Blue Cheese Olive Ball, Open Face Cocktail Reuben-ettes, Olive Meatballs

The Men’s Room

Tailgate Thursday - week 12

Not what you think ladies . . . nothing going in here other than our normal business which brings us toward the end of college football and all the great foods we enjoyed eating our way to this point. Thank you moms, wives, girlfriends and couch buddies for all the great tailgating foods you have presented to us. For this weekend, I’m going back to the comfort of my living room and I hope you will to, with the warmth of pals and football buds, nestling into a soft cushiony lazy-boy with a cold drink in hand. Okay, you girls are invited too, mainly since many of you prepared all those snacks and foodstuff for us football watching men folks.

Blue Cheese Olive Ball

12 oz cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 -4.5 oz can chopped black ripe olives
2 tablespoons minced green onions, tops only
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Blend the two cheeses with the butter, stir in the olives and onion. Place in the refrigerator to chill in helping form into a ball. Form into a ball and roll into the parsley. Decorate with pecan halves if desired and serve with crackers. Also good for stuffed celery sticks.

Open Face Cocktail Reuben-ettes

Butter or margarine

Party rye bread

Cooked corned beef, sliced thin

Swiss cheese, sliced thin

Jar of sauerkraut, well drained and chopped

Thousand Island dressing

Seal the bread by spreading a thin layer of butter on one side. Place a dollop of dressing on the butter and spread to cover. Tear the corned beef in pieces and place on top of the dressing followed with the sauerkraut. Top with the Swiss cheese. Bake in a 375 degree F, oven until cheese melts. Serve warm.

Olive Meatballs

1/2 pound ground lean beef
1 egg
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup 7-Up
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
24 small pimento or jalapeño stuffed olives

Combine all ingredients except olives in a bowl. Roll 1 tablespoon of mixture in the palm of your hand forming a ball. Flatten out to make a patty and place an olive in the center. Enclose the olive with the meat mixture forming a ball. Place on a pan and broil 2 to 3 inches from the heat source turning over midway for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain, insert toothpicks and serve while hot.

Well folks, this concludes the series for now. Next Thursday, I’ll enjoy family and friends with the feast of tradition. Happy Thanksgiving and who knows, I might have another post for the bowl games.