Summertime Entertaining Ideas

Summer is a GREAT time to gather friends and entertain!  Outdoor parties are always fun - not always the easiest to pull off here in the Valley of the Sun - but if you have misters or even outdoor air conditioners, it isn't impossible!

While planning your event or party, it's important to think about color palette, theme, and what will make your guests most happy.  I pulled together this list of ideas to hopefully inspire you!  I would keep this particular one to a "no kid" party so that the adults can spend their time relaxing and enjoying the company of their friends.  These entertaining ideas can certainly be used for an indoor or outdoor party.

If you have followed me for awhile, you know that I am big on serving lots of appetizers at a party rather than a meal.  These ideas are intended to that as well as to provide ideas on what you can prepare ahead of time so that you can ensure you enjoy the event to the fullest.

To set the tone of this "grown-up" party, I'd suggest starting with an invitation.  Paperless Post is a wonderful resource for all of your invitation needs - either paper or online.  They are passionate about the overall experience for their customers seeking unique invitations.  You can see their awesomely extensive invitation selection here.

For the above inspiration board, I was drawn towards the colors of plum, green, and gold.  On The Wedding Chicks site, you'll find more images of the gorgeous Bohemian styled tablescape here.  Small vases filled with colorful flowers are the perfect way to decorate the table such as the ones pictured above from Tulipina Floral Design.  Using brightly colored sliced fruit is another great way to line a vase and then fill with flowers as a centerpiece.   Adding some colorful candle holders around your event space, such as these ribbed glass lantern candle holders from World Market is easy.  They come in lots of colors and are currently on sale!

Even if you stick to serving appetizers only, having a beautifully decorated table will invite your guests to sit down, savor their food, and take a moment to relax.

When it comes to serving drinks, it's good to serve a variety - and always making sure to  have water, or even sparkling water, available.  The three cocktails shown in the above image can all be found on this blog.  Shock Top's Lemon Shandy, my mom's favorite margaritas, and the Blackberry Mojitos are all not only beautiful in color, but also cool and refreshing - perfect for summertime entertaining.

I am a big believer of serving your food on simple dinnerware and platters.  This allows the food to present itself.  Now I can't say that I don't have some decorative serving pieces myself, but for the most part, it's pretty simple!  Sur la Table had some great products that would look fantastic. Pictured below are the Chilewich Scribble Table Runner, their set of 4 Ochre Fiore Napkins, this Myko Serve Platter (currently a bargain - on sale for $17.96) and these Bistro Round Plates.  Now I'm not saying you have to go out and buy new plates, but having a set of white plates on hand, isn't THAT awful of an idea, is it?  :)

When you are ready to starting thinking about the food you will actually be serving, in my opinion, dishes you can prepare ahead is key - at least some of them!  Having a variety (including vegetarian options) will make your guests most happy.  From the inspiration board above, here are the links to the food ideas for your summertime party.

An easy make-ahead appetizer is this Blue Cheese Dip - for those who love blue cheese, this will be devoured.  Along with this, you can set out some cut veggies and hummus.

The Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sliders with a Berry Sauce and Blue Cheese Butter look absolutely delicious to me! However, not everyone is a fan of blue cheese so I would recommend having the butter on the side. Serving salads on a larger scale for your party goers are also popular during the summer as they are light and refreshing.  This Tuscan Melon and Blackberry Salad with Prosciutto and Yogurt Chèvre (a.k.a. Goat Cheese) Dressing from LunaCafe is not only beautiful in color - but meets the summer salad criteria perfectly.

Sliced avocados drizzled with olive oil then sprinkled with salt and pepper and finished off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice is another easy dish to prepare.   The Blood Orange Caprese Salad pictured above is one of my favorites.  Make a large portion and serve on a platter.  Your guests will thank you.

