APPETIZERS

In our family, a few appetizers with a glass of wine, a Sea Breeze or a beer is key in starting a wonderful evening. Please do not rush us. We enjoy this time so much! Let’s just have a drink, listen to some music, have a little snack and visit for a little while. These are all ingredients for a fabulous dinner party.

The gentle art of gastronomy is a friendly one. It hurdles the language barrier, makes friends among civilized people, and warms the heart." ~ Samuel Chamberlain

Hearts of Palm Spread

This is a nice alternative to a yummy artichoke dip and sure to make a hungry group happy. Serve with crackers.

1 (14 oz) can hearts of palm drained and chopped

3/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup (4 oz) shredded Mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons minced green onions

Paprika to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the hearts of palm, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and green onions in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a greased 9 inch quiche pan or pie plate. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly and brown.

Yield: 24 servings

Bacon and Tomato Crisps

You will swear you were eating a BLT (minus the “L”) on toasted bread. People will scream at the top of their lungs, “What IS this we are eating? This is INCREDIBLE!!!!” and you can lie and say it is Bacon Brushetta and it took you hours to make. It will take you exactly 3 minutes to make this appetizing appetizer.

1 package of Rice crackers (I like the sesame kind)
1 package of REAL bacon bits
Add Enough mayonnaise (light or regular) to make a nice dip consistency
2 Roma tomatoes
Black Pepper (to taste)

Combine the bacon and mayonnaise. Spoon a small amount on a cracker. Slice Roma tomatoes and put a 1/2 slice on each cracker. Sprinkle with pepper. You can get more gourmet and add fresh basil or arugula (to add the “L” in your BLT) or you can use cream cheese instead of mayonnaise for a different taste.

Chex Patio Mix

This was ripped from the pages of some Ladies Magazine back in 1976. The ad read, “Chex Patio Mix for the Summer of 76 (our bicentennial year). This has been a holiday and beach snack with our family for over 30 years (Yikes! Isn’t that scary?).

6 tablespoons butter/margarine
2 cups Corn Chex
1 tablespoon Seasoned Salt
2 cups Rice Chex
2 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce or Garlic Powder
2 cups Wheat Chex
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup Pretzel stick
1 cup salted nuts

Melt butter in big pot, on low heat. Stir in seasonings. Blend well. Add Chex, pretzels and peanuts. Mix until pieces are coated. Heat and stir for 10 minutes (keep at low heat). Cool on paper towels.

Cheese Crispies

Cheese Crispies are what a Cheese-It wants to be it grows up. This was well-used Katherine Haymes’ recipe from the Woodbourne Cookbook and it will knock your socks off. I remember eating these cheesy, crunchy snacks at many of our Bowling/Poindexter/Clark beach visits. A great addition to a ladies brunch or shower.

1 stick room temperature margarine
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
1 cup flour 1/8 tsp Cayenne (red) pepper
1/8 tsp salt 1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup Rice Crispies

Soften margarine and mix with cheese. Add flour, salt and Cayenne. Add nuts and Rice Crispies. Make into small balls and flatten with fork. Chill. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Spinach Dip

A Classic recipe that has all the elements of a good appetizer: A vegetable (mamma would be proud), it’s creamy AND crunchy at the same time. Just follow these simple steps and you will have a huge HIT on your hands. I promise to tell YOU if you have spinach in your teeth, if you promise to tell ME.

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 1/2 cups Sour Cream
1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
1 pkg Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped

Squeeze spinach until dry. In medium bowl, stir together spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, soup mix, water chestnuts and green onions. Cover, refrigerate 2 hours. If desired, hollow out a pumpernickel bread loaf (set discarded bread pieces aside), pour in spinach dip. Cube discarded bread and dip bread in dip. You can also serve with tortilla or “Scoops” corn chips. Delish!

Black Olive Spread

If you can believe this….Charlotte LOVES olive spread and we love to make it for her because we can’t believe she actually eats it. We discovered this wonderful dip at our favorite Italian restaurant: La Strada. They serve it with sliced, toasted wedges of French bread and butter. Very easy to make and delicious over a cracker and crab dip. There are no real rules to this recipe. Just make it.

2 cans black olives
1 jar of chopped garlic in olive oil (you decide how much garlic you want)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine olives and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add salt and pepper. Chill.

“The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it… If you’reconvinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be goodat it, and you might as well warm up something frozen.”~ James Beard