Tag Archives: party food

Little Rollies

I saw this recipe on Amy’s site and thought that it would be the perfect appetizer to make for our Thusrday night Bible study. Amy calls them ‘Baked Salami Mozzarella Bites,’ and that’s a great name for them. However, when explaining what I was going to make to my husband, the name ‘Little Rollies’ popped out. And stuck.

They’re small enough that nobody will hesitate to try them (one bite is not a huge commitment), and so delicious that they disappeared by the end of the study. This is the first treat I’ve made that has been fully consumed by the group, which makes it the most popular Bible study food I’ve made to date. It beat out the apple tart. It beat out the queso. It beat out the pumpkin cranberry bread. It beat out the beer bread. Its trail to victory has left everthing else in the dust.

Let the Little Rollies sweep across the Bible studies of this nation.

These crunchy little pizza-flavored rolls with the salami and melted cheese, dipped in a little marinara, are so crazy good. And so crazy easy to make. Don’t be doubting–I’ll show you!

Ingredients

(Serves 10-12)

32 wonton wrappers
4 pieces string cheese
32 salami rounds
Cooking spray/olive oil
Marinara sauce, to serve

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Quarter the pieces of string cheese lengthwise . . .

. . . then cut all the strips in half crosswise.

Spread out the first 8 wonton wrappers, with a corner facing you. Place a salami round in the lower section of each diamond shape, as close to the edge as possible.

Place one piece of string cheese (crosswise) across the bottom of the salami round.

Folding up the bottom corner, roll the wonton wrapper once so that it partially covers the piece of string cheese.

Fold in the sides like so . . .

[Sorry, that was possibly the worst photo ever posted on my blog. It’s a crime, that’s what. In my defense, I was really struggling to roll and photograph at the same time, and wasn’t even paying attention to my overly-bright flash settings. Yikes.]

. . . and continue to roll (like a burrito).

Seal the edges with a dab of water.

Repeat with all the wonton wrappers until they’re gone! Do this assembly-fashion and it won’t take long. Especially if you have a friend or little helper by your side (thanks Carrie, my dear “little helper”!).

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spritz it with olive oil or cooking spray. Place the little rollies on the baking tray, and lightly spritz the top with olive oil or cooking spray as well.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until they’re starting to look golden and toasted. Turn them over with tongs, crank up the heat to 500 F, and continue to bake for 5-10 minutes, until they’re crispy and brown.

You may have noticed there are not 32 little rollies here. That’s because I didn’t photograph them the night I made them for small group, but instead made a few more the following night for our personal consumption. They’re just that good.

Pad off the excess grease with a paper towel . . .

. . . and serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

Wanna see inside these addictive little bites? The rolled salami encasing the melty cheese . . .

It may be better to make a small batch, because I’d hate to think what would happen if it was just you alone, faced with 32 of these temptations.

Moderation . . . moderation . . . moderation . . .

(I’m hypnotizing myself into self-control)

Click here for printer-friendly version: Little Rollies

Puff Pastry Apple Tart

Looking for a quick dessert that looks elegant but takes very little effort? Look no further. This apple tart (thanks, P-Dub) is a winner! It’s another treat I made for our Community Group, and slightly healthier than the Chile con Queso. I mean, it has to be . . . right?

Anyway! Slice up some apples, mix ’em with a little sugar and stuff, slap ’em on some puff pastry and voilà, ma chérie!

If you’re unconcerned about the health factor, slather on some caramel sauce or whipped cream. Even spiked whipped cream, with a little Amarula and a sprinkle of cinnamon! Now that would be heavenly.

Ingredients

(Serves 6-8)

2 sheets puff pastry (1 package)
3-4 apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: powdered sugar, ice cream, whipped cream, or caramel sauce

Thaw the sheets of puff pastry for the amount of time specified on the package (usually 15-20 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 415 F. Halve and core the apples, and slice them as thinly as possible into half-moons . . .

. . . and try not to break your melon baller while you’re at it.

Hunh.

You can peel the apples if you want beforehand, but I like them with the peel on. Plus, less work for me.

And please try to get them just a little thinner than I did–though they’ll taste great either way.

Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice, sugar, and salt.

Let them sit for a few minutes, stirring the juicy sugar around a few times so that the apples are evenly coated.

Spray a large baking sheet with baking or cooking spray . . .

. . . cut the sheets of puff pastry in half, and place the 4 rectangles on the baking sheet. Leaving about an inch margin on all sides, arrange the apple slices in an overlapping row down the middle of each puff pastry rectangle.

I also experimented with cutting the sheet of puff pastry into thirds, like so:

However, I prefer a lot of puff in my puff pastry. I mean, what’s the point of puff pastry without the puff? Right? So the halved sheets were the clear winners.

Bake the tarts for 18-20 minutes, until the puff pastry is puffed and golden brown. Here’s the not-so-puffy version (still great, mind you):

And here’s the puffity-puff-puff-puffatron!

Can you tell that I love the word “puff”? I think I just used it a record amount of times. Call up Mr. Guinness!

Remove the tarts from the baking sheet and place on a serving dish (I like to use my cutting board). Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar, with ice cream, whipped cream, or caramel sauce. Mmmm.

 If you have leftover apple slices that didn’t fit on the puff pastry, dice them, store them in a little baggy in the fridge, and use them for a delicious oatmeal topping the next morning. Or force your husband to use them as a delicious oatmeal topping the next morning! Or stir them into your yoghurt, along with some wheat germ! The possibilities are countless.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Puff Pastry Apple Tart