Appetizers

An experiment gone right in the kitchen leads to recipe

Shonda Jenkins of Hillsboro won the appetizer category with her recipe for Bangin’ Shrimp, a tangy dish made lively with Thai chili sauce.

“When we go out to eat – well when we used to go out, before the pandemic -- I would always order shrimp dishes, because I’m not much of a fan of land animals,” she said. “I would eat something, and think, ‘Ooh, I want to recreate that at home.’ I shop at World Foods, and I stumbled across this sweet Thai chili sauce and brought it home. I experimented with different things to make it creamier. Sour cream was weird, but mayonnaise worked out right.”

Jenkins, 43, said this dish has become a family favorite. “We probably have it at least twice a month,” she said. “It was an experiment in the kitchen that went right. I learned to cook at my mother’s and grandmother’s knee, and I’ve been cooking for 35 years, but experimenting is the way about 95 percent of my recipes happen.”

Jenkins said her prize money will go to a local animal rescue charity.

She has two special-needs pugs: an autistic pup named Kano and the wheelchair-bound Empi, who serves as a support dog for her husband, Scott, a Gulf War vet who suffers from PTSD and other disabilities.

“My pets are all rescue babies, so I like to give back,” she said. “I’ll call the Pevely or the Festus Animal Control office, whichever one has animals at the time, and donate the money.”

Bangin’ Shrimp

Shonda Jenkins, Hillsboro

FINALIST

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined.

1 cup cornstarch

2 cups oil for frying (I use canola oil)

1/2 cup Thai chili sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

Heat oil to 350 maximum.

Wash, peel and clean shrimp. Dry them well and toss them in the cornstarch and shake off the excess cornstarch. 

Mix chili sauce, mayonnaise and water together. Stir until well combined and then heat in microwave in 1-minute increments, stirring after each increment until temperature is warm so it doesn’t chill the shrimp when you toss it.

Once your sauce is warm, toss the shrimp in the hot oil and fry them for about 2 minutes. When they’re curled into a “C”  shape, they’re done, but watch them closely because they will quickly become overcooked and rubbery. 

Drain them well and toss them in your sauce shaking off the excess before you plate them on a bed of lettuce. You can serve a little extra sauce on the side if someone wants to dip.

Note: I also have used this sauce on chicken strips.

More APPETIZERS 

WonTons

Barb Luhrsen, Barnhart

1 pound ground chuck

1 (16-ounce) can bean sprouts

4 green onions

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

Garlic powder

1 teaspoon Accent

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon peanut oil

1 package wonton wrappers

2 egg yolks, beaten

Oil for frying

Mix first 9 ingredients together in bowl. Set aside.

Lay wonton wrapper out on flat surface. Dot the 4 corners with beaten egg yolk.

Place 1 teaspoon of mixture in the middle of the wrapper and bring the corners together to form the wonton.

Repeat with other wrappers, but only make up to 9 at a time and keep the unused wonton wrappers covered with a towel until you use them so they don’t dry out.

After you have a batch of wontons put together, heat up about 1/2 inch of oil in pan and fry them until golden brown. Be careful because sometimes the sauce leaks out.

Spinach and Parmesan Dip

Claudia Foran, House Springs

1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

Salt and pepper

Squeeze excess liquid from spinach. Combine spinach, sour cream, parmesan, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Serve with crackers, carrots, or pretzels.

Armadillo Eggs

Brenda Geddie, Festus

2 rolls breakfast sausage

12-15 jalapenos

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (or cheese of choice)

Cut jalapenos in half and deseed, then fill with cream cheese.

Roll sausage around pepper until it forms an egg-like ball and fry until sausage is done.

Mini Chili Dog Ring

Melissa Mantl, Festus

1 package extra-long hot dogs

1 (16-ounce) package refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 pound ground meat

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 small onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Green onion, chopped (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each hot dog in half and set aside. Unroll dough on clean, dry surface; slice each triangle in half lengthwise.

Place each hot dog piece on the wide end of a dough triangle and roll to form a pig-in-a-blanket appearance. Arrange wrapped pieces upright in two rings in a circular cast-iron skillet; bake 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Remove from oven. In another pan, cook ground meat until browned; drain. Add salt, pepper, onion, sugar, cumin, and chili powder; mix well. Add tomato sauce and ketchup; mix well.

Scoop cooked chili into center of skillet inside hot dog circles. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Return to oven until cheese is melted, about 5-7 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve warm.

Crockpot Honey Garlic Meatballs

Mallory Greff, sixth-grader at Hillsboro Intermediate School

28-ounce bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce

1/3 cup honey

3 tablespoons fresh minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

32-ounce bag precooked frozen meatballs, thawed

Lightly spray a slow cooker with cooking spray. Add barbecue sauce, honey, garlic, and cayenne pepper to slow cooker and stir to combine well. Add in thawed meatballs and stir to coat well.

Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 2 hours. Stir before serving. Serve hot with toothpicks.

Tasty Grilled Cheese

Colleen Murphy, Imperial

Loaf of sliced sourdough bread 

Thick sliced sharp Cheddar cheese

Jar of apple butter 

Stick of butter, softened to ease spreading

Party toothpicks

Heat skillet on medium-high setting or flame. Spread apple butter on one side of the bread, spread butter on the other side and place the bread, butter-side down, in the skillet.

Add 1-2 slices of Cheddar cheese, depending on how thick the slices are. You don’t want to have more bread than cheese.

Prepare a second slice of bread the same way as the first and place on cheese. Cook 1-2 minutes until bread is toasted on the first side and then flip. Cook another 1-2 minutes.

The sandwich is great paired with a hearty soup or salad for a meal. 

To make it for appetizers, cut each sandwich into fourths and spear each piece with a toothpick. 

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Ethel Lewis, De Soto

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles

1 (4-ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers or 1-2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse fresh jalapenos until chopped. Add cream cheese and pulse until combined. Add cheddar, chiles and mayonnaise; pulse until combined. Spoon into ungreased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with chips or crackers.

Deb’s Angelic Eggs 

Debbie Greff, Hillsboro

1 dozen eggs, at room temperature

Dash baking soda

1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped, divided

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon pickle relish

1 tablespoon dill pickle juice

Boil eggs in water with a sprinkle of baking soda for 9 minutes. Let cool; then peel the eggs. Cut in half, placing whites on a platter and yolks in a medium bowl.

Mash yolks; then add in the rest of the ingredients, saving half of the chives. If needed, add an extra splash of pickle juice until the yolk mixture is creamy.

Pipe some of the mixture into each of the boiled egg whites, and sprinkle the remaining chives on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 24 servings.