Bloomin' Onion Bread and Tapas night this month.

It's Appetizer/Tapas time again.       We do this once a month.   It's a great excuse to get together with friends, try new foods, try new recipes, and just have a fun time over all.   And people seem to like coming here as well.    Last month I did bite size Chinese style deep fried pork, some deep fried Wontons with cream cheese filling, and I also made a Tapenade with black olives.
Here's a picture of the feature dish last night.   

Bloomin' Onion Bread

The menu this month focused on a little healthier food.   Or at least I'm attempting healthier munchies.   I made some green peppers which I  threw in the oven with some sharp cheddar cheese on it, just until the cheese melted.   And forgot to take a picture of when I took them out of the oven.   These are good. 

   I made some Turkey Meatballs, which I baked and served with BBQ sauce and Sweet and Sour sauce.   And I have to say I wasn't too thrilled with them.   They were ok, and the leftovers will be eaten sliced up in a  sandwich this week.      I also made this recipe I read about earlier this week.   It's called a Bloomin' Onion bread.  I found the recipe on Foodgawker, and I know I've mentioned that website before.  And here is the poster,  The Girl who ate everything   who posted the picture and she got it from here,  Changeable Table .    And I really didn't do anything different to it, I followed the recipe exactly.   And it worked, I barely got to taste it, it was such a hit.    I think the green onions added a nice oniony taste, without overwhelming it.    However, next time, I think I will bake it a little longer after I uncover it, and at a slightly higher temperature as well.   But then again, I was also baking the meatballs at the same time, so that might have been why it seemed to need a few extra minutes.

And pardon me for missing a couple of shots, but I was running behind so didn't take all the pictures I needed to.   Hopefully I can explain them in detail.

Bloomin'  Onion Bread

1 round loaf of good Sourdough Bread
1 lb. Monterey Jack Cheese, cut up in slices, I would suggest using a cheese cutter for this, and I would have if I'd thought of it, instead I used my knife.
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp. poppy seed
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion, (I used a small bunch and just minced it)


Start by cutting the bread in slices, width wise and lengthwise, but not cutting through the base.   You want to have some nice little squares going.    This can get a little tricky, use a good sharp bread knife to cut it into the squares.

Then take a bunch of green onions, and cut them up into a fine mince almost.  I cut the onions lengthwise, and then chop them from there.

Melt the butter and throw in the onions and poppy seed, set aside.

Next cut the cheese up into slices and then cross cut them into small pieces.   I forgot to take a picture at this point, so you'll just have to look at the the following pictures to get an idea of how big to make them.
After you get the cheese cut up, you then place the slices in the bread like this, and this is after you put the bread on a piece of aluminum foil.    As you can see, I tucked the cheese in between each little cut.   You really want the cheese to melt into the bread.   And I did push the cheese down a little, but next time I make it, I'll shove the cheese in a little further. 

I then took the bread and placed it on a larger piece of foil, one big enough to wrap around the bread.
After that, I stirred up my mixture of butter, onions and poppy seed and spooned it over the bread, somewhat evenly. 

Wrapped it up and placed it in a 350 deg. oven for 20 minutes, then unwrapped it and let it cook for another 15 minutes or so.

Look at all that cheesy goodness.

On the platter and ready to serve.

By placing the bread on a smaller piece of foil, I was able to transfer it to the platter I was going to serve it on.   I would suggest placing a serrated knife by the plate, as people want to be able to cut all the way through to get some of the crusty bottom as well when they grab some of the bread.
And as usual, people brought some lovely foods to go with everything as well.    I didn't get over to the table to take a picture until the people had eaten everything, but this is what was left.

Sign of a good party, a decimated table full of food.

Clockwise from the 6 o'clock position on the table.   Meatballs, artichoke dip, pretzel salad (yup, the red thing is a pretzel salad, and I'll post the recipe as soon as Karen gives it to me, it was yummy), what was left of the Bloomin' Onion Bread, a marinated veggie salad, Pasta salad, brownies, applesauce cake, and last, cracker and hummus.   Oh, and in the middle,  Pork Chops cut into fingers.     Everything was really good.

I love to host parties like this.   You get to try new foods, you don't feel compelled to eat a main dish and try a bunch of side dishes, and it's not that expensive to do.    You have the freedom to spend or not spend as much as you like on your offering.   But best of all, sharing time and laughter with friends, that's the priceless part of the whole thing.  (K, climbing down off the soapbox).    Hope your Saturday was fun as well. 

For more recipes please check out   http://sidsseapalmcooking.blogspot.com/   

All about food. *giggle*