Let me start this blog by saying "I love my job!" Not only do I get to photograph wonderfully creative hand-crafted pottery, but I also get to experiment with ways to use our Majolica Pottery and that often includes making some really great food. This pottery photo shoot was a family favorite and I had a few teenage boys working as photo assistants and food testers.
Having a party for the "big game" in Ohio and Michigan is a tradition for many and Packer Creek Pottery can help you throw one in style. Our versatile and colorful platters are big enough to hold wings for a crowd. And any dip looks great in a Buckeye bowl or maybe a Go Blue bowl—you choose. If you can’t decide which suits your home best, then you might need our house divided plate.
Keep in mind that our Buckeye and Go Blue patterns are hard to keep on the shelves, so come in early to browse our selection or place your order at least four weeks before the "big game."
Now for the football party food... The one thing I don't like about normal Buffalo wings is that they are often fried, so I experimented with different baked recipes that are healthier and super flavorful without being too spicy. Enjoy!
Baked Chicken Wings with Mild Buffalo Sauce
2 lb. party chicken wings (we used a fresh package of drums and a package of wings)
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning (divided)
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place a wire rack on a large baking sheet (put aluminum foil on bottom for easy clean up). Coat wings in two batches in a large bowl with 2 Tbps. Olive oil and 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning. Repeat with second batch. Place chicken on wire rack and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour and until golden brown. These wings are great with no sauce, but we like them with some mild Buffalo Wing sauce.
Buffalo Wing Sauce (mild)
1⁄3 cup butter
1⁄4 cup Frank's hot sauce
1⁄4 cup tomato sauce
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1⁄4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1⁄2 teaspoon smoky paprika
1 teaspoon honey
In a pan over low heat, melt the butter. Be careful not to burn or brown butter too much. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together well. If you want wings hotter you can add more Frank’s hot sauce and for milder wing sauce you would add more butter.
Simmer for no more than 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Pour sauce into a large bowl. Place baked wings into the bowl and toss to coat with sauce. Return the wings to the wire rack and broil for 3-5 minutes on medium, watch closely so they do not burn. Remove wings from oven and drizzle any remaining sauce over the wings.
Blue Cheese Ranch Dip
1 (16-oz.) container sour cream
1 (1-oz.) package Ranch dip mix
1 (4-oz.) package blue cheese crumbles
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (we used green onions and it was great too)
Stir together sour cream, Ranch dip mix, blue cheese crumbles, and chopped fresh chives. Serve with carrot and celery sticks, pretzels and hot wings.
Nothing reminds me of fall more than the taste of pumpkin. When the weather starts to turn colder and the leaves start to change colors that is when I spend a little extra time in the kitchen baking.
It took me several attempts to make the perfect pumpkin cookie and my boys are tough critics. The addition of chocolate chips, walnuts and homemade cream cheese frosting makes these dense little cookies the perfect treat. I also like that these don't require a lot of fancy decorating and the recipe makes enough for a crowd. These babies have been to a few Boy Scout banquets and potlucks to be sure.
I couldn't resist serving this year's first batch of pumpkin cookies on one of the lovely fall patterns we have here at Packer Creek Pottery. My biggest dilemma was which one to choose. In the end, I couldn't resist the whimsical pumpkins on the Trina's Pumpkins pattern paired with the black and white polka dot platter.
Cookie Ingredients:
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease baking sheets.
Combine flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for two minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely. When cookies are cool spread with cream cheese frosting.
Frosting Directions:
Beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a bowl until soft and creamy. Then beat in confectioner's sugar a 1/2 cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable.
We are so excited to be launching our blog! The staff at Packer Creek Pottery is creative by nature, so we all have lots of great ideas to share. Our blog will feature many topics that are aimed at decorating, gift-giving, entertaining and even food. It is our hope that you will get to know us through our blog and will feel comfortable enough to share your creative ideas with us in the comments section. We just love hearing about all the interesting ways our pottery is being used.
It has been a big year here at Packer Creek Pottery with the opening of our new gallery in Perrysburg, Ohio. Our artists have been busy creating new pottery designs and customer favorites to keep the shelves in both locations stocked with whimsical Majolica pottery. If you are not able to visit one of our northwest Ohio galleries, feel free to browse and purchase from our online store. If you see something in the blog or on one of our social media sites that you like, please feel free to call or email us. We can ship anywhere!
A few rules and our promise to you.
We hope you join us in our conversation by using the comments section in the blogs. Your thoughts, comments, suggestions and questions are welcome. We only ask that they be of general interest to most readers and in keeping with the essence of our blog articles. Also, please be kind and use good manners—profanity and bad behavior won’t be tolerated and will be removed.
We promise to keep posts interesting, diverse and fun. Our staff bloggers are busy making pottery, assisting customers and running a business—so it may take a few days to respond to questions posted in the blog comments. If you have a timely question you will get a quicker response by calling our Genoa gallery at 419-855-3858.
Thank you for reading, visiting, and commenting. We are excited to have you here with us and we hope you enjoy our content.