CREATIVE HOLIDAY FUN SPECIAL WITH THE FOUNDER OF ‘WHAT’S ON PARKER’S PLATE’ PARKER WALLACE

The Recipe for Throwing a Great Holiday Party and Still be able to Fit in Those Skinny Jeans

If you’re looking for the ingredients for a fantastic holiday party, then you’ll enjoy this interview with Parker Wallace, founder of “What’s on Parker’s Plate?”. Parker is also the author of a best-selling cookbook, Eat Rich, Stay Skinny: A Girls’ Guide to Holiday Feasting. The super chef will provide your viewers and listeners with a guide for throwing great holiday celebrations will inspire your audience to try some new and innovative recipes. Parker is ready to show your audience how to turn a regular holiday celebration into a great party that all their neighbors, friends and relatives will remember for years. Parker will also share some recipes that will still allow you to fit into those skinny jeans, even after the holidays.

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR GREAT HOLIDAY MEALS
Most people think of traditional foods for the holidays, which is great; but I say why not add a little flavor to your holiday table. JUST creates delicious, sustainable products that make it easier to eat well, while helping to create a better food system that is Just For All. My favorite, Just Egg is perfect for scrambling, omelets and creating delicious holiday recipes that everyone can enjoy, like Holiday Mini Quiches. For holiday treats, their JUST Cookie Dough that can be eaten raw or baked up! Plant-based and Protein-packed, JUST Egg tastes and cooks just like a chicken egg. Made from mung beans, JUST Egg is free of cholesterol, dairy, gluten and artificial flavoring. Use it in place of conventional eggs for guest-friendly holiday cooking. For recipes or store locator head to Justforall.com.

Mini Quiches – Serves 12 small quiches

Ingredients

• Phyllo or pie dough (optional)
• 1 12oz bottle JUST Egg
• ⅓ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• ⅓ cup celery, sliced thin
• ⅓ cup yellow onion, diced small
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
• ½ teaspoon dried sage
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided (non-dairy if preferred)
• Other filling ideas: Crumbled sausage, chopped spinach, diced bell peppers, or chopped mushrooms

1. Heat the oven and toast the walnuts, Preheat oven to 375°F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. Use the heating oven to toast your walnuts on a dry baking sheet for 10 minutes.

2. Make the crusts (optional). If you’d like to include a crust, layer 6 sheets of premade phyllo dough or roll out a basic pie crust to 1/8-¼ inch thick. Cut the crusts into rounds with a 3 ½ – 4-inch circle cookie cutter and fit them into the muffin tin, crimping the edges to fit. If using phyllo dough, proceed to the next step of the recipe. If using basic pie crust, put a paper or foil muffin tin liner on top of each cup of dough and fill the papers with a few pie weights or dried beans. Parbake the crusts for 8-10 minutes, then remove the muffin papers and let them cool briefly before pouring in the quiche mixture.

3. Prepare the filling mixture. Combine the walnuts, celery, onions, salt, pepper, thyme, sage and 3/4 cup the shredded cheese in a medium bowl and mix until evenly distributed. Feel free to swap out any of the filling ingredients.

4. Fill the muffin tins. Fill each muffin cup ½ of the way with filling mixture. Shake the bottle of JUST Egg well, then pour it over the fillings in each muffin cup until just over ¾ of the way full. It will puff up only slightly when baked. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the reserved ¼ cup of shredded cheese.

5. Bake until set. Bake for 25-27 minutes until set (no longer liquid in the center) and the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the quiches from the muffin tin and serve warm, garnished with chopped walnuts and a sprig of fresh thyme.

Note: If you'd like to make these in a mini muffin pan, reduce the baking time to 15-20 minutes. If making a full sized quiche in a pie pan, increase baking time to 40-50 minutes, until the quiche is fully set in the middle; you may want to use a crust protector.

A TASTY FOOD THAT YOU FIX FOR YOUR GUESTS  
When you want to add a pop of flavor to your favorite holiday foods without fat or a lot of calories, I like to reach for Rio Luna Organic Peppers. They’re available in your local grocery store and they come in four spicy and easy-to-use varieties: Diced Jalapenos, Nacho Sliced Jalapenos, Diced Green Chiles and Large Chopped Green Chiles. Today, we’ve made delicious Crab Cakes with Green Chile Mayo just right for the holiday entertainment season. While these peppers are great for Crab Cakes, they work deliciously well with any other recipe like Jalapeno Brownies. You can find these recipes and more at riolunapeppers.com/our-meals. Because Rio Luna Peppers are organic certified, non-GMO, fat free, cholesterol free, low calorie and kosher, you can add a pop of peppers without serving up unnecessary ingredients in all your favorite foods. Rio Luna Organic Peppers are the world’s largest producer of green chilies and the U.S.’s largest producer of jalapenos with three decades of pepper experience. You really can’t go wrong with this secret ingredient. For more information, visit www.riolunapeppers.com

Green Chile Crab Cakes with Citrus Salad & Green Chile Mayo

Makes:  4 servings, 3 pieces each    Prep Time: 15 min.    Cook Time: 10 min.

