Baked Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS
7 pounds baking potatoes or small red potatoes
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
1.5 pounds bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 stick butter or margarine, softened (optional)
2-3 pints sour cream
Salt and pepper
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can of corn
1 package Uncle Dan's "classic ranch" salad dressing mix

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Pierce the potatoes with a fork; brush with oil. Bake until tender, 1 hour. Let cool, then cut into bite-size pieces.
2. In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sour cream; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the potatoes, bacon, scallions, corn, Uncle Dan's mix and cheese. Serve at room temperature.

Adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

Kiwi Melon Sangria

INGREDIENTS
1 bottle (750 ml) dry white Riesling
4 peeled and sliced kiwifruit
1 cup (237 ml) fresh watermelon, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 lime, thinly sliced
1 1/2 oz Midori melon liqueur
1/4 cup granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher, stirring to crush some of the fruit. Cover and refrigerate overnight for at least 12 hours to let the flavors marry before serving. Serve over ice, including some fruit. Use within 4 days.

Darling Cheesecake Pops

INGREDIENTS
[Makes 30 – 40 Pops]
5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)
Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, sanding sugars, sprinkles, drizzles, bows for the sticks

DIRECTIONS
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer set at low speed, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at lwo speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Lightly grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan). Pour the cheesecake batter into the cake pan and place in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly goldenon top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchemtn paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Benedictine Cheese Tea Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated, and drained of moisture
1 bunch scallions, white parts plus two inches of green parts, finely chopped
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat cream cheese)
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1-2 drops green food coloring
8 slices thin white bread, crusts removed
3 red leaf lettuce leaves
1 tbsp dill if desired

DIRECTIONS
1. Peel the cucumber, slice it in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Using a microplane grater, grate the cucumber into a colander and drain the moisture off. Transfer cucumber to a bowl.

2. Finely chop the scallions and add them to bowl with the cucumber.

3. In the bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, dill (if desired) and food coloring and mix thoroughly.

4. To make each sandwich, spread a thin but significant layer of the cheese spread onto each slice, spreading just almost to the edges of the bread. Place a single layer of lettuce atop one of the slices, then press the two pieces of bread together so that the lettuce is between the two layers of cheese.

5. Cut diagonally into four triangles and serve.

Spiked Lemonade

INGREDIENTS
4 cups pink lemonade
2 cups vodka
Lemon, lime, raspberry, blueberry, star fruit, for garnish

White Wine Spritzers

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup ice cubes
5 ounces white wine, chilled
3 ounces club soda, chilled
2 or 3 watermelon or cantaloupe balls, for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Place ice in a 10-ounce cocktail glass. Add wine and club soda. Garnish with melon balls; serve immediately.