Recipes: Pineapple Nut Cheese Spread - Shrimp with Sriracha Aioli - Wild Hibiscus Flowers with Mascarpone - Dilla-licious Ham Pinwheels - Red Bell Pepper Ancho Chili Jam over Cream Cheese - Wild Hibiscus Santa Hats

It felt like old times this weekend with my wine and food sampling. Customers getting ideas for quick tasty party foods.  Enjoying the wines.  Talking.  I was amazed how many of you were coming in to purchase ingredients for other recipes you sampled from me.  Others lost recipes and needed to know if I had copies to give them.  So much fun.

 I'm going to begin with the FAVORITE recipe of the weekend, and the one I ran out of recipes for - Pineapple Nut Cheese Spread. 
Stonewall Kitchen recipes NEVER fail.  Easy to prepare and delicious.

Pineapple Nut Cheese Spread

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 (8.5 oz.) can crushed pineapple, 
     drained
¾ c. cooked, crumbled bacon  

1 tsp. salt

¼ c. finely chopped bell pepper

2 Tbl. finely chopped shallot

1 c. chopped pecans, toasted

1 jar Stonewall Kitchen 
     Apple Cranberry Chutney or

     Apple Jalapeno Jelly

Stonewall Kitchen Down East 
     Sea Salt Crackers

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese.  Add pineapple, bacon, bell pepper, shallot, salt and 1 cup pecans. Mix until well blended.  Transfer to a serving dish, cover and chill one hour until firm.  When ready to serve, top with Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cranberry Chutney or Apple Jalapeno Jelly.  Serve with Down East Sea Salt crackers.

Friday I prepared this using Apple Jalapeno Jelly.  Saturday I used Apple Cranberry Chutney.  Customers enjoyed both versions.  I heard many comments of, "amazing", "awesome" and "delicious".  A definite crowd pleaser.

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I have been wanting to share Stonewall Kitchen's Sriracha Aioli with customers for a long time.  This weekend I finally had the opportunity.  I only prepared the dipping sauce and sampled it with cocktail shrimp.  

Another customer favorite.  Just purchase cocktail shrimp and mix up a little Sriracha and Tamari.  Place the shrimp on a serving dish and the Aioli dip in a bowl and you're good to go.  

Here are two delicious recipes using Sriracha Aioli.  Crispy Srirach Shrimp is Stonewall Kitchen's recipe.  Crispy Sriracha Chicken is my adaptation of their recipe for my fussy family.  

Crispy Sriracha Shrimp

½ c. cornstarch

½ lb. large raw shrimp, 
     peeled and deveined

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli 

¾ c. panko breadcrumbs

2 Tbl. sesame seeds

2-3 Tbl. shredded coconut

¼ tsp. salt

Canola or peanut oil

For the dipping sauce:

1/3 c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli

2 teaspoons Tamari

Green onion or bell pepper, finely chopped for garnish

Pat shrimp dry with paper towel.

Whisk together egg and ¼ cup aioli.

Combine bread crumbs, sesame seeds, coconut and salt in separate bowl and mix.

Place corn starch in separate bowl.

Dip shrimp in cornstarch. Shake off excess. Dip shrimp in egg wash and then in bread crumb mixture. Place breaded shrimp on a baking sheet or plate. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes.

Combine dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with green onion and red bell.

Fill a straight sided sauté pan ½-inch deep with oil. Heat to 350^o-360^o. Fry shrimp a few at a time until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Serve immediately.

Crispy Sriracha Chicken

1 lb. chicken tenders

¾ c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli

¾ c. panko breadcrumbs

2 Tbl. sesame seeds

¼ tsp. salt

Canola or peanut oil

For the dipping sauce:

1/3 c. Stonewall Kitchen Sriracha Aioli

2 teaspoons Tamari

Green onion or bell pepper, finely 
     chopped for garnish

Combine bread crumbs, sesame seeds, and salt in separate bowl and mix.

Brush chicken tenders with aioli.

Dip in bread crumb mixture. Place breaded chicken on a baking sheet or plate. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes.

Combine dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with green onion and red bell.

Fill a straight sided sauté pan ½-inch deep with oil. Heat to 350^o-360^o. Fry chicken a few at a time until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Serve immediately.

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Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup.  Fun. Unique.  It makes a lovely presentation and is the perfect party food bite.  Hibiscus Flowers with Mascarpone  is simple and easy to prepare.  Other Hibiscus recipes can be found in my RECIPE INDEX.  Also, I did not have recipe brochures available, but did post it - Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup - Recipe Brochure.

I want to share one additional recipe for Wild Hibiscus Flowers that's perfect for this time of year.

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Dillapeno.  Always a hit with customers.   I often sample it over cream cheese.  However, with the holiday football games I decided Dilla-licious Ham Pinwheels would be an enjoyable party bite.  If you like spicy, you'll love these.  When I'm preparing these at the store, I trim the ends off the ham rolls and place them in a dish for my taste testers to nibble on.  The scraps disappear in a flash.

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Last, but not least, a deliciously easy customer favorite - Earth & Vine Red Bell Pepper Ancho Chili Jam.

A favorite again and again and again.