Pizza Monkey Bread

Soft biscuit dough, mozzarella, pepperoni, and herbs bake into a wreath-shaped bread ring for a tasty holiday appetizer.

Pizza Monkey Bread

Thanksgiving always has been the gateway to Christmas for me. I’d be happy to skip over turkey and sweet potatoes and jump into cheeseballs, trays of cookies, cherished holiday songs and movies. Although many businesses push the holidays closer to Halloween every year, I’m old school and refrain from turning on the Christmas classics until Thanksgiving.

If you’re like me and will start the holiday movie marathons this weekend, I have fun snack for you to share with family and friends. Pizza Monkey Bread also is a great dish to bring to the party when invite reads “heavy appetizers” on the menu. Pair it with a non-alcoholic cranberry spritzer for the littles or a glass of wine or cold beer for the adults. It’s easy to make, fun to eat, and has a bit of a festive flair. There’s no shortage for monkey bread recipes online — I’ve tweaked this one from the Wisconsin Dairy Council, adding fresh garlic and dried herbs. Let’s get cooking!

To make Pizza Monkey Bread, which yields 12 servings, you’ll need these ingredients:

• 2 cans refrigerated, flaky biscuits

• ½ cup melted butter

• 3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 1/3 cups turkey pepperoni, diced

• 2 cups mozzarella cheese

• Grated Parmesan

I used Tastefully Simple’s Spinach & Herb Seasoning which is a nice tradeoff for dried parsley. When I make this again, I’ll do 2 Tablespoons of Spinach & Herb and 1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning. The dairy council’s recipe included fresh parsley and granulated garlic.

If you wanted to make this vegetarian, swap the pepperoni for one of the many brands of plant-based Italian “sausage” and just dice it up to add into the bread.

Have a bowl of pesto or marinara sauce at the ready when you're ready to enjoy Pizza Monkey Bread.

Follow these directions to make Pizza Monkey Bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in dried herbs and fresh garlic.

Open the biscuits and separate. Cut each biscuit into quarters and drop pieces — about four at a time — in the saucepan to coat in butter mixture.

Place pieces in an ungreased bundt, working your way around the circle. Sprinkle about ¼ of pepperoni and cheese. Repeat another three times until all biscuit pieces, cheese and pepperoni are used.

Cover the bundt pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes until the top has browned and center is cooked (use a knife as a tester).

To serve, gently run a knife around the outside of bread after it’s set for a few minutes and carefully invert the pan onto the serving board or plate. I like to set a small bowl of pesto out to serve as a dipping sauce, but you also could use your favorite marinara — or both because it’s the holidays! Sprinkle the top of the bread with grated Parmesan. Garnish with fresh rosemary or cherry tomatoes in the center.

My daughter came into the kitchen when this came out of the oven — she was working from home today — and asked what I was making. After we got the photos, we happily tore into this monkey bread! I heard her tell co-workers about it when she went back to her desk. I think your friends and family will “go ape” for this snack!

We really tore into the Pizza Monkey Bread! It's a great appetizer for your holiday gatherings.

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Can I reheat this bread?

If there is leftover bread (and that’s a big “if”), wrap it in foil and store in the refrigerator for a day or two. Place the bread on a baking sheet and heat it in the oven at 350 degrees F — still wrapped — for 5 to 8 minutes.

About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Cranberry and Herb Cheese Log

Make the perfect holiday bite of cream cheese, savory herbs, and dried cranberries. Dress up your cheese board with this easy cheese log.

Cranberry and Herb Cheese Log

I’m not sure how to prove this but I’d bet over the holidays we consume at least twice as much cream cheese as we do in any other month. Whether it’s in cheesecake, mac-and-cheese casseroles, Jell-o salads, sauces, or as part of a cheese board, Americans love their cream cheese.

To make this festive Cranberry and Herb Cheese Log we start with a block of cream cheese then add some dried herbs and cranberries plus chopped pecans for a simple yet impressive holiday appetizer.

