​I am always looking for new appetizers for Sunday family day so while walking through Wegman's doing our Saturday shopping, I saw egg roll wrappers.  did not want to go Asian, although I like Asian food, I wanted something more Buffalo.  So what is Buffalo known for, chicken wings and beef on weck.  I am more of a chicken than beef person so I went with the Buffalo chicken.  What is a Buffalo wing, well, chicken wings, hot sauce, butter, celery, carrots and blue cheese.  These egg rolls are that simple, I took the staple ingredients in buffalo wings and wrap them into an egg roll.

The simplicity is what makes them so delicious, you can taste every ingredient in them.  I made 15 of them and we ate them all!!!  ​

I love Blue Cheese.  This was a very high quality cheese so just a little gave it that delicious, unmistakable blue cheese taste.  Not everyone likes the blue cheese which is why I put it optional, you could serve with a ranch dip also.

 Ingredients:
2 packets (approximately 3lbs) of thin cut chicken breast cutlets
3 whole carrots
2 scallions thinly sliced
1 egg
1 celery heart with the leaves
3/4 cup Franks Hot Sauce
3/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles (optional)
1 package Egg Roll Wrappers, 15 count
Canola Oil
 
Preheat over to 375°
Put the chicken cutlets on a parchment paper covered baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.  Bake for 20 minutes in 350° oven.  Remove from oven and let cool.
 
Peel the carrots and grate on the big side of the grater.  I cut mine in half and did them on the long side to get strips.  When it gets too small, slice the remaining carrot very finely with a sharp knife.  These bigger pieces add texture to the egg roll.  Put in large bowl.
 
Finely slice the scallion and add to bowl.  Take the cooled chicken and cut into thin strips.  Add chicken to the bowl and combine the ingredients.
 
Take all the leaves from the celery heart and rough chop them, place them in a bowl and set aside. Then cut the celery stalks into sticks to be served with the egg rolls. 
 
In a small bowl beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water to use as an egg wash to seal the egg rolls.
Lay an egg roll wrapper flat on your working surface.  Place about 2 tablespoons on the mixture on the wrapper.  Following the directions on the egg roll wrapper packaging, fold up the bottom corner, then fold in both sides, and roll up the egg roll.  Brush the egg wash onto the top corner and complete the roll to seal.  Repeat until the chicken filling is all gone.
 
In a small casserole dish or oblong deep bowl add the melted butter and Frank’s Hot Sauce,  I highly recommend Frank's but if it is not available in your area use whatever is your favorite, and mix well. Set aside.

Using a large skillet, put in enough canola oil to 1/4" deep.  When the oil is hot (I put the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and if it bubbles around the handle it is hot), place the egg rolls in the pan.  Rotate them around until all sides are golden brown, usually about 1 - 2 minutes per side.  Place on a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess grease and put the next batch in.  While the next batch is cooking, roll the already cooked egg rolls in the hot sauce mixture, be sure to coat all sides well.  Set on serving plate.  Continue until all the rolls are cooked and coated.  Top the rolls with the chopped celery leaves and crumbled blue cheese (optional).  Serve  with celery sticks on the side.

​These are crispy and full of flavor, I promise they will not disappoint! They're easy to make and serve as the perfect appetizer.  Your whole family will think they are Mangialicious.

​When you mention beets to most people you get that face of YUCK!  That is what happened when I was trying to get my family to taste this sandwich and give me their opinion.   No one wanted to help out and critique my sandwich.   I fell in love with it at first bite.  I made three of them and brought them to my niece Nicole's  house for her birthday.  The family was there and this was going to be my chance!  Nicole was the first one to try it and that was all it took.  She could not get over how delicious it was.  Then everyone was taking pieces of them.  It turns out, even people who said they hate beets suddenly liked beets.  I had Tonia take a sandwich to work for her co-workers and the same reaction, the girls who said they did not like beets asked for the recipe.  One girl even offered to buy one for lunch the next day!

