Friday Foodday

Happy Friday lovebugs, here are my favorite recipes this week.

The Dillionaire
c/o The Straight Up

Ingredients
2 oz Henrick's Gin
.5 oz Lexardo Maraschino
.5 oz tonic syrup
.5 oz Cocchi Americano
.5 oz lime juice
2 droppers of Boston Bittahs
3 oz club soda
3 cucumber slices
3 sprigs Dill

Directions
Put 2 cucumber slices and 2 sprigs of dill in the bottom of a shaker then top with Jack Rudy tonic syrup and Luxardo Maraschino. Muddle to break up a bit. Add the Hendrick’s gin, Cocchi Americano, lime juice and 1 full dropper of Boston Bittahs to the shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker begins to frost. Double strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with club soda and the last dropper of Boston Bittahs. Garnish with a cucumber slice and dill sprig.

Spinach and Artichoke Grilled Cheese
c/o Emily Bites

Ingredients

• 1 cup semi-packed baby spinach, torn into pieces
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon fat free sour cream
• 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
• ¾ cup 2% shredded Mozzarella, divided
• 3 tablespoons diced canned artichoke hearts (packed in water)
• A pinch black pepper
• A pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons light butter 
• 4 slices light wheat bread

Directions

1. Lightly mist a small skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook for about a minute. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute until the spinach is wilted.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the spinach & garlic with the cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan, ¼ cup of the Mozzarella, artichokes, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined.
3. Butter one side of each piece of bread with ½ tablespoon of butter each. Place two slices butter side down on a flat skillet. Sprinkle both slices with 2 tablespoons of shredded Mozzarella each. Spread the spinach & artichoke dip from step 2 evenly over the Mozzarella layer on each slice. Sprinkle the top of each with the remaining Mozzarella (2 tablespoons each). Place the reserved slices of bread, butter side up, on top of each sandwich.
4. Bring the skillet over medium heat and cook for about 2 ½-3 minutes until golden on the bottom. Flip the sandwiches (carefully!) and cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden on both sides.

Blueberry Orange Cheesecake Bars

c/o Country Cleaver

Ingredients

Cheesecake Crust:

2 cups Flour

½ cup Powdered Sugar

1 cup Butter

Blueberry Filling:

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Cornstarch

1 cup Fresh or Frozen Blueberries

½ cup Orange Juice

Cheesecake Filling:

1 8oz. package Cream Cheese, softened

½ cup Sugar

1 Tbsp Flour

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 baking dish with foil. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the ingredients for the blueberry filling and stirs until the mixture simmers and thickens. Many berries will break during this process, but that is okay. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the crust, in a large bowl mix together the flour and powdered sugar. Using a couple of forks or butter knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles pea side crumbles. Press it into the bottom of the line baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes.

While the crust is baking, in a stand mixer or bowl with a whisk (if you have strong arms), beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in the flour and stir until combined. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until smooth.

Once the cookie crust is complete, spread the cheesecake mixture on top of the warm cookie crust. Add in dollops of the blueberry mixture and with a butter knife run it through the blueberries and cheesecake to create the swirl pattern. Place in oven and bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let the pan cool for at least 1 hour. Place in fridge and let chill 1 additional hour before removing from the baking dish.

Remove from the baking dish and foil, slice and then serve. Promptly devour.