Shrimp and scallops are also ideal for summertime entertaining.  Flavorful but not too filling - and quick to make.  The Grilled Shrimp with Serrano Mint Sauce from Saramay's Specialties is easy and the sauce could certainly be made ahead of time.  Another seafood idea are these Sauteed Scallops with Peas in a Lemon Tarragon Sauce - some of these dishes will take you away from the party, but enlist a couple of foodie friends to pull these together, I'm sure they'd love to cook with you!

When it comes to dessert, you've got this.  Last summer I posted these make-ahead Mini Ice Cream Sundaes and they are PERFECT for entertaining!  They aren't huge, they are ready to go when you are ready to serve dessert, and they are devoured in an instant.  What's not to love?

I hope that you will "pin" this post and use as a reference as you plan your summertime parties - and if you do - please come back and tell me all about it!

Super Bowl Party - Some of My Favorite Dishes

Well it is Super Bowl week right here in Phoenix, Arizona!  How exciting!  Over the years I have hosted many Super Bowl parties - so for this week’s column, I would like to redirect you back to some of my favorites I have posted to my blog.  Hopefully some of these will give you inspiration to try for your own Super Bowl party! 

Hands down, one of the most popular snacks I make are the Seasoned Ritz Crackers.  These are ridiculously easy and will be devoured in no time. 

The Mini Chili Bread Bowls are also popular.  Lots of people like to each chili while watching football – so why not serve in a hollowed out dinner roll? 

Another good appetizer for a crowd is the Mexican Cheesecake – cheese, sour cream, green chilies, tomatoes, green onions, and olives prepared and ready to serve with tortilla chips – what’s not to love?

You can find the Breaded Ravioli on my blog too – these require a little bit more effort to prepare, but they are worth it.  Trust me.

My final suggestion for your Super Bowl party this year – Carol’sClam Dip.  This is my mother-in-law’s recipe and traditionally made by our family during the holidays, but it good ANY time of the year!  The bowl will be scraped clean – it’s that good. 

What are some of your favorite Super Bowl watching snacks?  I love to hear your feedback!  

Kalamata Tomato Bruschetta - Even for the Olive Haters

My little one's preschool is celebrating Week of the Young Child! and today's theme was "Teacher's Matter Celebration".  I was happy to participate in this and provide the teachers with a tasty and healthy snack! 

I wanted to make a traditional bruschetta - with a twist - and remembered I had some Kalamata olives in my fridge and thought those would add a nice salty flavor to the tomato mixture.  People are either olive lovers or olive haters.  I think that even the haters might enjoy this dish!  They are diced small, like the tomatoes!

This is a great dish to serve to a crowd and very easy to prepare.  Thanks to those teachers who have taught both of my sons at this preschool over the years!

Kalamata Bruschetta
Serves 10-12

2 French baguettes, sliced
Olive Oil
Chiffonade of 12-15 basil leaves
8 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced small
1 cup Kalamata olives diced small (same size as the tomatoes)
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place the sliced baguette in a single layer on a cookie sheet and drizzle each slice with a small amount of olive oil.  Bake in the oven until slightly golden and crunchy.

In a large bowl combine the basil leaves, tomatoes, garlic, and olives.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, stir to combine.  Add pepper to taste.

Serve the tomato mixture in a bowl alongside the toasted bread.

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

Are you looking for an easy yet seasonal appetizer for Thanksgiving?  Look no more!  I found this adorable Pumpkin Cheese Ball on Cupcakes OMG - isn't it perfect?  She calls it a Parmesan Cheese Ball - which, agreed, makes sense - but I decided to tag it as a pumpkin cheese ball purely for search purposes only!  :)  Served with crackers and bell pepper strips, it has a great presentation!

Pumpkin Cheese Ball
Recipe Courtesy of Cupcakes OMG
Serves 10-12

8 ounce block of cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Doritos, crushed
Stem from an orange bell pepper

Mix the cheeses, oregano, onion powder, and pepper until well incorporated. Shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours - best overnight.  Before serving, roll in crushed Doritos and place the stem from a bell pepper on top. Serve with crackers, chips, and bell pepper slices.

