Vote for the winner in the Appetizer section of our cookbook

Hi All,

Please cast a vote for one of the following 10 recipes.

The winner will receive a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, and be featured in our upcoming cookbook.

Winners will be announced one week from today, Saturday, October 11, 2003


The Recipes:

Actually these are neither Hungarian nor pizzas, but a good friend was tired of hearing me refer to them as 'cheese & bacon things' and renamed them in honor of my husband's birthplace and their shape.


Hungarian Pizzas (makes 20)
posed by bandylu

10 oz. of extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 lb. of bacon
1 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs. mayonnaise
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. each of: black pepper, red pepper, ground mustard, garlic powder
6-8 drops tabasco sauce
1 package of refrigerator biscuits (10 count)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Fry bacon until crisp, reserving 1 Tbs. grease.

While bacon is frying, grate cheddar into large bowl. Add spices, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and mix well. Crumble fried bacon and add to cheese mixture. Add the reserved bacon grease and mayonnaise and mix.

Separate each refrigerator biscuit into two halves. Place the halves (total of 20) onto an ungreased 15 x 10 baking pan. Spread cheese mixture on top of each biscuit half. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 6 minutes or until edges of biscuits are lightly browned.

Notes: The spices can be decreased or increased according to taste.
Also, party rye bread or pre-toasted slices of french bread can be used instead of the biscuits -- just broil instead of bake. The cheese/bacon mixture can be prepared a day or two ahead and refrigerated (leave out at room temperature for a bit before trying to spread).

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Cottage Cheese Dip
posted by Safecracker

1 tomato, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
2 T minced cilantro
4 T minced onion
1 cup cottage cheese

Mix together and serve with baked whole-wheat tortilla chips.

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JEWISH MESHUGGAH NUTS - OR - SWEDISH NUTS
By BumbleBeeBoogie

4 cups of shelled raw nuts:
For Jewish Meshuggah Nuts, use pecan halves.
For Swedish Nuts, use any combination of blanched almonds, walnut halves, pecan halves, and cashews

2 large egg whites (or powdered egg whites reconstituted according to the package directions)
l cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (for Swedish Nuts, you may optionally omit the cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweet butter

Preheat oven at 325 degrees F.
In a bowl, using an electric or hand mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy. Beat in the sugar, cinnamon and salt until smooth and glossy and soft peaks form.
Fold the nuts into egg whites.
Melt the butter in large non-stick baking pan. Spread the nut mixture in the pan.

Bake 25 minutes, stirring half way through and at the end, until no butter remains in the pan and nuts are evenly coated and browned. Cool. Break the nuts apart with your hands. Store in a tightly covered container.

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Blue Bonnet Surprise
posted by Roger

One Stick Blue Bonnet Margarine
About one cup bread crumbs

Roll the margarine in the bread crumbs. Give this treat a quick trip through the deep fryer and it's ready to eat.

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Bruschetta
posted by Little k

Bruschetta is so perfect for august when the local (or your garden) tomatoes are ripe and sweet and herbs are fresh.

Salsa Fresca:
2 cups sweet and small tomatoes (like grape tomatoes) finely diced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (I'm guessing on the measurement for oil and vinegar)
1 large handlful of fresh basil leaf - chopped
leaves from 4" sprig of fresh rosmary - minced
4-5 sprigs of fresh parsley - minced
leaves from 6-8" of fresh thyme - crushed (between fingers as you're picking them off the stems)
1/3 cup toasted (careful not to burn them!) pine nuts - chopped
1/4 tsp salt

Foundation Bread:
lightly toasted bread slices in a 2-3" size-range
clove of garlic

Toss all ingredients of salsa in a non-metalic bowl and let sit while you toast the bread. Slice the edge off a clove of garlic - the long way. Rub open side of the clove onto bread - you can do a quick rub for less garlic flavor and more for it to be stronger.

Laddle salsa with liquids onto bread and enjoy! Keep plenty of napkins around.

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WOWCHOS
Adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie

This Gilroy Garlic Festival winning recipe by Leonard Brill of San Francisco is easy to make. It's from the 1997 The Complete Garlic Lovers' Cookbook.

This year's 2002 Garlic Festival will be held in Gilroy, California in July. www.gilroygarlicfestival.com. The Pacific North West's garlic festival will be held in Washington in June. Berkeley, California will celebrate Bastille Day with a garlic festival at Chez Panisse on July 14th, www.chezpanisse.com.

WOWCHOS

2 large heads fresh garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
2 tablespoon olive oil
packaged tortilla chips
¼ cup chopped red onion
1 can (4-ounces) chopped green chiles
11/3 cup sliced pimento-stuffed olives
1-1/2 cups grated pepper Jack cheese
chopped cilantro
chopped green onions, including the green tops

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F.

