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Want to see what other Special Occasion recipes were made during the swap? Here is the link to the Special Occasion Recipe Swap Roundup

The holiday season means parties and special dinners for many people. We always have a special meal for dinner Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, so I thought a special occasion recipe swap would be perfect. The guidelines were for an appetizer, entree or side dish since we just did two dessert swaps in a row. I received a recipe for Endive Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Walnuts. My step-aunt always brings an antipasto platter to Christmas dinner and I thought these would be the perfect accompaniment.


I assembled these in the morning and kept them refrigerated until our guests arrived. They were incredibly easy to make since the only real cooking is making the sauce and that takes care of itself. My walnuts took 10 minutes in the toaster oven to get golden brown but definitely keep an eye on them.


I loved the presentation of the endive stuffed with all the delicious bits drizzled with the balsamic syrup. I've always been a fan of savory and sweet flavors together and these were the perfect blend of both. Everyone loved them. We only had three left and that was with them competing with the gorgeous antipasto platter. I will definitely make these again. Thanks for a delicious, easy recipe Leanne!

Endive Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
Slightly Modified from Cooking Light, recommended by Around the Table

1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons honey, divided
Cooking spray
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons orange juice
16 Belgian endive leaves (about 2 heads)
2 ounces crumbled goat cheese
1 large can mandarin oranges in juice (about 16 slices)
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Combine walnuts and 1 tablespoon honey; spread on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.

Combine 1 tablespoon honey, vinegar, and orange juice in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, and cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons (about 5 minutes).

Separate and wash endive leaves. Lay each leaf, cup side up, on a platter. Top each section with about 1 teaspoon goat cheese, one orange slice and 1 teaspoon walnuts. Drizzle the vinegar mixture evenly over leaves, and sprinkle evenly with chives and pepper.

A few weekends ago I went to my friend Mary Ellen's house for a lunch play date. Our girls are 9 months apart in age and seeing them play together was a lot of fun. Baby Girl loves to take care of younger kids so she was bringing Mary Ellen's daughter toys, her sippy cup and helping her eat. Too cute.

One of the things Mary Ellen prepared for lunch was Chickpea Dip (Hummus). Hummus purists might balk at the lack of tahini in the recipe, which is why I renamed it Chickpea Dip, but it was still delicious. She served it with cucumber sticks and pita chips and I totally gorged myself. And Baby Girl kept asking for more hummus, which made me very happy.


I had a can of chickpeas in my pantry so I decided to whip up my own batch for snacking during the week. I love recipes that use ingredients I always keep on hand and involve dumping everything into a food processor and pulsing together. I had a nice little snack on a Sunday afternoon while I cooked dinner. Thanks for an awesome recipe, Mary Ellen!

Chickpea Dip (Hummus)
Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 clove garlic
Salt to taste
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and cut into sticks
Pita chips

Rinse the beans then put them in a bowl of cold water. After 10 minutes or so, run your hands through them to remove the clear-shells from the beans. This step isn't necessary but it helps with the creamy consistency. Drain.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor; blend until creamy
Chill before serving with cucumber and pita chips.

For many people this time of year means only one thing - football. Even if you aren't into the game itself, there's always delicious food to cook and eat. In honor of football season I thought tailgating/party appetizers would be a great theme for the recipe swap. I was pleasantly surprised by the popularity of this theme. I'm proud to say this was the swap with the highest number of participants at 28 people. Woohoo!

Whatever team you root for, whether you prefer college or NFL, I'm sure you'll enjoy the recipes below.

Nicole enjoyed her Italian Appetizer Bites during a recent football game:


Caitlin loves having an excuse to make football food and she loved this recipe for Crispy Baked Thai Chicken Wings:


Heather is a football fan and loved her recipe for Buffalo Chicken Tenders:


Katie and her toddler both enjoyed the Ham and Swiss Double Pinwheels:


The Cooking Nurse was a little wary of her recipe for Brat Bruschetta but ended up being pleasantly surprised by this fun twist:


Jaida loves dips and pizza so she thought her White Pizza Dip was a great football snack:


Ashley, a newcomer to the swaps, loved her recipe for Grilled Sriracha "Poppers" so much she's already got plans to make them again when she tailgates in a few weeks:


Brianna isn't a big football watcher (like me), but she enjoyed making and eating her recipe for Buffalo Chicken Rolls:


Coleen enjoyed her BBQ Chicken Dip:


