Paint “Brushes” with Paint Pot Dipping Sauces
SERVES 6
INGREDIENTS:
18 hard breadsticks
18 slices bacon
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup honey
½ cup ranch dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce
½ cup marinara sauce
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
½ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sliced green onions
METHOD:
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
2 Wrap each breadstick with a slice of bacon in a spiral so the bacon is wound around the breadstick from end to end.
3 Spread the brown sugar out on a piece of foil and sprinkle the cumin over it. Mix to combine with your fingers and gently squeeze out any lumps in the brown sugar.
4 Roll the bacon-wrapped breadsticks in the brown sugar mixture to lightly coat them and place them on the foil-lined baking sheet.
5 Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on lettuce leaves (the grease can drain and they won't stick to lettuce like they would to paper towels.)
6 Combine the Dijon mustard and the honey for one dipping sauce.
7 Combine the ranch dressing and lemon juice for the second dipping sauce.
8 Combine the barbecue sauce with the Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper sauce for the third dipping sauce.
9 Combine the marinara sauce with the chopped black olives for the fourth dipping sauce.
10 Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and sliced green onions for the fifth dipping sauce.
11 Put the “brushes” in a cylindrical vessel, such as a vase or a clean paint bucket, and arrange the five dipping sauces in small bowls or ramekins around the brushes.
Modern Art Tart
SERVES 6
INGREDIENTS:
1 prebaked pizza shell
2 Japanese eggplants
¼ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup roasted red bell pepper strips
½ cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup sliced green onions
¼ cup smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
fresh cilantro leaves
METHOD:
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2 Slice eggplants into ¼-inch rounds and brush them with oil. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and grill them on a grill pan or an outdoor grill. Be sure to cook them until they are tender enough to eat and try to get striped grill marks on them for flavor and presentation.
3 Put the pizza shell on a pizza pan and spread the hoisin sauce over it.
4 Arrange the grilled eggplant slices over the sauce, then scatter the roasted red bell pepper strips and sliced green onions over the eggplant. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the tart.
5 Bake the tart for 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and everything is heated through. Remove the tart from oven.
6 Garnish the tart with the chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro leaves and cut it into 6 wedges.
Jackson Pollock Ice Cream Canvases
SERVES 6
INGREDIENTS:
6 ounces cream
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup frozen, sweetened strawberries, thawed
½ cup caramel sauce
½ cup butterscotch sauce
1 rectangular block of vanilla ice cream (half-gallon)
4 plastic squeeze bottles
METHOD:
1 In a saucepan, heat the cream to a simmer. Add the chocolate chips and remove the pan from the heat. Let sit for 10 minutes, and then stir the melted chocolate into the cream to combine. Pour this chocolate sauce into a plastic squeeze bottle and keep in a warm place.
2 Purée the strawberries with their liquid in a blender and then strain it. Pour this strawberry sauce into a plastic squeeze bottle and set aside.
3 Heat the jars of caramel and butterscotch in a saucepan of warm water. Pour the sauces into two separate plastic squeeze bottles and keep in a warm place.
4 Peel the sides of the ice cream container down to expose the sides of the rectangular block of ice cream.
5 Cut the ice cream block, with a knife warmed in hot water, into 1- to 2-inch slices and place them on each guest's plate.
6 Set the squeeze bottles of sauces out for your guests to paint their own ice cream canvases à la Jackson Pollock.
Painter's Palette Cookies
SERVES 12
INGREDIENTS:
4 ounces soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¾ cups flour
1 egg yolk
food coloring (red, blue, yellow)
METHOD:
1 Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2 In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg, cream, and vanilla and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3 In a separate bowl mix together the salt, baking powder, and flour and then add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix to form a smooth dough.
4 Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking. With a 3-inch x 4-inch oval or egg-shaped cookie cutter, cut cookies out of the dough. Brush excess flour off the cookies and place them on cookie sheets.
5 Cut a small off-center circle out of the cookie with a canapé cutter or the large end of a pastry piping tip to resemble the part of the palette that the thumb and brushes go through.
6 Divide the egg yolk, mix it with different colors of food coloring, and paint it on the cookies in circles around the edge to resemble the paint on a