Sweet Potato Sausage Skewers with Lemon Garlic Mayonnaise

Here's a great skewered appetizer that's tasty and easy!

First: The Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise...
Ingredients:
1 C mayonnaise
2 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp lemon zest
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together.
*Can store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

 

Skewers' Ingredients:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 32, 1" cubes
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb smoked sausage* cut into 32, 1/2" pieces
32 wooden picks

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450.  Place sweet potato cubes on lightly greased pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.
2. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes, turning cubes twice.
3. Cook sausage over medium/high heat 3-4 minutes to brown.  Drain on paper towels.
4. Place 1 sasauge slice on 1 sweet potato cube on a wooden pick  Serve with Lemon Garlic Mayo.

* For the sausage, I used one I found at Costco.  It was an herbed mozzarella herb chicken sausage.  Amazing!

Ashton's Artichoke Dip

Ashton fits in our freezer!

I'm very lucky to have such amazing assistants.  I'd like to take a moment, though, to thank my most frequent kitchen assistant, Ashton, for posing for countless pictures for all of your enjoyment.  Chances are if you've caught a piece of body or hands in a photograph, they certainly weren't mine.

So, in honor of my great assistant, I will share her secret family recipe for an AMAZING artichoke dip.  (I apologize in advance to her family for letting the cat out of the bag.  But not really...)





Ingredients:
2 C mayonnaise
2 C Parmesan cheese (powdered)
2 cans of water packed artichoke hearts
1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
5+ garlic cloves, pressed (the more the merrier!)
~1 C shredded cheese of choice to melt on top

Directions:
1. Combine mayo and Parmesan cheese
2. Drain and chop artichoke hearts.
3. Combine artichoke hearts with garlic and parsley.
4. Mix everything together.
5. Sprinkle extra cheese shreds on top.
(We had a 4 cheese Mexican mix plus some left over mozzarella.  We just threw it all on there.)
5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until nice and bubbly.

I used my stoneware for this, since it holds the heat so nicely.


Any pie dish, Pyrex, or other oven safe dish is acceptable.


Regardless, everyone will RAVE about about it and there will be NONE left over.