potato balls and billions of beers

so, saturday night was one of the most highly anticipated nights in mine and my roommate's lives. it was our long awaited housewarming party and a celebration of her 22nd year of life on this earth. seeing that we are grown-ups now, and i have a steady source of income, i was able to plan and afford to make a ton of food for the celebration. some recipes were purely experimental and slightly imagined in my widdle head, but all in all, everything turned out delicious! here's a list of the food creations i made and i'll follow them up with some pictures and recipes!

1. Bruschetta with goat cheese
2. Potato balls with onion dip
3. Guacamole taco dip
4. Chorizo taco triangles
5. Shrimp bites
6. Fresh strawberry cake

Bruschetta with goat cheese
    - Small package of goat cheese, plain
    - Fresh cherry tomatoes
    - Fresh basil
    - Italian bread, lightly toasted (I used garlic toast I got pre-cut and -made at the supermarket)
    - Balsamic vinagrette (I personally love Newman's own)

Spread a generous, but not too thick, layer of goat cheese on the slices of bread. (Optional: stick in the oven on 350˚ for 10-15minutes for the cheese to melt a little bit). Mash cherry tomatoes with the bottom of a jar, not to a pulp, but till its oozy and not super solid. Roll basil leaves together and chop on a diagonal into thin, stringy strips. Smoosh some smashed tomatoes onto the cheesy bread and top with balsamic vinagrette.

Potato Balls and Onion Dip
    - Plain ole potatoes
    - White onion
    - Garlic
    - 2-3 egg yolks
    - plain breadcrumbs
for dip:
    - sour cream
    - mayonaisse
    - green onions
    - white onion
    - salt & pepper

Boil and mash potatoes. Saute garlic and white onion for potatoes, combine with mashed potatoes and add salt to taste. Line cookie sheet with tin foil, roll potato concoction into balls about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Brush tops with egg yolk and sprinkle with breadcrumb. Bake at 480˚ for 15 minutes or until browned.

For dip, combine 2 parts sour cream to 1 part mayo in a bowl. Saute chopped green onions and white onions until brown. Add to sour cream mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Dip the potato balls in the cream dip for maximum pleasure :)

Guacamole Taco Dip
    - 6 avocados, ripe
    - juice of 1 lime
    - salsa (i used pre-made or you can make your own)
    - sour cream
    - large, pitted black olives
    - queso de papa, shredded

Open, pit and mash avocados. Add lime juice, salsa, salt and pepper to taste (cilantro is a really big ingredient in guac, so feel free to add some, i personally dont like a lot of cilantro so i leave it out). Mix together in a bowl that is big enough so there is about 2 or 3 inches left on top. Add a layer of sour cream, then sprinkle a generous amount of chopped black olives and then another layer of sour cream. Add a plentiful dose of salsa, and then shred cheese over the top until its covered. That's it! Yum!

Chorizo Taco Triangles
(this was an experiment based on a vague memory of something similar from a delicious mexican restaurant, turned out fantastic!)
    - tortillas (i used jalapeño cheddar and they were great!)
    - refried beans
    - shredded cheese (i just get the 'mexican mix' its like pepper jack and cheddar or something)
    - chorizo (i use the spanish cured chorizo, but i'm sure the other kind is fine too, just crumbly)

Cut tortillas into triangles. Spread a thin layer of refried beans and then sprinkle with cheese. Slice chorizo in long, diagonal slices, aim for them to be about 2 inches in length. Top the tortilla/refried beans/cheese with slice of chorizo and stick in the oven on 350˚ for about 10-15 minutes. Watch for the cheese to get oozy and the chorizo to get a bit oily. Don't burn the tortillas!

Shrimp Bites
(this is a weight watchers recipe a coworker gave me... came out delish)

    - Medium to small sized shrimp
    - avocado
    - cucumber
    - wasabi paste mixed with mayo (i just used horseradish sauce, could not find wasabi for the life of me)
    - radish

Slice the cucumber in 1/2 in. thick slices, add a blob of wasabi mayo. Put a slice of avocado, then top with a shrimp. Chop radish into tiny pieces to sprinkle on top. Simple and delicious!

Fresh Strawberry Cake
    - for the cake I made a store-bought box of strawberry cake (make 2 cakes, i did 9in. rounds)
For the icing
    - fresh strawberries
    - sugar
    - 8oz. pkg of cream cheese
    - 1/4 c. butter
    - container of whipped cream icing

In a food processor, add chopped up strawberries and some sugar (about a teaspoon). Turn that baby on until you have a strawberry syrupy puree. In mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese and softened butter and mix until smooth. Add strawberry puree and icing. Mix together until smooth. Put one of the cakes on cake platter, plate or whatnot. Add a layer of icing on the top to be the filling. Slice up fresh strawberries into thin cross-sections and add a layer on top of icing. Put other cake on top and ice entirely. Slice more strawberries to decorate on top. Stick in the fridge so the icing hardens a bit, it will probably be a bit runny and sloppy, but it will get sturdy in the fridge. Slice up and top with some cool whip and enjoy!

So that's that for my first entry... next up... the best tacos of my life and a very soaked and sandy adventure day.