Jessy had planned to take some of her Prosciutto and Fontina Pinwheels to a friend, but they were so delicious she and her husband couldn't part with a single one:


Lishie's husband is a wing fanatic so her recipe for Baked Buffalo Wings was a perfect addition to their game-day spread:


Melissa loved the idea of putting Hot Artichoke Dip in wonton cups:



The Cookaholic Wife just recently started experimenting with different burger toppings and found out she loved this recipe for Tailgate Sliders:


Jey's recipe for Oven Fried Pickles made the cut for game-day:


My recipe for Philly Cheesesteak Eggrolls with Spicy Ketchup was perfect for this Philly-area girl:


Krystal had my recipe for Potato Slabs:


Maryanna's recipe for Corn and Jalapeno Nachos is great because each chip is individually filled with all the yummy toppings:


Melissa put a buffalo chicken spin on her Cheesy Chili Chip Dip:


Ellie really enjoyed watching a game while eating her Chile-Lime Chicken Wings:


Jenna enjoyed her Chicken Cordon Bleu Rollups:


Peace, Love and French Fries loved her Soft Pretzel Bites and Beer Cheese Dip:


Melissa brought her Spinach Artichoke Dip to a recent family gathering, where it was a huge hit:


Jill took inspiration from her recipe to create Mediterranean Chicken Calzones:


Lindsay took a trip back to where she used to live with Hot Crab Dip:


Mary Ellen simplified her recipe for Creamy Sundried Tomato Pesto Dip:


Vicki, a swap newcomer, made Thai Shrimp and Scallion Dumplings (no photo).

Want to see what other Tailgating/Appetizer recipes were made during the swap? Here is the link to the Tailgating/Appetizer Recipe Swap Roundup

Fall is in the air and that means only one thing for many people - the start of football season. I decided to make tailgating/appetizers the theme for the recipe swap to give people some new ideas for fun snacks to make during the games.

My recipe for Philly Cheesesteak Spring Rolls with Spicy Ketchup was perfect, seeing as I live outside of Philly and love a good cheesesteak.


These were rich and delicious, although it made WAY more than the 4 rolls the original recipe called for. I overfilled the rolls and still ended up with 13 rolls, plus an extra sheet and a half (don't know where the half came from) that I used to make a breakfast roll with egg and cheese. I fried up two rolls for us to snack on and froze the rest, along with the breakfast roll, to fry at a later date.

I don't usually do this (and I apologize for the horrible photos/lighting) but I did a step-by-step for the rolling part of the recipe. Just reading the directions confused me until I watched a YouTube video for how to roll an egg roll, so I thought I'd save you the trouble and try to document it in photos.

Philly Cheesesteak Spring Rolls with Spicy Ketchup
Modified from Does Not Cook Well With Others

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds thin-sliced beef, such as Landis, or Steak-Umms
1/2 a large onion, sliced
1/3 pound American cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 pound provolone cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 package spring roll wrappers, 9 1/2-inches in size
2 eggs, beaten with a splash of water
Canola oil

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced beef and cook, chopping with two spatulas to shred, until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes. Strain beef, discarding liquid, and set aside. Return skillet to medium heat, add more oil and the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 20 minutes. Once onion is cooked, add beef back to the skillet.

Reduce heat to medium-low, place cheese slices on top of beef, and allow to melt, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, toss beef and cheese to mix together and set aside to let cool.

Place 1 wrapper on a clean work surface, keeping other wrappers covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Brush entire surface of wrapper with egg. Form about 1/3 cup of the beef mixture into a log along one edge of the wrapper.


Roll up wrapper, leaving ends open.


Place a second wrapper on the work surface with a corner facing you, brush the corners with egg yolk, and lay the first roll across the bottom corner of the second wrapper.


Roll up wrapper, tightly folding the ends over halfway through. Press down slightly to seal and set aside.


Repeat process with remaining wrappers and filling.

(If freezing, individually wrap each roll in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag).

Pour canola oil into a heavy medium pot to a depth of 2-inches and heat over medium heat until temperature registers 350 F on a deep-fry thermometer. Fry spring rolls in batches, turning over halfway through, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Serve whole, or cut in half on a bias, with spicy ketchup dipping sauce (recipe below).

Spicy Ketchup Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/3 teaspoon cayenne

Combine the ketchup, mustard, honey, and cayenne in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.