half, scooped out the middles, and brushed the insides with Marzetti® Simply Dressed® Blue Cheese Salad Dressing and baked them until they were crispy on the outside but still tender in the middle. Then, add hot sauce and shredded cheddar and bake them until the cheese gets all melted and gooey.

I went through a few variations on the method as I was testing this recipe and, believe me, that first step of baking the potatoes with just the dressing is crucial. Something magical happens during that step: the edges of the potatoes get super browned and crispy and the blue cheese flavor permeated the whole potato. When I tried adding the toppings all at once, the potatoes didn’t get that beautiful golden color and the flavor was much flatter.

Serve with more dressing for dunking and additional hot sauce for any guests who really want to turn up the heat.

Mini Buffalo-Blue Potato Skins

Author: Lauren Keating

Serves: about 6

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds small golden potatoes
  • ¼ cup Marzetti® Simply Dressed® Blue Cheese Salad Dressing, plus additional for serving
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce (like Franks Red Hot)
  • 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 4 scallions, chopped

Preparation

  1. Pierce the potatoes with a fork and microwave 8 minutes, or until cooked through (cooking time will depend on your microwave and the size of your potatoes). Let cool.
  2. Heat oven to 450ºF.
  3. Cut the potatoes in half and use a small spoon to scoop out the insides, leaving a ¼-inch rim around the edge. Reserve the potato for another use. Arrange the potato skins cut side up on a heavy baking sheet. Brush the insides with blue cheese dressing. Bake 10 minutes; flip the potatoes so the cut side is down and bake another 10 minutes.
  4. Turn the potatoes over so the cut side it up. Sprinkle with hot sauce and fill with shredded cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  5. Top with scallions. Serve with additional blue cheese dressing and hot sauce, if desired.

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Disclosure: I have been invited to participate in a Marzetti® ambassador program. This post is sponsored by Marzetti and product has been provided by them. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. Thank you for helping support the brands that keep me inspired in the kitchen.

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Green Tabasco & a Green Martini

See the summer out with a bang — make a batch of this fresh green Tabasco and then use a few good dashes in an amazing cocktail that plays up the contrast of cool cucumbers and cilantro against the fiery Serrano pepper.   My husband and I both loved this drink.  It’s perfect for the end of a hot day, and I think it would go really well with any south of the border themed appetizers, even something as simple as chips and salsa or guacamole.   It doesn’t look like much, I know, but the flavor is really nice.  You can also serve it over ice, which was especially cooling, and we ultimately preferred it that way.

You can call it green Tabasco, green sriracha, or salsa verde —  this is the green version of a classic red hot sauce.  But don’t think that means it’s milder.  The pound of Serrano chilies that goes into this sauce packs a wallop.  If you love hot sauce, then you’ll love being able to make our own and control what goes in.   It’s good on everything and it keeps plenty long enough to polish it off.

Hot peppers are plentiful right now since  late summer is technically when they’re  in season.  But luckily you can get them year round in most stores.  A lot of hot sauce recipes call for cooking the pureed peppers.  I see no need for that, and I prefer the bright green color and the bright kick of the raw peppers.  After pureeing them you let the mash hang out in the fridge for a day or two to mature.  Then you strain the mixture, pressing like crazy to get all the juice extracted, and you’ll be left with a cup of pure green gold.  I think green hot sauces have more of the fresh pepper flavor than the reds do.  This one is really good and really versatile.

The puree hangs out in the fridge to mature for a day or two before being strained.

What You Will Need

  • 1 lb Serrano or jalapeno peppers
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white or cider vinegar

Instructions

  1. Rinse the peppers, and cut off the stem tops. Slice the peppers, seeds and all. Put them into the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic, salt and brown sugar. Puree the mixture, pulsing and scraping down the sides of the machine as necessary to get it as finely pureed as you can. Be careful as the fumes will be powerful.
  2. Add the vinegar to the peppers and stir well. Put the mash in a bowl or jar with a lid and refrigerate for 24 – 48 hours.
  3. Strain the mixture through a mesh seive, pressing with the back of a spoon to get all the liquid out. Do it in batches, and keep at it — the more you press the more liquid will be released. You should end up with at least a cup of sauce.
  4. Store the sauce in a clean bottle in the refrigerator. It should last a couple of months.
  5. Give the bottle a shake before using.

Notes

Hot peppers are powerful, so be sure to wash well after handling them, and be extra careful around pets and children.

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http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2013/08/its-5-oclock-somewhere-friday-house-made-green-tabasco-a-fiery-green-martini.html

*Recipe from [The View from Great Island|http://theviewfromgreatisland.com] All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to use this recipe, please link back to this page.

Recycled commercial hot sauce bottles are perfect to use because they let you pour the sauce out in dashes. Use a small funnel to fill them.

What You Will Need

  • a 1 inch slice of peeled cucumber, chopped
  • a few cilantro leaves (about a Tbsp)
  • 2 oz gin
  • 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice (about a 1/2 lemon)
  • 1 oz simple syrup or Agave nectar
  • 1 tsp greenTabasco sauce

Instructions

  1. Put the cucumber and cilantro in the bottom of a cocktail shaker and muddle, or crush them with the back of a spoon to release their juices and flavors.
  2. Add the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and Tabasco. Add ice and shake well.
  3. Strain into a martini glass, or serve over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass.
  4. Garnish with a cucumber wheel.

Notes

2.2

http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2013/08/its-5-oclock-somewhere-friday-house-made-green-tabasco-a-fiery-green-martini.html

*Recipe from [The View from Great Island|http://theviewfromgreatisland.com] All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to use this recipe, please link back to this page.

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