I find these appetizers on alot of Louid=siana menues. CRAWFISH BOULETTES Boulettes ("little balls") are little breaded and fried balls of meat or seafood dressing, and make a scrumptious snack, appetizer or side dish. They may also be heated in brown roux-based or tomato gravy and served with rice. 1 pound crawfish tails, preferably with fat 1 onion, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped 6 green onions, chopped 1 cup bread crumbs 1-2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, or to taste 4 eggs, beaten separately (two and two) 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4-1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, to taste Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Flour, cracker meal or corn meal for breading Grind the crawfish tails together with the next four ingredients. Add the bread crumbs, Creole seasoning, two of the beaten eggs, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Shape into boulettes, dip into remaining beaten egg, roll in breading medium and fry in oil until golden brown. Gougere Ingredients At a glance Appetizers Bread & Cheese Makes About 20 Puffs1/2 stick unsalted butter 1/2 tsp. kosher salt Pinch Cayenne Pepper Pinch paprika 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 large eggs 1 ounce Gruyere cheese. finely grated Methods/steps Preheat oven to 375F. 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Bring 1/2 cup water, butter, salt, cayenne and paprika to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour all at once with a wooden spoon. 3. Return to the heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and transfer to a metal bowl. Beat with a whick for about a minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each until fully incorporated. Add half of the Gruyère and stir to combine. 4. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch tip and pipe into one-inch mounds an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with the Gruyère. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm. Makes about 20 puffs. Here are some Cajun appetizer recipes I found on the web. I hope they help. Cajun Spiced Pecans Ingredients: 2 tb Unsalted butter 3 c Pecan halves 1/2 c Light brown sugar 1 t Paprika 2 ts Powdered Chile 1 tb Ground cumin 1/4 c Cider vinegar Salt Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the pecans and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cook until caramelized. Stir in the paprika, chile powder and cumin. Add the vinegar and cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt. Spread the pecans on a cookie sheet and bake in an oven until crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remoulade with Vegetable Crudites (Creole Appetizers) Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1/2 c Creole or brown mustard 1/2 c Salad oil 1/4 c Catsup 1/4 c Cider vinegar 1/4 ts Tabasco sauce 2 tb Finely chopped celery 2 tb Finely chopped onion 2 tb Finely chopped green pepper Cherry tomatoes Mushroom slices Cucumber slices Celery slices Carrot slices Combine mustard, oil, catsup, vinegar, Tabasco and chopped vegetables; cover and chill. Serve dip with whole and sliced vegetables. Have fun!

Can I take changeling's idea a step further--stuffed artichokes are great, AND can be done in the microwave. Cut off the top part of the whole artichoke, and trim the points off the remaining leaves (can snap off the ones at/near the base). Clean out the inside of the artichoke (the choke). Roll in lemon juice and water (mixed) to retard browning of the cut edges. Place the artichokes in a baking dish that has some water and fresh lemon juice in the bottom. Mix together seasoned breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, some minced or chopped garlic if desired, and a little olive oil. Gently pull leaf edge away from the artichoke, and sprinkle/stuff some of the breadcrumb mixture as close to the base of the leaf as possible. Do this around the entire outside of the artichoke, at the base of each leaf, sprinkling/packing in as much of the breadcrumb mixture as you can. Finish by filling the center cavity of the artichoke with more of the mixture. Cut some very thin slices of lemon, and cut each slice into small triangles of lemon. Stick the small lemon triangles between the leaves here and there (with the point of the triangle/lemon stuck down into the leaf and the top/rind part sticking up). Drizzle melted butter, olive oil, or both over the tops of the stuffed artichokes. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, poking hole or slits in the surface with a knife. Cook in the microwave for 9-11 minutes (2-4 artichokes), and then let stand for another 2 minutes, adjusting cooking time as needed (number cooked, size of the individual artichokes can vary...). Serve and enjoy!

Sleevendog, the avocado pit works for guacamole, but I think the issue is really more the lemon juice and the edamame and how it bleaches out the color a bit. Goes from that bright wonderful green to something less bright. I recently made a salad with red quinoa, farro and fresh garbanzo beans a friend found for me at a farmer's market in Seattle. The next week, with no source for fresh garbanzos, I made it with edamame. I used lots of lemon juice and on day 2 of both salads the green color had faded to look much less appetizing.

Suzieque, it's a curse! I always have made pretty tasty appetizers, some very complicated, so am now expected to ALWAYS bring the appetizers and have to hunt and hunt for something different and delicious, because I party with the same groups of people most of the time. An easy one that I've made is to take a block of cream cheese, pour over to cover with seafood cocktail sauce, then top with those little fresh salad shrimp (not sure where you live, but they are readily available here). To make it a little more "fancy" I'll roll the cream cheese into a ball or oval, to disguise the fact that it's just a block of cream cheese, lol, then do the rest. Serve with sturdy crackers, like wheat thins or such.