Really, really easy (and yummy!) clams.

When I brought these to our New Year's gathering, I'm not certain that the hostess believed me when I said I made them because they were SUPER easy. But, really- they ARE!

Steamed Clams in Garlic and Wine

2-3 pounds clams (weight will depend on the size of the clams)
1 cup white wine
4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1/2 stick butter, cubed
Freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the clams well. Place clams in a large crock pot. On the stove, heat wine, butter, garlic and pepper in a skillet until boiling. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour wine and butter mixture over the clams in the crock pot.

Turn crock pot on high, leave for 45 minutes-1 hour and done. That's it. (I promise!)

My version of Mike's yummy roast beef rolls.

So my awesome father in law makes these simple but delicious appetizers: a pickle, slathered with cream cheese and rolled in roast beef or pastrami. Sounds simple, right? They are SO good!

Well, for New Year's I made my own version (partly to experiment, and partly because I couldn't get the deli lady to come help me for the life of me). I certainly wouldn't say they were better than Mike's- just different. Mike's version is perfect for an afternoon football party, but mine dresses them up a bit for an evening cocktail party or the like.

My appetizer rolls:

-Proscuitto, baked flat at 350 for 5-6 minutes.
-1/2 pickle slice (I bought the quartered pickles to begin with and it was easy)
-Cheese mix (6 oz. cream cheese, 4 oz. goat cheese, 2-3 oz. mascarpone, fresh grated pepper, basil all mixed in my KitchenAid)

Don't put too much cheese mix in. I found that the ones I really loaded up were a bit much. This recipe made a HUGE batch- perfect for a party. Enjoy!

So much fun!

Dusty and I had such a great time last night. I threw him what SHOULD have been a surprise party. When the day before, he was getting mad because he knew I was hiding something, I wound up spilling the beans in the interest of having my husband speak to me. As it turned out, that was just fine. Surprise or not, it was amazing seeing so many friends and just getting to let loose!

I made an appetizer which is now going on my list of sure-fire things to make. It doesn't have a name...maybe I'll call them parmesan stacks? Yeah, that sounds good. So here goes:

Parmesan Stacks

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan

salt

freshly ground pepper

paprika

2-3 tomatoes

olive oil

1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley

1 package prosciutto

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On an oiled baking pan, place 1/4 inch thick tomato slices. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly grated pepper.

On a broiling rack, lay prosciutto out after spraying the pan with cooking spray. Put in the oven for 7--9 minutes, until prosciutto is crisp.

Reduce heat to 400 degrees. On an oiled cookie sheet, make little piles of freshly grated parmesan (about the size of a silver dollar). Sprinkles the piles with a little salt, pepper and paprika. Bake for 3-5 minutes- until melted and browned. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

After tomatoes have cooled, cut into quarters and lay on a plate lined with paper towels. Pat the excess oil and moisture from the tomatoes.

Put cooled parmesan crisps on serving platter. Stack with tomatoes, then chopped fresh parley, and finally the crisp prosciutto. Yum-O!

This got great reviews at my party last night and is now a staple on my go-to list!