Coat the garlic cloves with the oil and place them in a small baking pan and bake them for 30 minutes, or until they are soft and golden.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

Cover a non-stick metal baking pan (approximately 9 by 12 inches) with overlapping tortilla chips. Distribute the baked garlic, red onion, chilies, and olives evenly over the tortilla chips. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the ingredients. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the chopped cilantro and green onion over the top of the ingredients, and serve.

Makes about 4 appetizer servings.

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French Seckel Pears with Blue Cheese in Marscapone
By BumbleBeeBoogie

Don't miss trying this simple but wonderfully refreshing dish as an appetizer or as a dessert while Seckel pears are in available in the fall and winter seasons.

1 package of the best English Blue Cheese you can find
1 package of the best Marscapone (Italian creamed cheese)
optional 1 teaspoon of brandy or Calvados
French Seckel Pears, peeled, cut in half, cored and sliced

Stir the optional brandy or Calvados into the Marscapone until well-mixed; finely crumble and mash the blue cheese and add to the Marscapone; mix well.

Serve as a dipping sauce for the slices of French Seckel Pears. This sauce is wonderful for other types of pears as well.

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PAI CHIAO HSIA CH'IU (Shrimp Balls)
Adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie

These shrimp balls are among the best appetizers I've ever tasted. I searched for years to find a recipe in English after I tried, without success, to get a translation from the woman who prepared them for a party I attended over ten years ago.

20 slices white bread, crusts removed, in 1/4-inch cubes (or the equivalent in Japanese Panko dried bread crumbs)
1-1/8 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined and rinsed
1/2 cup water chestnuts, blanches and finely chopped
1 large egg white, beaten lightly
2 tablespoons lard, finely chopped (do not substitute)
1 tablespoon rice wine
1-1/2 teaspoons ginger root, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons scallion (green onion) white part only, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
peanut or corn oil for frying

Optional dip for shrimp balls:
3 tablespoons coarse salt (sea salt or Kosher salt)
1 tablespoon Szechwan peppercorns, crushed and lightly toasted

(If using the Japanese Panko dried bread crumbs, you make skip the following: Arrange the bread cubes in one layer on a baking sheet and let them dry at room temperature overnight.)

In a food processor, puree the shrimp; transfer to a bowl, and stir in the water chestnuts, egg white, lard, wine, ginger, scallion, salt, and cornstarch. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon and compact it. Form rounded teaspoons of the mixture into balls with your hands, dipped in cold water. Roll the balls in the bread crumbs, pressing the cubes in lightly. Arrange them in one layer on a baking sheet.

1st frying: In a deep fryer, heat 2-inches of the oil to 375 degrees F. In it, fry the shrimp balls in batches, turning them, for 1 to 2 minutes or until they are golden. Transfer the shrimp balls to paper towels to drain.

2nd frying: Bring the oil up to 375 degrees F. again and add the shrimp balls. Fry again, turning until they are a deep golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Optional: In a small bowl, stir together the coarse salt and peppercorns for dipping. Serve with the shrimp balls.
Makes 30 shrimp balls

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Holiday Cranberry Dip
Adapted by BumbleBeeBoogie

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup white granulated sugar sugar
1 cup apricot preserves (smooth kind with no chunks in it)
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the over at 350' F.

Coat the cranberries with the sugar in a bowl. Spread the coated cranberries on a baking pan. Cover the pan with foil.

Bake the cranberries until cooked down to a liquid stage, about 20 minutes.

Remove the cranberries from the oven and transfer them into a bowl.
Stir in the chopped pecans and the apricot preserves.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, spoon the sauce over a brick of softened cream cheese or, alternatively, stir the cream cheese into the cranberry sauce. Serve with crackers or small pretzels for dipping

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Wasabi-Cream Cheese Filled Shrimp Hors D'oeuvre
An original recipe by BumbleBeeBoogie.

There are no proportions specified for this recipe. Use the largest cooked and cleaned shrimp you can find. Split the shrimp with a sharp knife to create a long stuffing pocket.

In a bowl, mix sufficient cream cheese to stuff the number of shrimp you are preparing. Whisk the cream cheese until it is soft and fluffy. Add a little chopped chives or finely minced green onions. Add the Wasabi mustard (that very hot pale green mustard you find served along with Japanese food) to your taste, starting with a little at a time until you reach the perfect mixture that is not too hot. Be sure the Wasabi is thoroughly mixed in to avoid any hot chunks.

Spoon the Wasabi-cream cheese mixture into the shrimp pockets. One time when the cream cheese was a tad too thick, I thinned it down slightly with a few drops of lemon juice. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Present the stuffed shrimp on an attractive plate and then get out of the way of the impending stampede. A wonderful and unusual appetizer that couldn't be simpler to make, even to transport to a party.