WHIPPING IT UP IN YOUR KITCHEN

Every issue of Florida Country Magazine is filled with easy, delicious recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

Ingredients

8 large, peeled, hard-boiled eggs

3 tablespoons mayo

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon hot sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup panko crumbs

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 tablespoon chives, chopped

Smoked paprika, for garnish

Preparation

FRIED DEVILED EGGS

Yields 16

Halve eggs lengthwise and scoop out yolks into a medium bowl. Add mayo, sour cream, lemon zest, hot sauce and mustard. Mix with electric mixer until mixture is smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Cover yolk mixture and refrigerate. Place flour, beaten eggs and panko into 3 small bowls. Add 1 teaspoon water to eggs and whisk to combine. Add garlic powder to bowl with flour and stir to combine. Dredge each egg white in flour, then egg, then panko, and place on a plate. Repeat until all eggs are coated on plate. Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees. Gently place breaded eggs into hot oil and fry until golden brown, roughly 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Fill each fried egg halve with yolk mixture and garnish with chives and paprika.

Ingredients

2 large cucumbers

2 5-ounce cans solid white albacore tuna

¼ cup green pepper, diced

1 Roma tomato, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

4 tablespoons mayo

Salt and pepper, to taste

Everything Bagel seasoning, garnish

Preparation

Peel cucumbers and cut into one-third inch slices. Drain tuna and scoop into a medium bowl. Add diced tomato, green peppers, celery and mayo to bowl. Mix ingredients together with fork. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sandwich about a tablespoon of mixture between 2 cucumber slices. Sprinkle the Everything Bagel seasoning over tops of cucumber sandwiches.

Yields 24

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS – CHEESE BALL

8 ounces cream cheese, softened ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 green onions, chopped

3 tablespoons pecans, chopped

3 tablespoons dried cranberries, chopped

INGREDIENTS – OUTER LAYER

2 green onions, sliced

2 tablespoons pecans, chopped

2 tablespoons dried cranberries, chopped

2 tablespoons bacon crumbles

Preparation

Place all ingredients for “cheese ball” in a bowl and stir together until thoroughly combined. Form mixture into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 2 days. Toss the “outer layer” ingredients together and spread them out on a plate. Roll the cheese ball in them to evenly coat the surface.

Ingredients

30 4-inch wood skewers

30 slices hard salami

30 fresh mozzarella balls

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

30 large green olives, pitted

30 large black olives, pitted

Fresh rosemary sprigs

Balsamic glaze, garnish

Preparation

Arrange the ingredients in bowls. To each skewer add mozzarella ball and salami. From there mix and match the rest of the ingredients. Place the skewers on a round platter in the shape of a wreath, depending on the size of platter; you may need to layer a second or third row on top. Use small sprigs of rosemary and randomly tuck it into different spots in the wreath. Garnish with balsamic glaze.

Yields 1 Wreath

Ingredients

6 medium baking potatoes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1½ teaspoons coarse salt

½ cup cream cheese spread

¼ cup butter, softened

1/3 cup milk

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

6 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled

2 green onions, chopped

½ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Sour cream, optional

Preparation

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prick potatoes with fork, place in 1-gallon resealable food storage plastic bag. Add oil and coarse salt, seal bag and turn to coat potatoes. Place potatoes on cookie sheet. Bake 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cut thin slice off top of each potato, discard. Scoop pulp into large bowl, leaving shells intact. Add cream cheese spread, butter and milk to pulp in bowl, mash with potato masher or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in cheese, bacon, onions, table salt and pepper. Spoon into potato shells. Return to cookie sheet. Bake 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Serves 4

Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

Serves 6

Ingredients

24 stalks asparagus, trimmed 12 slices bacon

1 teaspoon olive oil

Garlic salt

Black pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a nonstick, oven-safe wire rack on to a cookie sheet. Trim asparagus to get rid of woody ends. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper, to taste. Cut the bacon slices lengthwise to make narrower strips. Wrap each bacon strip tightly around an asparagus stalk, only slightly overlapping the bacon on each stalk. Place seam side down onto the wire rack. Bake for 10 minutes. Turnover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the bacon is about crispy. Set the oven to broil, then place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until crispy.