Lemon Rosemary Goat Cheese Crostini with Aged Balsamic Drizzle

This crostini is beyond delicious!  If you like goat cheese, you are going to want to try this!  Not only does it taste good, but it is super easy to make. 

When planning this for a party, you can slice the bread in advance and store in a zip top container to keep fresh.  You will also want to make the balsamic drizzle ahead of time.  This can easily be stored in a squeeze bottle in your refrigerator.  Just before you are ready to serve, spread the cheese on the bread slices, broil, then drizzle with the balsamic.  These can easily be served warm or at room temperature - perfect for a party!

Lemon Rosemary Goat Cheese Crostini with Aged Balsamic Drizzle
Serves 6-8 as appetizer 

11 oz. log of goat cheese
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
Peel of 1 lemon
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¾ cup Aged Balsamic Vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
Baguette, sliced

Place the log of goat cheese in a narrow pan...a loaf pan is perfect for this.  Add rosemary, salt, black peppercorns, and lemon peel.  Pour olive oil over goat cheese.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, periodically spooning more olive oil over the goat cheese.  You can also break up the goat cheese into large pieces so that more of it can marinate in the olive oil.  Note that the goat cheese will not absorb all of the oil. 

To make the balsamic drizzle, in a small saucepan over medium heat, add aged balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, stir to combine.  Watch the pan constantly and stir frequently until the vinegar reduces by about half.  This will take 15-20 minutes.  Once reduced, let cool and pour into squeeze bottle. 

Just before serving, preheat oven to broil.  To each slice of baguette, spread a generous amount of goat cheese and place on a baking sheet. Spoon a small amount of the marinated olive oil to each slice.  As you start to spread the cheese, it will start to break apart in the marinating dish.  Goat cheese can be very crumbly!    It's OK - just keep scooping it up, along with the oil, with your spreader. 

Broil until cheese is bubbly and toasts are golden, about 5-7 minutes.  

Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  Using squeeze bottle (or spoon) to drizzle balsamic glaze over each baguette slice.  Serve.  Store any remaining balsamic glaze in refrigerator.

Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls

As I have shared in prior posts, the hubby and I play in a monthly Couples Euchre group.  Don’t know what Euchre is?  It’s a card game (pronounced u-ker) from the Midwest….and it’s a lot of fun!  I started our Couples Euchre group 7 years ago – in July to be exact.  I was 1 month away from delivering our first child.  The group has changed over the years, but we still play just about every month.  We rotate through the couples to host each time – but everyone is responsible for bringing an appetizer to share. 

This year, I have made something “buffalo style” for each Euchre we have attended and the hubby and I have only missed a couple.  Only one Euchre player has called me out on it so far - one of the guys even!  I really wanted to see if anyone would notice.  I suppose if they read this post, then they’ll definitely be on to me!

For July Euchre, I made Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls.  They were delicious!  To the serving platter I added celery, carrots and of course some blue cheese and ranch dressing.   

The chicken can be made in advance - I actually took a couple of large chicken breasts and threw them in the crockpot with some of the Frank's Hot Buffalo Sauce and some salt & pepper.  Once they were cooked through, I shredded them. 

I think this would also be good with blue cheese crumbles inside or maybe even some of the scallions.

 

Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls
Serves 8-12 as an appetizer

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 package egg roll wrappers
¼ cup thinly sliced celery
¼ cup thinly sliced carrot
½ to ¾ cup Frank’s Hot Buffalo Sauce
Non-stick cooking spray
Blue Cheese and Ranch dressings (to serve)
Carrots and celery sticks (to serve)
Sliced scallions (to garnish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine chicken, sliced celery, sliced carrot, and buffalo sauce in a bowl.  Mix until well combined.  If you like your food a little bit more “saucey” – then add more sauce.  Place one of the egg roll wrappers down at a diagonal.  Add about 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture to the middle of the wrapper.  Fold the bottom of the wrapper up, tucking it under the chicken and fold the sides in over the chicken.  Roll the rest of the way up.  Repeat until you have no chicken mixture remaining.  You will have extra egg roll wrappers – so save those in a zip top bag in the refrigerator for another use. 

