I Used to Make These! So Good!

Hi, my name is Matt McCallum.  Elaine told my and my wife's story in her book A New Dream.  We wanted to give her a break, so we've taken over her blog during the month of December.  We've designated this week as recipe week.  We contacted some of Elaine's author friends who've kindly agreed to provide a recipe for us. Today's recipe is from Chris Redding.

And I'm Violet McCallum.  I operate a catering company, and I've used a similiar recipe many times.  Do try these.  You won't be sorry if you do!  They'd be great for Super Bowl parties too.  My husband used to play for the Green Bay Packers, so Super Bowl celebrations are big at our house.  Anyway, here's Chris's recipe.

Cheese Puff Appetizers

I bring these to potluck parties. They are usually a big hit.

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded low fat cheddar cheese

1 cup butter (I sometimes use Smart Balance)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce (You can substitute Chipotle Tabasco Sauce)

2 (5 oz) jars of green olives (Kalamata olives work well also.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. In a small bowl, mix together cheese, butter , flour, and Worcestershire sauce. Knead the dough. Pinch the dough into small balls, flatten them in the palm ofyour hand, then roll each circle of dough around one olive. Arrange the wrapped olives on the prepared cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly brown.

Enjoy either warm or cold.

And now let's have an excerpt from Chris's book Blonde Demolition. You can buy the book at

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=blonde+demolition+by+chris+redding&x=24&y=28

Mallory Sage's heart raced at the sight before her—a bomb.

It had all the parts necessary to blow up the beer trailer and everything nearby—including her fellow firefighters at the Coleville Volunteer Fire Company.

Adrenaline and anger streaked through her.

She called to her chief. "Jesse, get out."

I won't lose you. Not now. Not like this.

Jesse Moran backed away from her, licked his lips and then moved in her direction. "Get out of here, Mal."

Her heart sank. Even in the face of a bomb, her lover was willing to protect her. She clenched and unclenched her fists, her breath coming out in pants. "Not without you, Jesse."

Without taking her eyes off Jesse, she shouted to another firefighter" Call 911. Tell them we need the bomb squad."

When Jesse reached her, she yanked him out. He had a hundred pounds on her. She had the element of surprise. "Get me wire cutters."

Jesse looked at her as though she had three heads.

"Do it."

He shook his head. "No, you don't know what you're doing."

She made eye contact with one of the bystanders. "Get me wire cutters and clear everyone out of here. Make sure no workers are on the fairgrounds."

The last thing the struggling fire company needed was to lose this fair. It was their sole fund raising effort. These guys missed dinners and family events to put out fires and some jerk with a penchant for bombs couldn't be allowed to do that to them.

What if this is just the beginning?

Oh, wow, that's so exciting!  Chris, thanks for sharing.  Matt and I are putting it on our to be read list.  I hope each and every one of you has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.