CHARLOTTE, N.C. — New Year’s Eve is the ultimate day and night to celebrate the year gone by and welcome in the new one with friends and family and fill the room with good food and fun. When it comes to having people over or going to a party, the debate is always to plan a formal sit down dinner or to have a wide variety of appetizer finger foods. Here with some delicious ideas is Chef Ernie Adler. “Just like a football tailgate event I’m a big fan of appetizers for the night because it’s much easier to have guests bring items, either their favorites or to fit a theme, you’ll have a more diverse menu” says Chef Adler. He adds “everyone can graze over the night, and this leads to a more casual evening rather than a formal sit down dinner.”
Today we’ll have 3 crowd pleasing finger foods good for any occasion but great for New Year’s eve:
Phyllo Dough Burnt Ends
Make the beef the beef the day before because the flavors will be even better the next day.
Cut a beef loin or any favorite cut of beef (sirloin, ribeye) into bite sized pieces, season with a general beef seasoning, put in an aluminum pan and cook on 275 degrees until the meat reaches temperature of 170 degrees.
Toss the beef in the pan with your favorite barbecue sauce,
Raise the grill or oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to cook giving a gentle mix every 10 minutes until the meat reaches 200 degrees and the sauce has reduced making a gooey caramelized coating.
Stuff into pre-made phyllo dough shells and bake for 5 minutes to heat the shell, option to melt some pepper jack or your favorite cheese on top. These are little bite sized beef candy cups.
Bacon - natures perfect food
First toss ground beef with seasoning, barbecue sauce, bread crumbs, and form into 1 inch balls.
Make a dimple in, stuff with some goat cheese (or any cheese), then cover the dimple over.
Roll the ball in a slice of bacon (regular not thick) and press to seal. In a pan or on the grill cook the bacon wrapped balls on 325 degrees first seam side down so it seals closed.
Turn every few minutes until the internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Put a toothpick in each one and serve with some bbq sauce on the side.
Shrimp wrapped with Bacon
Pick up some jumbo shrimp (15-25 estimated per lb.), devein, and remove the tail.
Soak in a brine solution for 30 minutes of 1 quart of water, 1 tbsp. each of salt and sugar, for each pound of shrimp to prevent the shrimp from drying out during cooking soak in a brine solution for. You can also add a little rum or tequila to the brine to infuse that flavor as well.
While the shrimp are brining heat your oven to 400degrees,
Cut bacon (regular not thick) in half and partially cook for about 7 minutes then let cool.
When done brining remove and pat dry the shrimp,
Toss in olive oil, then season, wrap a slice of bacon and press to seal,
Put a toothpick through the middle.
Heat on a parchment lined baking sheet or in a cast iron pan (recommended) and cook for 3-5 minutes then turn over when browned.
When almost done brush with a little maple syrup and serve.
For more great recipes visit Erniesbbq.com.