Spray a baking sheet with the non-stick cooking spray and place spring rolls on top.  Bake 15 minutes or so until golden brown.

Garnish with scallions and serve with dressings and carrots/celery. 

Summertime Salsa

We attended a 4th of July party at a friend's house this year, along with my Patriotic Punch, I decided to bring along this fresh, healthy salsa.  I was inspired by a recipe out of Williams Sonoma Complete Outdoor Living Cookbook.  I switched out some of the ingredients, added a few, and adapted it to what was on sale in the grocery store! 

I served it with Tostitos Multigrain Scoops which were perfect to hold a big helping of the salsa.   It turned out to be super yummy and I received lots of compliments by everyone at the celebration.

This is a quick and easy appetizer to make - I hope you'll make it this summer and let me know what you think!

Summertime Salsa

Makes about 6 cups

Adapted from Williams Sonoma Complete Outdoor Living Cookbook

14.5 ounce petite diced tomatoes, drained (I did this for speed, next time, I will dice a tomato!)

1 bell pepper, diced (you pick the color - I chose red because it was on sale)

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 cucumber, diced

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup corn (I used frozen)

1 Serrano pepper, seeds removed and diced (remember to wear gloves!)

2 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons of lime juice

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 avocado, diced (wait until you are ready to serve before dicing)

chips for serving

Combine the tomatoes, bell pepper, carrots, cucumber, green onions, corn, Serrano pepper, cilantro, lime juice, salt & pepper, olive oil in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Just before serving, add diced avocado.  Serve with chips. 

Tex-Mex Deviled Eggs

Easter is right around the corner and I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes for deviled eggs.  I found this recipe years ago in the magazine, Southern Living.  This was well before the days of Pinterest so with all other recipes I wanted to keep, I ripped it out of the magazine, stuck it in a sheet protector, and added it to my 3 ring binder of recipes. 

This is a twist on your typical deviled egg recipe adding “Tex-Mex” elements such as cilantro and jalapeños.  I have served this at Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas – or sometimes even just because the hubby loves them so much.  They have always been a big hit – I hope you give these a try this Easter season and let me know what you think!

 

Tex-Mex Deviled Eggs
Makes 12 deviled eggs
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living Magazine

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1 tablespoon diced green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 small serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (wear gloves!)
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Chili powder

Cut eggs in half crosswise; carefully remove yolks.  Mash yolks, and stir in green onions and next five ingredients. 

Spoon or pipe into egg whites halves, note that if you decide to pipe, make sure you use a tip with a large opening.  Sprinkle with cheese and chili powder.  Cover and chill before serving. 

Buffalo Chicken Sliders with a Celery Slaw

I recently published these sliders in my latest column for the Southeast Valley Ledger but wanted to share here as well!

If you have been following me for a while, you’ll know that the hubby and I play “Couples Euchre” each month with a number of our friends – we have eight couples in the group.  Each month a different couple hosts the night of cards and everyone brings an appetizer to share.  This month, I made buffalo chicken sliders with a celery ranch “slaw”.  I can’t take credit for the idea of adding the slaw; I found it on The Country Cook.

How did they turn out?  They were a hit!  I made enough to share with our neighbor – you’ll have to check out my blog post about The Perfect Gift, it’s about him.  Anyway – I told him that I wasn’t exactly providing dinner, that they were small and more like appetizers, so he’d want to add something else…perhaps a cold beer.  Perfect.  Just before heading out to Euchre I passed the small sandwiches and slaw over the fence line.  Shortly thereafter, I received a text message - his reaction was that they were “fan frickin' tastic”.   I hope you give these a try and think that they are just as tasty.   What’s even better about Euchre this month?  I took home 1^st place….

