Kathy Casey has been dishing about all things foodie since before the
term foodie was a household word. Always up on the latest trends she’s
moved her writing online to her blog, Dishing with Kathy Casey, and takes some time out to Yelp!
Click out The Weekly Yelp for the full interview.
The lucky Seattle Yelp Elite Squad attended a party where Kathy and the Dish D’lish crew served up a variety of appetizers and custom cocktails. All were yummy but a few standouts had people writing in and asking "How do I make a Douglas Fir Sparkle’tini?" and stating that they would "Kill for some more of those Parmesan Poppy Seed Cheese Puffs" and requesting we "Send the recipe for the Chipotle Deviled Eggs so no one gets hurt!" Lucky for us Kathy has shared the following recipes with Yelp!
Douglas Fir Sparkle’tini
Makes 1 cocktail
1 1/2 oz Douglas Fir Infused Gin (recipe follows)
1 1/2 oz Dish D’Lish® Lemon & Lime Sour Cocktailor™
3/4 oz white cranberry juice
1 oz brut champagne or dry sparkling wine
Garnish: tiny Douglas fir sprig and a fresh or frozen cranberry
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Measure the infused gin, Cocktailor mix and cranberry juice. Cap and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass. Top with champagne. Garnish with Douglas fir sprig and cranberry
Douglas Fir Infused Gin
1 bottle high quality gin
1 5-6" sprig rinsed Douglas fir branch
Place Douglas fir branch into gin and let sit 24 hours. Then remove branch and discard.
Chipotle Deviled Eggs
Makes 24 stuffed eggs
1 dozen large eggs
3 tablespoons regular or low-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, optional
1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle chile purée*
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced green onion
Topping
1/2 cup diced (1/4-inch) tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced white onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 to 2 teaspoons chipotle chile purée*
Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cool water to 1 inch above eggs. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then 10 minutes. After eggs have cooked for 10 minutes, remove from the heat and run cool water over them. When eggs are cool, carefully peel under running water.
Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks to a mixing bowl. Set the egg white halves on a platter, cover, and refrigerate.
Mash the yolks to a smooth consistency with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, mustard, 1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle purée, and garlic until smooth. Stir in the green onions. Spoon the yolk mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain or large star tip and then squeeze (pipe) the mixture evenly into the egg white halves.
To make the topping: In a small bowl, mix together tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and chipotle purée. Top each egg half with 1 teaspoon of the tomato mixture.
*To make chipotle purée: Place 1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in blender and purée until smooth. Freeze any remaining purée for another use.
Parmesan Poppy Seed Cheese Puffs
Makes about 50 puffs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup flour
4 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon grated high-quality Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Place the water, milk, butter, salt, and garlic in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
All at once, add the flour, stirring it in quickly with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring—the mixture will come away from the sides of the pan and become thick and stiff. Continue stirring and turning over for about 1 minute. (You want to dry the mixture out a bit.)
Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and, with a hand-held or standing mixer, beat on medium-high speed. Add 1 of the eggs.
As soon as the egg is partially incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high. Add the remaining eggs, ONE AT A TIME, when each previous egg is well incorporated. The mixture should be smooth.
Set the dough aside for 5 minutes, then stir in 3/4 cup of the Parmesan.
Let the dough cool completely, then cover and refrigerate it for 1 hour or up to 2 days before using.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. You will need 2 or 3 baking sheets, or work in batches. (If you don’t have parchment, lightly spray baking sheets with nonstick vegetable spray and watch the bottoms of the cheese puffs closely to prevent overbrowning.) Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonsful—they should be the size of large marbles—onto the parchment.
Mix together the poppy seeds and remaining 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan. Sprinkle the top of each dough ball with a little of the mixture.
Bake on the upper rack of the oven for 22 to 25 minutes, or until puffs are golden. Serve warm.
You can make these a few hours in advance, keep at room temperature, then reheat in a hot oven for a few minutes.
Chef’s Tips:
- If you’re making lots of these puffs, you’ll want to invest in a tiny commercial #70 scoop, available at restaurant supply stores. When using it, dip the scoop in cool water each time so dough balls release easily.
- If you’re short of baking sheets, have more dough balls ready on sheets of parchment. When a batch of puffs is done, remove the baking sheet from the oven, pull off the parchment filled with cooked puffs, and quickly place a waiting parchment sheet of dough balls onto the baking sheet.
Now you have everything you need to throw a cocktail party!
Cheers! Michelle B