Whether on its own before the main course or part of a large charcutier board, your guests will gobble up this snack that features Tastefully Simple’s Rustic Herb Seasoning. I recently made this for a gathering of my friends, and everyone loved it! Another friend made this for a birthday party in her family and she said it was a hit. I think you’ll like it, too.

Ingredients for Cranberry and Herb Cheese Log, which yields 8 servings:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

• ¼ cup gorgonzola cheese crumbles

• 1½ teaspoons Rustic Herb Seasoning

• 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped and divided

• ½ cup chopped pecans

• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

• 1 Tablespoon honey

The gorgonzola and cranberries are a great combination. Rustic Herb Seasoning — a mix of rosemary, thyme, granulated garlic, black pepper, and other spices — provides the traditional holiday flavors we love to the recipe from Tastefully Simple. I love having this versatile blend in my pantry, but if you don’t have it, try grinding together dried rosemary and thyme with granulated garlic and pepper; try 1 teaspoon each of dried herbs and ½ teaspoon of garlic and pepper. The great thing about Tastefully Simple’s blend is all the guess work has been done for you.

How to make Cranberry Herb Cheese Log

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, gorgonzola, Rustic Herb Seasoning, and ½ cup of chopped cranberries. Refrigerate 2 hours until firm.

Shape into a log. Here’s a hack to use; transfer the cheese mixture on to a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap up the cheese and roll with your hands into the log. Unwrap and place the cheese log on a cutting board.

Mix the remaining cranberries, pecans, and fresh parsley in a smaller bowl and sprinkle over cheese log. Roll the log in the mixture until fully covered. Transfer to a serving plate and drizzle with honey.

Serve the cheese log with your choice of crackers and bread.

A curated cheese board is always the right appetizer for a holiday gathering.

Tips to help you build a beautiful cheese board

Remember when charcuterie took off in 2020 when we were isolating at home due to COVID? This culinary trend hasn’t gone away; if anything, it continues to get more creative. But it’s important not to forget some basics, so here are a few points from the St. Louis Dairy Council to keep in mind before you build your holiday charcuterie presentations.

1.     Cheese falls under eight categories: blue, hard, semi-hard, pasta filata (example, mozzarella), fresh soft, semi-soft, soft ripened, and processed. The first seven are applicable for charcuterie, but let’s leave the processed cheese to casseroles or mac-and-cheese.

I’ve seen a variety of suggestions as to the rules of how much cheese to include, but for a basic board, I think a good rule of thumb is semi-hard (cheddar, for example) and either a semi-soft (a Havarti) or a soft ripened (such as brie). Our Cranberry Herb Cheese Log would fill in beautifully for a soft ripened cheese. You could add a hard cheese (Parmesan) or a blue veined if you like, but a basic board starts with two cheeses.

2.     Keep pairings on your board simple. With so many selections, it’s easy to go overboard at the specialty store or supermarket or be overwhelmed in front of the shelves. But if you select one item to pair with your selected cheeses, you’ll be in good shape.

As an example, a semi-soft cheese is paired with seasonal fruit. Ripened soft cheeses love a nice chutney. Blue-veined cheese is always great with a drizzle of honey and walnuts. Pair a semi-hard cheese with sausage, and Parmesan can stand up to cured meats (salami, for example) or spiced nuts.

3.     Quality cheeses can be pricey, so following the correct way to store these is important. The dairy council recommends wrapping cheese first in wax paper and then in plastic wrap. Only blue cheese can be wrapped in aluminum foil. Store cheese in the vegetable crisper. How long cheese will keep properly stored in the fridge has to do with the type of cheese. For example, cream cheese when properly stored can keep seven to 10 days. Harder cheeses typically stay longer.

4.     The question of crackers or bread on charcuterie comes up, but my thinking is a good crusty bread, especially if you have something to spread like the Cranberry Herb Cheese Log or a soft ripened cheese. Of course, you can make everyone happy with a little of both on the board.

