Okay ... I had a unique food experience this Christmas. I was at a holiday function & was presented with an "appetizer" that consisted of a slice of deli ham covered with cream cheese & rolled around a baby dill pickle. then the wrapped pickle was sliced into chunks & skewered on a toothpick.



I was laughing so uncontrollably, I felt so bad, but seriously! Pickle in a blanket? LOL (I did not laugh in front of her mind you, I'm not that mean!) (she's my cousin)

In her defense though, she is very young & is not very experienced in the kitchen. She did try & she did bring something to contribute to the buffet, but I really just felt so bad!

So here is my ISO request. Can anyone &/or everyone help me compile a list of easy recipes to help ease her into the kitchen & expand her food horizions? I've seen a lot of books called "4 ingredient recipes" & such, but I wanted to get some tried & true recipes from ppl I know & trust.

TIA

Must be a variation of the bologna and cream cheese wrapped pretzel rod....

So your niece is a fledgling cook, then.

There's an interesting disussion of cookbooks in this thread:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-663378-.html

There are so many great recipe sites with narrative reviews, I'd send your niece to either www.recipezaar.com or www.allrecipes.com

Either of those sites has tons of recipes in all categories, but only your niece knows which ones will appeal to her. (She did afterall, serve you fancy pickles!)

But to honor your request for tried and true (at least in our area) recipes...

One of our favorite Christmas appetizers was the crockpot meatballs:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Appetizer-Grape-Jelly-and-Chili-Sauce-Meatballs-or-Lil-Smokies-73362

HTH

You were speaking of all recipes I think, but here is the appetizer thread - http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-604668-0.html
The recipe document - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddmmx5vd_16gmqtmrg8

One of my favorite appetizers is ham and cream cheese wrapped around a green onion. I couldn't believe it when I first saw my mom making these, but after trying them, I loved them. I make them when I need to make something quick.

Anyhow... on to more real recipes... here's a link to some of my favorites... the ones I go back to over and over again. I posted them so that I could access them when I was visiting family, but you're welcome to enjoy them, too:

http://sagebrush.typepad.com/get_in_my_belly/

- Leisel

Oh that recipe goes way way back! Dill pickle & ham pinwheels or roll ups, asparagus & ham roll ups, etc etc. They both were just the 3 items, dill pickle or blanched asparagus spear wrapped in a ham slice that was spread with cream cheese. Even nowadays its still popular but lots of folks have moderned it up with gourmet pickles, & imported hams and cheeses.

The Ham and Pickle pin wheel your cousin made for your holiday do was recently featured on one of Paula Deens shows, and, got good ratings too so I suspect thats where your cousin might have gotten the idea from.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/ham-and-pickle-pinwheel-appetizers-recipe/index.html

I'd say your cousin is doing just fine with her how to make things reseach.

I would have eaten one of her appys with great glee, I love those things!

The recipe is from the 1950s, I think. I remember them from way back, anyway. There is one with cream cheese and dried beef, too.

Thank you everyone for the links. I think I am going to do a bit of kitchen leg work for her & compile a "cookbook" of my favs that I know she will be able to conquer easily.

I did eat some ... tasted like a pickle! LOL She's such a sweetie, I really do luv her. I know she wants to expand her kitchen abilities, she just wasn't raised in a cooking/baking household like I was. If it didn't come out of a box her mom doesn't make it ... kinda sad huh?! (lots of drive thrus!) LOL