Easy and Flavorful Antipasto Sausage, Artichoke, Sundried Tomatoes, and Red Pepper Skewers

I was hunting on the foodnetwork.com for a savory appetizer to accompany the cupcakes and baked brie for my "Cupcakes and Bubbly" birthday party and came across Elie Krieger's "Antipasto Sausage Skewers." Adapted slightly, these were a bit hit!! Below is the recipe:

Antipasto Sausage and Veggie Skewers

What you need:

Cooking spray

12 oz fully cooked chicken sausage (I used Aidell's Chicken & Portobello Sausage)

12 oz jar of roasted red peppers (I used fire roasted red peppers in a jar)

1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes

1 jar of artichoke hearts

Small wooden skewers or toothpicks

What to do:

Heat a skillet over medium heat, spray with cooking spray. Once heated up, add the sausage, cook and brown turning several times until warmed through and browned, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. I added a little bit of pepper, garlic salt, and red pepper flake to the sausage while it was cooking.

Cut the red peppers, sundried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts so they are all about the same size (approx 1 inch pieces).

Once sausage is cooked through, slice the sausages to approximately 1 inch pieces. Cut them so they have a flat bottom so they can stand.

On each skewer, add a piece of roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, artichoke, and sausage. Arrange them so that the skewer can stand up on the sausage end. Place on a large plate or serving tray and enjoy!

I made 18 skewers (with a sausage and a half left over!), but these ingredients could definitely come out to two dozen skewers.

Melty goodness -- Baked Brie with Apricot Preserves

As part of my "Cupcakes and Bubbly" birthday celebration, I made several more savory bites to balance out the richness of all the cupcakes. Well, one of the things I made was probably equally rich, but offered a different flavor palate from the sugary cupcakes -- a baked brie with apricot preserves! I adopted it from friend who used to bring this dish to all our gatherings and mixed it together with an Emeril recipe I found. It was simply an oozing delight that was so easy to make -- I encourage you to try it out!

Baked Brie with Apricot Preserves

Feel free to be creative and use whatever types of preserves you enjoy. I've also seen this done with dried cherries and pecans.

What you need:

A 6 inch round of brie

Frozen puff pastry sheets (I used Pepperidge Farm)

A jar of apricot preserves

One egg (slightly beaten)

What to do:

(1) Thaw your puff pastry (I left mine in the refrigerator for about 4-5 hours).

(2) Preheat the oven to 400.

(3) Roll out your puff pastry so it will be large enough to completely wrap your brie.

(4) Scoop out some apricot preserves onto the center of the puff pastry square. I used about half a jar, which I think may have been a little bit too much, but still was delicious.

(5) Place your round of brie on top of the preserves.

(6) Wrap the puff pastry around the brie and preserves, making sure that you seal all the seams.

(7) Flip over the pastry package of brie and preserves so that all the seams are on the bottom.

(8) Cut out shapes from the leftover puff pastry for decorating on top!

(9) Brush the egg wash on your pastry package to create a golden crust.

(10) Bake for 20 minutes until the outside is golden.

(11) Reduce temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

(12) Place on a serving platter, surround with crackers and fruit, and enjoy!