 

 

Buffalo Chicken Sliders with a Celery Ranch Slaw
Serves 12
Recipe adapted from The Country Cook

6 chicken breasts (frozen are fine)
1 ½ bottles of buffalo wing sauce (I prefer Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce)
Salt, pepper
4 ribs celery, thinly sliced
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup ranch dressing
4 tablespoons buffalo wing sauce
18-24 sliced dinner rolls, we used King's Hawaiian Honey Wheat Dinner Rolls

Place the chicken breasts in a crock pot and season with salt and pepper.  Cover with buffalo wing sauce.  If you are using frozen chicken, you’ll want to start these in the morning.   If they are thawed, you’ll need 4-5 hours.  Turn the chicken periodically throughout the day.  Once the chicken is cooked and tender, shred the meat into small pieces and return to the crock pot. 

To make the slaw, combine the celery, red onion, ranch dressing (or blue cheese dressing would work too), and buffalo wing sauce.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

To serve, pile up a bunch of shredded chicken on a dinner roll and top with the celery slaw – delish!

Buffalo Chicken Dip - Two Ways

A girlfriend of mine made this buffalo chicken dip for our New Year's Eve party - it was DELICIOUS!  We have had a similar dip that is served in a crock pot - all mixed up - but this was more of a baked option.

The original recipe called for blue cheese dressing.  I know that there are many people who would prefer ranch dressing with their buffalo chicken over blue cheese (the hubby included).  So I made 1 1/2 times the amount in the recipe my girlfriend gave me and split it into two 8x8 dishes instead of serving it in on 9x13 dish.  One had ranch, one had blue cheese.   I also used two different cheeses for the topper (mostly to be able to more easily identify one from the other).   For the ranch dip I used a four cheese Mexican blend and for the blue cheese dip, I used a mild cheddar.

The version I made in the 8x8 pan ended up being a little thicker than the 9x13 but it still worked.  I made this for our monthly Couples Euchre night and added a spoon to each dish so everyone could serve some on their plate and dip their Tostitos Multigrain Scoops and cut celery into it.  It was very hearty - I ended up using a fork at times to get it into my chip!

Overall, the ranch version was more popular.  I enjoyed both - but we definitely had more of the ranch dish consumed!

Next time I may try to use blue cheese crumbles instead of the dressing - I'll let you know how it turns out!

I hope you try both - you can always cut down the recipe to make one 9x13 dish as well.    I cooked my chicken in the crock pot all day with some chicken broth and beer then shredded it.  Canned chicken can be used as well, but you will have a different texture. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Blue Cheese

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Ranch

Buffalo Chicken Dip - Two Ways
Serves 12

3 (8 oz) low fat Neufchâtel cheese, softened to room temperature (regular cream cheese can be used)
1 1/4 bottle Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
3 large chicken breasts (enough to make about 3 cups of shredded chicken)
Salt & Pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
chicken broth
bottle of beer
(use above ingredients after chicken breasts if following crock pot method to cook chicken)
3/4 jar Marie's Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
1 cup (about) fat free ranch dressing (regular ranch can be used)
6-8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or shredded cheese of your choice)
Scoops chips and celery sticks for serving

To make the chicken in the crock pot, the morning you are making the dip, add frozen chicken breasts to crock pot, bottle of beer, and some chicken broth to almost cover.  Cook on high for several hours.  Continue turning them throughout the day to cook them and start to break them apart.  Add salt and pepper as well as garlic powder.  Once cooked, finely shred the chicken, remove from liquid, add a little bit more salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Once you are ready to make dip and the cheese is at room temperature, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add the shredded chicken and Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce to a large saute pan.  Stir to coat.

Between your two 8x8 pans, spread your softened Neufchâtel cheese (12 oz in each pan).   Next, split your shredded chicken between the two pans like this:

To one of the pans, dollop spoonfuls of the Marie's Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing and spread out to cover the chicken.  To the other pan, pour the ranch dressing and spread out to cover chicken.

