Appetizers Fit For Turkey Day.

Today is Wednesday.

Today is the day we make our annual pilgrimage to our Nation’s Capital for Thanksgiving.

Which means I have one job to do: make the GD buffalo wing dip.

That’s right. Every year I make not one, but two batches of this overly addictive app. To please everyone’s palates, I use a sweet BBQ sauce in place of the buffalo in one of the batches. (Super easy swap—you’ll find instructions below.)

And because we are a society who LOOOOOVES appetizers (I know I do), I’ve compiled some of my favorites.

Make them for your Turkey Day, or any other day, and enjoy.

Buffalo Wing Dip
Serves a crowd. Or one Baker/Tracy boy.

Ingredients:
1 container Whipped Cream Cheese
1 bottle Frank’s Hot Sauce
1 Rotisserie Chicken, stripped of it’s delicious meat
2 cups Ranch Dressing
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
1 cup blue cheese, crumbled and divided
2 celery stalks, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with: Tortilla chips.

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 425˚F.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, saving ½ cup of blue cheese. Scoop into casserole dish; top with remaining blue cheese, and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
3. Enjoy said wonderful nibbly with chippies.

**For BBQ Wing Dip: swap out the Frank’s Hot Sauce and blue cheese for any sweet BBQ sauce of your liking and one more cup of grated Monterrey Jack cheese.

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 lb. hot Italian sausage, removed from casings
extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
kosher salt
1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
20 oz. button mushrooms, stems removed and cleaned of any dirt

Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F; place sausage in mixing bowl; reserve.
2. Heat 1-2 Tbsps. olive oil in small sauté pan set over medium-low heat; add bell pepper; season with salt; sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes; remove from flame; cool.
3. Add cooled peppers and Pecorino to sausage; gently mix to combine, being careful to not to overwork the meat; fill mushrooms with sausage mix and place in glass oven-proof casserole dish; bake for 45 minutes; remove from oven; serve immediately.

Smoked Salmon Crêpe Cake
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lg. vine-ripened tomato, chopped
1 8-oz. container mascarpone cheese, at room temp.
1 med. shallot, minced
⅓ cup capers
salt
black pepper, freshly ground
4 6-” buckwheat crêpes
8 oz. smoked salmon

Procedure:
1. Combine tomato, mascarpone, shallot, and capers to large bowl; season with salt and pepper; using a spatula, mix until well-incorporated; reserve.
2. Lay out crêpe on work surface or large plate; spread 2 large Tbsps. mascarpone mix to edge of crêpe; top with smoked salmon and another crêpe; repeat two more times, ending with crêpe; cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until mascarpone is firm, about 25 minutes; remove from fridge; slice into wedges; serve immediately.

Garlic/Rosemary Pizza
Makes 1 Pizza

Ingredients:
2 Tbsps. cornstarch
1 ball of pizza dough
2 cups mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
3 lg. cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsps. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2. Spread cornstarch onto pizza stone; roll out pizza dough to large circle, leaving crust to be 1/2-” thick; place on pizza stone; cover evenly with cheeses, garlic and rosemary; drizzle 1 to 2 Tbsps. olive oil over; season with salt and pepper; bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly; remove from oven; let rest 2 to 3 minutes; cut into wedges (or don’t if you’re into eating whole pies at once); serve immediately.

Pimento Cheese & Bacon Jam Sliders
Makes 24 sandwiches

Bacon Jam:
1/2 lb. good quality bacon, cut into lardons
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Procedure:
Heat small saucepot over medium heat; add bacon; cook until crispy; remove with slotted spoon; drain all but 1 Tbsp. bacon drippings; reduce heat to low; add onion and garlic; sweat 6-7 minutes, until translucent; add remaining ingredients and bacon; bring to boil; reduce to simmer for 15 minutes or until thick (a jam-like consistency); season to taste; reserve.

Pimento Cheese & Assembly:
10 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup mayonnaise
2 oz. diced pimentos
1 Tbsp. (or as much as you like) hot sauce
salt & pepper
24 mini brioche rolls, sliced in half
extra-virgin olive oil

Procedure:
1. Place cheese, mayo, pimentos, and hot sauce in large bowl; mix together; season with salt and pepper.
2. Spread reserved bacon jam on bottom of brioche bun; top with pimento cheese; close sandwich.
3. Bring 2-3 Tbsps. olive oil to low heat in large sauté pan; working in batches, heat sandwiches in pan until bottom is crisp and cheese melts; serve immediately.

Cannellini Bean Dip

Ingredients:
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 handful of fresh herbs, such as sage, rosemary, thyme, or tarragon
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
flaked sea salt, for finishing
crackers or pita bread, for serving

Procedure:
Combine beans, garlic, and herbs in food processor; begin to pulse; with motor running, stream in olive oil to blended, creamy consistency; season with salt and pepper; top with drizzle of olive oil and sea salt; serve with crackers or pita bread.