Tag: appetizer
Cranberry Wild Rice Venison Meatballs with Wojapi Sauce
Cranberry Wild Rice Venison Meatballs with Wojapi Sauce
Wild game is a staple of native indigenous tribes. These meatballs can be made with either ground venison, bison, or elk; wild rice, and any type of berry of your choosing. I chose to use venison and cranberries. The meatballs get baked in the oven, then tossed in Wojapi sauce, which is made out of berries and honey.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground venison, bison, or elk
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tbsp rosemary chopped
- 3 green onions finely chopped
Wojapi Sauce
- 1/3 cup blueberries
- 1/3 cup cherries pitted
- 1/3 cup cranberries
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Mix all of the meatball ingredients together.
- Form into 1 1/2” meatballs.
- Place in a 400° preheated oven on a baking sheet lined in parchment paper for 20 minutes.
- While the meatballs are baking, cook the berries, honey, and water in a small pot over medium low heat for 10 minute’s; occasionally stirring.
- Make a slurry with the cold water and cornstarch. Pour into the berry mixture and stir. Cook for 2 more minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Drizzle the sauce over the meatballs and serve.
Blackened Grilled Shrimp
Blackened Grilled Shrimp
Blackened seasoning was made popular in the 1980’s by the godfather of Cajun and Creole cooking, Paul Prudhomme. The seasoning was used to mimic open-fire grilling, but on cast iron in a commercial restaurant kitchen; creating a blackened crust. Blackened seasoning is great on chicken, fish, seafood, and vegetables; giving a nice smokey flavor.
Equipment
- metal skewers
- chimney starter
- charcoal
- charcoal grill
Ingredients
- 1 lb 16-20 ct. shrimp peeled and deveined
Blackened Seasoning
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix together the blackened seasoning.
- Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Toss the shrimp with the blackened seasoning.
- Add 5-6 shrimp on each skewer.
- Let the charcoal turn gray in a chimney starter. Pour the charcoal into the grill in a single layer and place on the grill grate. Place the skewers directly over the charcoal.
- Grill for 3-4 minutes a side until the shrimp are cooked through.
Crab Rangoon Cheese Ball
Crab Rangoon Cheese Ball
I came up with this recipe with my new found love of Tillamook cream cheese. It’s much creamier and richer than your normal cream cheese. It’s so good you could shamelessly eat a brick of it in one sitting. Shamelessly. I took the ingredients that would go into a crab rangoon and turned it into the most decadent cheese ball known to mankind. The cheese ball contains jumbo lump crabmeat(substitute artificial crab if on a budget), shallots, chives, green onion, a few seasonings, and of course, Tillamook cream cheese. I rolled the mix into 2 balls, then rolled them in sesame seeds. They should chill in your refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese preferably Tillamook
- 8 oz jumbo lump crab meat
- 3 green onions finely chopped
- 1/4 cup shallots finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chives finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
- fried wonton wrappers for serving
Instructions
- Mix together the crab meat, shallots, green onion, chives, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and salt.
- Using your hands, mix in the cream cheese.
- Form the mix into 2 balls.
- Mix together the sesame seeds.
- In a bowl, roll the cheese ball in the sesame seeds until it is entirely coated. Let chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.
- Serve the cheese ball with fried wonton chips.