Chef’s Tip: Crab cakes can be shaped and frozen until ready to use. When ready to cook, dust with flour and continue as directed.

Ingredients

    Green Chile Mayo:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup Rio Luna™ Organic Diced Green Chiles, drained
• Crab Cakes:
• 1 pound lump crab meat
• ¾ cup Rio Luna™ Organic Diced Green Chiles, drained
• 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
• ½ teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 egg
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

    Citrus Salad:

• 2-1/2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 green apple, cut into julienne strips
• 1 small orange, cut into individual segments
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

Green Chile Mayo: Process ingredients in blender until smooth. Season with salt, if desired. Serve as a dipping sauce with crab cakes.

Crab Cakes: Combine first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Shape mixture into 12 patties; place on baking sheet. Refrigerate 1 hour.

When ready to cook, lightly dust crab cakes with flour. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook crab cakes, in batches, 3 min. on each side or until golden brown.

Citrus Salad: Combine ingredients in large bowl.

Jalapeño Brownies

Makes: 16 servings / Prep Time: 15 min. / Cook Time: 15 min.

Chef’s Tip: For added flavor and attractive presentation, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 can (4 ounces) Rio Luna™ Organic Diced Jalapeños, pureed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk oil, sugar, eggs, jalapeños and vanilla in medium bowl until blended.

Combine remaining ingredients in separate bowl; add to egg mixture. Mix just until combined. Pour into greased 8×8-inch baking pan.

Bake 15-20 min. or until brownies pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on wire rack.

ANY TIPS ON HOW TO ELEVATE OUR HOLIDAY TABLE
The holidays are a great time to add some flair to your creations. If you want to enhance the flavor of your cocktails, I recommend ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters. They have been using the same secret recipe for nearly 200 years because it’s perfect. This Old Fashioned has whiskey, simple syrup, ice, and orange peel and cherry garnish, but the essential ingredient that marries all of these flavors are two dashes ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters. These bitters are so good for either a cocktail or a mocktail. This refreshing Lemon, Lime and Bitters drink is completely Non-Alcoholic and sure to please. ANGOSTURA bitters aren’t just for drinks though. You can use them in food recipes too, like these Crostinis with Cheese and Orange Bitters Honey or Fiesta Meatballs with Ancho Dipping Sauce. ANGOSTURA bitters come in aromatic and orange varieties. For more information, visit angosturabitters.com

Old Fashion

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz Bourbon
• ¼ oz Demerara syrup*
• Splash of water
• 2 dashes Angostura®aromatic bitters
• 1 dash Angostura®orange bitters
• Garnish: Orange Peel
• Glass: Rocks

METHOD

Build in a rocks glass, stir with ice to incorporate ingredients. Add ice. Garnish with a long orange peel.

*Demerara syrup: 1 part Demerara sugar, 1 part hot water. Stir to dissolve.

METHOD

Build in a rocks glass, stir with ice to incorporate ingredients. Add ice. Garnish with a long orange peel.

*Demerara syrup: 1 part Demerara sugar, 1 part hot water. Stir to dissolve.

Crostini with Cheese & Orange Bitters Honey

Crostini with blue and goat cheeses, drizzled with ANGOSTURA® orange bitters honey.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup clover honey
• 1/2 tsp. ANGOSTURA® orange bitters
• French style baguette
• Tangy cheese (soft goat cheese, blue, Gorgonzola, Roquefort or brie)

METHOD

Stir ANGOSTURA® orange bitters into honey. Pour into a squeeze bottle, if desired.

Thinly slice baguette and toast lightly; cool. Top each piece with cheese. Drizzle with ANGOSTURA® orange bitters honey. Serve immediately.

Fiesta Meatballs with Ancho Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

•     1-1/4 lb. lean ground beef
•     1/4 C dry breadcrumbs
•     1 Tbsp. ancho chile powder
•     1/2 tsp. ground cumin
•     1/2 tsp. oregano
•     1/2 tsp. salt
•     1/2 C finely chopped onion
•     3 cloves garlic, minced
•     1 large egg
•     1 tsp. ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters or 2 Tbsp. ANGOSTURA® orange bitters

    Ancho Dipping Sauce

•     1 can (8 oz.) plain tomato sauce
•     1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
•     1 tsp. ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters
•     1 tsp. red or white wine vinegar
•     1 tsp. ancho chile powder
•     1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a large sheet tray. Place ground beef in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, stir together breadcrumbs, ancho powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Stir in onion and garlic. Sprinkle over meat in two batches, cutting into meat with the side of a large spoon. Whisk together egg and Angostura® bitters. Drizzle over meat, cutting in with spoon. Form into 1” meatballs and place on sheet tray. Bake 16-18 minutes. Stir together sauce ingredients and warm up in microwave. Serve with meatballs and toothpicks.