No matter what your holiday cheese board looks like, I hope you’ll include the Cranberry Herb Cheese Log. Please remember me as your Tastefully Simple consultant should you order. And if you make this, tag @threewomeninthekitchen when you post to Instagram or Facebook; I’d love to see your creations!

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About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Cocktail Franks in Cranberry Chili Sauce

Mini smoked sausages, jellied cranberries, and rosemary simmer in a homemade chili sauce. This is a classic holiday appetizer everyone loves.

Cocktail franks are dressed for the holidays.

Ready. Get set. Here come the holidays!

Now, can we all just get real with one another? While those Pinterest-perfect food and table setting pics look great, don’t we want some simple solutions for entertaining? I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather spend time with family and friends versus logging hours in my kitchen.

So, as we embark on a busy November (and December), let’s embrace the shortcuts, the tasty yet simple recipes, and settle into the idea that we don’t have to do this by ourselves! In this simplified holiday spirit, we’re going to explore some easy entertaining tips from the experts and revisit a classic appetizer with a newer twist.

Some form of Lit’l Smokies — those mini smoked sausages in some form of sweet tomato sauce — has been on holiday buffets for generations. My mom often made Lit’l Smokies in barbecue sauce for our New Year’s Eve home party. The vintage recipe used grape jelly and bottled chili sauce. You’ll find thousands of recipes online for this popular appetizer; let me save you some time. All you need is a can of jellied cranberry sauce, a small can of tomato sauce, a little brown sugar, fresh rosemary, and a few other items from your pantry. These little sausages cook on your stove top in under an hour and freeze well. Let’s get cooking because company’s coming!

To make Cocktail Franks in Cranberry and Chili Sauce, which yields about 8 servings, you’ll need these ingredients:

• 1 (14-ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce

• 1 (4-ounce) can tomato sauce

• 1 (14-ounce) package Lit’l Smokies smoked cocktail links

• 1 fresh rosemary sprigs

• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire

Follow these directions to make Cocktail Franks in Cranberry and Chili Sauce

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and red pepper flakes to pan.

Open cranberry sauce, slice, and cube. Add to saucepan. Cover and stir frequently until sauce starts to come together.

Add Lit’l Smokies and stir. Drop in rosemary and turn heat to medium. Cook for 30 minutes until cranberries have melted into the sauce and links are heated through. Stir ocasionally to prevent sauce from burning.

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Party tips for easy entertaining

The goal of any holiday party should be connecting with friends and family, not outshining Martha Stewart. I love an appetizer party. It’s simple and frees up your time to enjoy your guests.

Make a pretty cheeseboard—with either a cheeseball or just two cheeses—with fresh or dried fruit, and crusty bread. Have one or two additional appetizers and you’re good to go! It’s good to have at least one hot app (the cocktail franks, for example) and cold selection.

Kim Cook often writes about entertaining for the Associated Press. She reminds us to keep the party’s setting simple. A counter or coffee table can fit the bill as a place to organize your food and beverages. Full sets of china aren't necessary; mix-and-match plates and glasses can be quite stylish. Some fresh supermarket flowers and well-placed candles, as well as holiday music, rounds out the ambiance. For more tips, visit Kim’s blog.

And what’s a holiday gathering without drinks? Have a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for your guests. While the newest holiday cocktail lends a perfect Instagram moment, a batch cocktail will save a lot of time.

Cranberry Rose Spritzer

Try this tasty Cranberry Rosé Spritzer! You’ll need:

• 1 bottle (750 ml) chilled rosé

• 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice

• 1 cup ginger ale

• 1 cup ginger simple syrup (here’s a recipe from Spruce Eats)

Serve over ice cubes and garnish with fresh rosemary and cranberry. This spritzer pairs beautifully with the Cocktail Wieners in Cranberry and Chili Sauce!

About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.