​Ingredients
2 large beets
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Vidalia onions
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 wedge of Brie Cheese sliced into pieces
6 slices Italian Bread
3 tbsp butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
 
Preheat Oven to 400°
 
Wash the beets thoroughly and cut the ends off.  Place them in a large piece of tinfoil and rub them generously with olive oil.  Add the sprigs of thyme and salt and pepper to the tinfoil and seal it up tight.  Place it in the oven to roast until the beets are soft.  It should take about 45 - 50 minutes.  You can check them by opening the tinfoil slightly and sticking a knife into the beet.  If it goes in easy, they are done.   Remove them from the oven and let them sit until they are cool enough to touch.  When you can touch them, take a paper towel and wipe the skin off of them.  It will come right off.  Put them back in the tinfoil and roll them around in the thyme flavored oil.  Set aside.
 
Cut the onion in half (root on one end, stem on the other).  Peel off the first layer of skin.  Lay the flat side on the cutting board and slice both halves thinly.  Heat up enough olive oil in a pan to barely cover the bottom.  Add the onion to the pan and sauté over medium low heat  covered until the onions are translucent and start to caramelize.  It will take about 15 minutes or more.  When you see them slightly browning, add the mustard and continue cooking, uncovered until they are all almost brown and look yummy.
 
Take the cooled beets and slice them into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices. 
 
Using a griddle, a flat pan, or a large fry pan, melt 1 tbsp butter.  Then butter 3 slices of the bread and place them in the pan butter side down.  Top with slices of Brie, then the beets, then the caramelized onions and then the remaining Brie.  Butter the remaining 3 slices of bread and place on top of the sandwich butter side up.  Cook over medium heat covered lightly with a piece of tinfoil to keep the heat in.  When the bottom is golden brown carefully flip the sandwich, place the tinfoil over them again and cook the other side until golden brown.
 
Remove from pan, cut in half with a bread knife and serve the Mangialiciousness!

​This recipe turns your normal grilled cheese into a perfect lunch for entertaining or just when you want to treat yourself.  I hope you enjoy it.

​Cherry season is here! I couldn't resist buying the biggest bag I could find. I came home with my fresh little delights and after eating way too many of them I went to work on coming up with a recipe to try and enhance Mother Nature’s perfection. That is no easy task as cherries are perfect just as they are and I didn't want to overpower their flavor. This recipe combines the snap of biting into a fresh cherry with the syrupy goodness of cooked cherries. Also, putting any thing on ciabatta is never a bad idea :)

Ingredients:
For cherry topping
3 cups cherries separated into 2 cups and 1 cup
1/2 vanilla bean
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp Kirsch (cherry liqueur)

For spread
14 oz ricotta con latte
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp chopped tarragon
1 tbsp honey
dash of pepper

​1 loaf ciabatta bread
drizzle of olive oil
1 tsp tarragon chopped

Topping
Rinse the cherries then cut them in half and pit them. Cut the vanilla bean down the center and scrape the seeds out. In a sauce pan combine 2 cups of the cherries, the water, sugar, vanilla bean pod and seeds. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 8 minutes. Remove the cherries and the vanilla pod from the pan with a slotted spoon and set cherries aside. Simmer the liquid until it reduces to a syrupy goodness, about 10 minutes. Remove from the flame and add the Kirsch. Light the Kirsch on fire with a long match to burn off the alcohol or you can return it to the stove and boil 4 minutes to cook the alcohol out. Return the cherries to the pan, stir well and set aside.

Spread
In a bowl combine the ricotta, vanilla bean seeds, tarragon, honey and a dash of pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside.

​Take the remaining cup of cherries and quarter them. Set aside.

Cut the ciabatta into slices of your desired thickness. Drizzle olive oil on both sides. Place on cookie sheet and put under broiler until lightly golden, flip and toast other side. Remove from oven. Spread the ricotta mixture on to the slices of bread, add the cooked cherries and put back under the broiler for 3 - 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the fresh cherries and a sprinkle of fresh tarragon. Serve warm.

Optional
I melted some white chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzled the chocolate over half of them. I couldn't decide which way I liked them better. Without the chocolate they are quite elegant, with the chocolate they are sweet and desserty! You might need to try them both ways but either way you will hopefully agree they are Mangialicious.