Five Recipes for Entertaining

It’s Listable Life time again and I love that this week’s prompt gives you readers something to work with.  Head over to Moments that Define Life to see more lists.

On my old blog, I spent a lot of time sharing my recipes, but life has changed dramatically since then and my cooking has been rather less inspired lately.  I’m ready to change that, though, so we’ll kick off with 5 of my favorite recipes for entertaining.  Enjoy!

1.  Favorite Appetizer for a Crowd:  Ginger-Lemon Calamari.  The kick of ginger and the refreshing lemon make this an winner every time!

2.  Favorite Sweet Treat:  Balsamic Berries with Mascarpone Honey Cream.  This dessert tastes decadent and rich, but it’s light on calories.  I love making these in pretty china wine glasses to dress up a table!

3. Favorite Tailgating/Sports Viewing Food: I love Sweet and Spicy Wings with Squash Slaw.  Make this recipe  skewered on the grill (below) or in the oven – either way it’s delicious! (from my days writing at the Examiner)

4. Favorite Dinner Party Main Course It is TOUGH to narrow this down as I have so many favorites, but I’m going to choose Feed-a-Crowd Baked Chicken because, well, it feeds a crowd, it’s easy and yum!

5.  Favorite Holiday Dish:  Why make the choice between pumpkin, fruit and sweet potato pie?  You can have them all with this Ultimate Holiday Pie.  Always a crowd-pleaser!

Balsamic Berries with Mascarpone Cream

 

Balsamic Berries with Marscapone Cream

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced 2 cups fresh blackberries (thanks to Leigh for bringing the fresh!)
1/2 cup aged* balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup marscapone cheese
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tbls lemon zest
3 tbls honey
fresh mint (optional)

Mix together vinegar and 1/2 of sugar. Heat over low heat until liquid steams. Cool. Pour over berries and allow to sit 15-20 minutes.. In a separate bowl, whisk together marscapone cheese, ricotta cheese, lemon zest, honey and remaining sugar. Serve berries topped with marscapone cream and garnished with mint leaves.