January craft night

January's craft night theme was bar food: mozzarella sticks with marinara dipping sauce, potato skins, and mini cheesecakes. The mozzarella sticks didn't turn out stick like at all (we dipped cheese sticks in the egg and rolled them in the mixture, then fried them, and they became a huge gooey mess), so we put them in a pan and baked them. Yum!

Mozzarella Sticks
Chop up half a bag of croutons in a blender or food processor. Mix with 1/2 c cornstarch, salt and pepper, and 1/2 c flour. Mix in 1 beaten egg. Spread half on the bottom of a pie pan or square casserole dish. Top with a cup or two of shredded mozzarella (depending on how cheesy you want them to be). Top with the rest of the crouton mixture. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Marinara Sauce
Heat 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce in a saucepan. Mix in some dried onions, garlic, and Italian herbs, to taste. Simmer for 20 min-2 hours.

Potato Skins
Wash 10-12 small potatoes at bake at 350 until soft. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp paprika, salt and pepper, and 1 tbsp parmesan cheese. Remove potatoes from oven and let cool. Heat oven to 400. Slice in half lenghwise, then scoop out the innards leaving about a 1 cm shell. Brush the olive oil mixture onto the potatoes, then top with diced chives, bacon bits, and shredded cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes, until crispy. Top with sour cream.