Add shredded cheese to each pan, enough to cover dressing.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  Up your oven temperature to a broil, move up the rack, and cook until the cheese is nice and broiled.  Serve warm with chips and celery.

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Ranch

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Blue Cheese

Wintery Appetizers

The Snowman Cheese Ball that I posted a couple of days ago has received a lot of attention!  If you recall, this was the winner of the 2012 Holiday Appetizer Competition at our December Couples Euchre night.  So I wanted to feature the two appetizers from the 2011 contest as well.  Surprisingly, the two women who made these had NO idea the other was making these cute little penguins!  The voting was very close last year, the penguins with the scarves took first place with the penguins without scarves ('cause they had an igloo to keep them warm) took a close second.

 

I didn't even manage to take photos last year!  These are courtesy of one of the contestants!

The recipe for the first place winner came from Food.com and was the Perky Olive Penguins dish. 

Second place went to the Penguins and Igloo Appetizer:

What kind of creative dishes are you making this holiday season?

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Bruschetta

Many of you know how I feel about tomatoes..not a huge fan...but, I'm actually OK with them as bruschetta.  However, I'm also VERY fond of roasted red bell peppers so decided to make those in place of tomatoes for my bruschetta appetizer I served tonight!

This dish is quite tasty and a nice change of pace when you are serving bruschetta!  I hope you give it a try and let me know what you think!

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Bruschetta
Serves 4-6

6 large red bell peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 basil leaves, chiffonade
1 tablespoon olive oil (I used Queen Creek Olive Mill's Tuscan Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I used Queen Creek Olive Mill's White Balsamic Vinegar)
Salt & pepper to taste

To Serve:
Baguette, sliced and toasted
Crackers

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Roast peppers on a baking sheet for 15 - 20 minutes until blackened.  Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.  Put the roasted peppers in a large zip top bag - this will make it easier to remove the skins.  Let them sit into the bag until cooled.  Once you are ready to prepare, remove the skins from the peppers, remove seeds, drain any excess liquid, and dice.   Once you have the diced peppers in a bowl, drain off any excess liquid.  To the bowl of diced peppers, add the garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Serve with baguette slices and crackers. 

Breaded Ravioli

Each month, we participate in a "Couples Euchre Night" - one couple hosts, providing the house, drinks, and dessert and the other 7 couples bring an appetizer to share.   We enjoy this night every month and I love trying to find a recipe that will be a big hit with the group of 16! 

The participants of this group have evolved over time, but this group has been playing for 6 years now. We have had months when everyone has the same idea on their mind and we end up with 4 platters of buffalo wings or a night where everyone brings some sort of dip!

Last weekend, I decided to make Breaded Ravioli out of one of my Costco cookbooks - yep, Costco cookbooks.  Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, I head to Costco to pick up my free cookbook that they hand out until they are all gone.  I don't think every Costco does this, but I know mine does! 

This was pretty easy to make - I prepared ahead of time and heated just before heading out of the house.  They would have been good in a chafing dish, but tasted great at room temperature too.  There was a lot of cooking in my kitchen over the weekend as we hosted dinner for others on Friday and Sunday - so on Saturday decided to not make it too much work and served the ravioli with a store bought marinara sauce for dipping.  Normally I would have probably made my own. 

I hope you give these a try and enjoy!

Breaded Ravioli
Serves 4-6
Recipe courtesy of Cooking In Style The Costco Way

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
4 teaspoons milk
1/2-1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
12 frozen four-cheese ravioli, thawed
3 cups vegetable, corn, or canola oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan or other cheese
Prepared marinara sauce or salsa

Place flour in a shallow bowl.  (I added salt and pepper to the flour)

Combine eggs and milk in a small bowl.

Place bread crumbs in another bowl.

Gently coat each ravioli with flour.  Dip the egg mixture and then coat with bread crumbs.

Pour oil into heavy frying pan and heat until it sizzles.  Fry ravioli 4 at a time for about 2 minutes, or until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Cut ravioli in half, insert a toothpick in each half and serve with marinara sauce or salsa.