DRIED CHERRY SAUCE - A Great Cranberry Substitute!

Like I've said all month, I am avoiding posting recipes for Thanksgiving dinner and turkey leftovers this month BUT. . .

. . . .if you are like me and don't really like cranberries a lot, this Dried Cherry Sauce is a wonderful substitute for those cranberry relishes and canned cranberry jellies that we always see plopped down on the holiday table.

The reason I don't consider this a Thanksgiving recipe is because I use it all year long on pork, duck, chicken and even on a great recipe I have for crostini, which turns it into a Tiny Food (today's bonus recipe below!)

Cherry Prosciutto Crostini
On baguette, sliced into 1/2" pieces
Dried Cherry Sauce (recipe above)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
Prosciutto Ham, sliced thin
Melted Garlic Butter
Salt to Taste

Brush your baguette slices with the melted garlic butter and salt to taste (remember the prosciutto will be salty so use a light touch!). Toast the baguette slices until nicely browned and crispy. Spread a nice layer of cream cheese on the warm baguette, layer on a few slices of the prosciutto and top off with a nice dollop of the dried cherry sauce and enjoy! Goes great with your favorite martini from The Martini Diva.

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If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!

AUTHENTIC MOLE SAUCE - Spicy Chocolate Mexican Flavor!

Because everyone else is concentrating on Thanksgiving recipes all month I have been doing just the opposite. If you're like me by the end of November you've had your fill of turkey, gravy and stuffing - at least until Christmas!

This Authentic Mole Sauce is a spicy chocolate flavored gravy that I discovered in Mexico ages ago. It is not sweet - it is savory and the chocolate gives anything you serve it over or with a deep, smooth and unique flavor.

Yes, you can serve it over your left-over Thanksgiving turkey! Check out some of these recipes from Epicurious combining poultry and mole sauces. I've also found a great site that has an interesting history of Mexico's most famous culinary concoction!

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BREAD PUDDING with a LIQUOR SAUCE

Bread pudding is one of my favorite comfort food desserts. It's a classic recipe that's been around for centuries because it's easy, delicious and satisfying. This is a perfect recipe for chilly nights and a winter dinner party.

The sauce is based on a traditional whiskey/bourbon sauce that is often served with Bread Pudding, but I have also used rum, Framboise (a raspberry liquor), and other flavored alcohol. The rum is particularly good when you add raisins to the bread pudding, and I like the raspberry liquor if I can get fresh raspberries to sprinkle around the plated dish.

The sauce can be a bit tricky - blending in those eggs into the warm base is a tempering trick that is one of the more difficult cooking techniques so here are a couple of links with some tips: Temper, Temper, Tempering Eggs into a hot sauce.

Now, just to let you know, if those links don't help and you get some scrambled egg in your sauce - shhh! don't tell anyone I said this! - just strain the sauce before serving! Honestly, it still tastes great and only you will know!

Yes, I have even figured out how to serve this up as a Tiny Food! Just cut the bread pudding into cubes, warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or toast them in the oven for about 12 minutes at 350, put some appetizer picks in them, warm up the sauce and serve it on the side for dipping!

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EGG STRATA CASSEROLE - Faux Quiche

If you like quiche this is a recipe for a faux quiche that is easy and can be thrown together in a few minutes with ingredients that most people always have in the kitchen. You can add all sorts of other goodies like cooked sausages, avocado, peppers, ham - whatever you happen to have on hand.

I usually make this up for a brunch but the leftovers can be cut into bite size squares and served up as finger food with your favorite cocktail!

If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!

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EDIBLE TUNA CASSEROLE - Yes, I said Edible!

Though certainly not anything a gourmet chef would serve up, this Tuna Casserole is a wonderful recipe for comfort food. One of the things I hated about a typical tuna casserole was the peas and this one has no peas, instead it uses broccoli.

The Miracle Whip is a must - mayonnaise is not a good substitute because this recipe really sings with the added sweetness of the Miracle Whip. The bell pepper and herbs and spices in the recipe take this normally mundane entree into the edible catagory!

If you want to turn this into a "tiny food" or finger food just bake it up then spoon the hot mixture into some of those little bread shells. AND you can use your leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of the tuna so I've given you another recipe for turkey leftovers!

If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!
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CHOCOLATE PASTA? Oh, yeah - beats turkey leftovers any day!

There is nothing further removed from turkey leftovers than chocolate pasta! Yes, I said chocolate pasta! Chocolate and carbs in one dish - you just can't beat it!

Try this out for a wonderful, surprising dish at your next dinner party - your guests will thank you for it. After they recover from the chocolate high and sugar rush, that is!
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If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!

TACO SALAD becomes Mini Nacho Bowls Finger Food

This is a recipe for THE BEST TACO SALAD I've ever tasted - period! This recipe spoiled me to a point I can't order taco salad anywhere now. My friend, John Evans, introduced me to it about 20 years ago and it was his regular Saturday night dish during an art show when a group of us were at the same show. Don't mess with this recipe if you can avoid it - every element is part of the whole and without each element exactly as it is this will not taste the same, trust me I've tried! John does have a vegetarian version where he substitutes a mixture of beans for the meats, but I have to tell you that without the Italian Sausage this dish looses most of it's unique and savory taste. Oh, and be sure to give a slice of that Vermont white cheddar to any dog in the house, John swears it's part of the recipe!

This recipe is for serving it up as an entree, but here's what I do when I want to serve it as an appetizer: I simply follow the recipe exactly but instead of crumbling the tortilla chips into the salad in a big bowl I buy those tortilla scoops and spoon the salad into them! I do toss a small handfull of extra shredded cheese on the top before serving. That's it, plain and simple!

Swing by The Martini Diva for one of my tequila martinis to go with!

NO RECIPE TODAY

Today I am not in the mood for food, fun or recipes. I lost a very dear friend yesterday and in her honor I am simply posting a link to my honorarium to her and our friendship:

In Loving Memory of My Friend, Betty Mae Turner

CHEESE MANICOTTI - Sometimes Big Food is Good!

Okay, sometimes I just have to have something that isn't bite size, okay? Yes, I do make entrees too. What? You thought because I'm the Tiny Food Diva that my oven was too small or something?

This recipe for my Say Cheese Manicotti is one of my favorite comfort foods. It's easy, very satisfying and stick to your ribs. Serve it up with a small salad and some toasted garlic bread and you'll think you've died and gone to an Italian heaven!

When your guests arrive prime them with one of my martinis from The Martini Diva - they'll think you're the host or hostess with the most or mostess, lol.

If you have a Tiny Food question, please feel free to ask me in a comment and I'll respond back here in the comments section or in a new post!

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!