By Nanette Wiser
Go green for St. Patrick’s Day with a buffet fit for a leprechaun. Start with Avocado Hummus, corned beef and Swiss mini pot pies, lemon-lime frosted green cupcakes and these beverages. Slainte!
GREEN SPRITZER Before your guests arrive, slice lemon, lime, and apple and put them in a pitcher with ice. Add three cups lemonade, 1.5 cups green apple mixer and a dash of green food coloring. Top off the pitcher with three cups of 7UP. For adults, add 1.5 oz. to a cup and pour in the spritzer! Or whip up an Irish Buck, garnished with a lime wheel.
IRISH BUCK 1.5 oz. Irish whiskey; 1/4 oz. lime juice, freshly squeezed; 2 ounces ginger ale, chilled, to top. Add the whiskey and lime juice into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with the ginger ale and stir gently and briefly to combine.
AVOCADO HUMMUS
Ingredients: 1 (15oz.) can chickpeas, 1 ripe avocado halved and pitted, 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, ¼ cup tahini, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ cup lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp. ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt.
Preparation: Drain chickpeas, reserving 2 tablespoons of the liquid. Transfer the chickpeas and the reserved liquid to a food processor. Add avocado, cilantro, tahini, oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Puree until very smooth. Serve with veggie chips, pita chips or crudités.
CORNED BEEF & SWISS MINI POT PIES
Ingredients: 8 oz thinly sliced cooked corned beef, coarsely chopped; 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4 oz); 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup; 1T Dijon mustard, 1 can (16.3 oz) refrigerated Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Flaky Layers Original Biscuits (8 Count)
Preparation: Heat oven to 375°F. Grease or spray 8 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix corned beef, cheese, soup, and mustard until well combined. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press each biscuit to form 5 1/2-inch round. Place 1/3 cup meat mixture in center of each round. Gently pull edges up and around filling, and place into muffin cups. Pull edges of dough over filling toward center; pleat and pinch dough gently to hold in place, leaving some of the filling exposed. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from pan. (Recipe & photo courtesy of Pillsbury)