HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Although we didn't plan anything till last minute and my food was a bit disjointed my real goal was to try some new recipes and I found all winners, no losers this time.  I haven't been able to cook because I fractured my wrist and not cooking is killing me.

I made the following:

• Blue Berry Vodka Jello shots
• Coconut Banana Cream Pudding Shots with Malibu Rum & Banana Rum
• Cherry Lime Simple Syrup for vodka spritzers, winner
• Rice Ball Cake
• Cheeseburger Tots 
• Sliced peppercorn marinated pork tenderloin

The rice ball cake was not holiday food but it was tasty and would be a great use of leftover rice and better with a marinara sauce.  Using a thermometer on the tenderloin allowed me to pay attention to friends and not the oven and the Cheeseburger Tots, which were 3 tots pressed into a mini muffin cup and filled with hamburger salad were the perfect bite size party food.

JELLO SHOTS
Chill:
½ C. cold water
½ C. vodka
Mix:
1 C. boiling water
3 oz. pkg. Jello
Serve:  20 (2 oz.) cups with lids

Mix cold water and vodka, refrigerate.  Bring 1 C. water to a boil  Add water to a 4 cup measure.  Add jello, stir to dissolve.  Add water vodka mix.  Stir.  Pour into 20 (2 oz.) cups with lids, lemon halves or molds.

Notes:  Use 2 C liquid with 3 oz jello.  No need to use an expensive vodka.   I use Kirkland brand from Costco when I have it.  Color them based on your party theme, should have made a red jello one for the red white and blue effect.  Pack in a small ice chest for travel and to keep from melting.

CHEESEBURGER TOT CUPS
1 bag (48)  tater tots
Cheeseburger:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 T. mayonnaise
2 T. mustard
2 T. ketchup
1 T. dill pickle, chopped
1 T. sweet pickle, chopped
Special Sauce:
1/2 C. mayonnaise
2 T. sweet pickles
2 T. dill pickles, chopped
1 t. white wine vinegar
1 t. paprika
1 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425F. Fill each mini muffin cup with 3 frozen tots.  Bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and press into the cup to form a cup for the cheeseburger mixture.  Set aside until ready to bake.  Add ground beef and chopped onion.  Cook until beef it browned and onions are soft.  Drain grease if necessary.  Add remaining ingredients.  Stir.  Using a small ice cream scoop, fill tot cups.  Sprinkle with cheddar and bake for 10-15 minutes  Serve with a drizzle of special sauce and a pickle slice.

These were a great party appetizer and I always like a dish I can do most of it ahead of time.  The filling was like my Hamburger Salad recipe.  The tots were crispy and held together.  The burger blackened so I’ll take a look after 10 minutes next time.  Original recipe came from the web, unknown source.

Variation:  Fill with taco meat or your favorite filling instead.

RICE BALL CAKE
4 C. cooked brown rice
2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten
8 oz. ball mozzarella, cubed
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
6 slices thick bacon
1 T. bacon greese

Preheat oven 350F.  Fry bacon in a 12” nonstick skillet, cool and chop.  Drain grease, saving 1 T for cake.  In a large bowl add rice, Parmesan and beaten eggs.  Fold in remaining ingredients.  Reheat bacon skillet, adding a drizzle of EVOO and heat till pan just begins to smoke.  Remove from heat.  Add rice mixture, pressing into pan.  Return pan to medium low heat for 12 minutes, the edge of the cake will bubble slightly.  Add to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes, loosen sides with a spatula and unmold onto a cutting board.  Slice like a pizza.

Although I forgot the peas and didn’t do the red sauce I still loved this cake even though it was a bit of an odd dish for this day, at least so I thought at first.  It was perfectly browned and inverted easily onto the cutting board, cheesy and tasty.  Original recipe was from the Dr. Oz show from Alex Guarnaschelli.

Variations:

• Add 1 1/2 C. peas
• Use 3/4 C. small cubes pancetta or ricotta.
• Serve with a hot tomato sauce
• Bake in a muffin tin