Ive made these a couple of times this fall and they are VERY well received. A perfect balance of flavors. Grown Up Ham and Cheese Finger Sandwiches Prep Time: 30min Cook Time: 10 min Level: Easy Serves: 24 small sandwiches 1/2 cup water 3 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced 8 slices thin white bread, recommended: Pepperidge Farm Extra-virgin olive oil 1 large or 2 small green apples 4 to 6 ounces aged Gouda 1 tablespoon Dijon or whole grain mustard, apple butter or chutney 1/2 bunch watercress 8 thin slices prosciutto Freshly cracked black pepper Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring water, vinegar and brown sugar to a boil. Add the onions and remove from the heat. Cover, and set aside until the onions come to room temperature. Trim the crusts off the bread and cut the bread into thirds, for 3 rectangles per piece. Lightly brush both sides of the bread pieces with olive oil and lay out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until just crisp and lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Cool. To assemble: Quarter, core, and very thinly slice the apple, (a mandolin is terrific for this). Very thinly slice the cheese into triangles or shards that will fit nicely on the bread. Place a dab or smear of mustard on the bread. Place a piece of apple, cheese and 1 or 2 sprigs of watercress on each piece of toasted bread. Wrap a small piece of prosciutto around each stack to make a neat package. Top with a little bit of the pickled onions, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve at room temperature. Do ahead tips: Toast the bread ahead, and thinly slice the apple, placing them in lemon water to prevent them from turning brown. If you need to assemble the sandwiches ahead, don't add the watercress, and cover them with a very light moistened paper towel. ********************************************************** A wonderful change from the bready heavy stuffed mushrooms..... Tuscan Mushrooms Prep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: hr min Cook Time: 20 min Level: Easy Serves: 4 to 6 servings 1/2 cup diced jarred roasted red bell peppers 1/2 cup diced pitted green olives 1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano 2 scallions, diced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl mix together the roasted red bell peppers, olives, cheese, scallions, olive oil, salt, and pepper. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet place the mushrooms, cavity side up. Spoon the filling into the cavity of the mushrooms. Bake until the mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a serving platter, sprinkle with chopped basil, and serve. ************************************************************ These are elegant and very tasty! Phyllo Triangles with Lobster Filling Martha Stewart Entertaining Makes about 50 1 Steamed Lobster 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 6 scallions finely chopped cup white wine or vodka 1 ½ tbsp all purpose flour ¼ cup heavy cream pinch of cayenne pepper Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper 1 lb Phyllo 1 lb unsalted butter, melted Remove meat from lobster and chop. Set aside Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small skillet and sauté the scallions for 2 or 3 min. Add lobster meat and wine or vodka and stir quickly to combine over high heat. Drain the mixture reserving the liquid. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in another skillet. Add the flour and cook slowly without coloring the flour for 5 minutes. Add the reserved liquid and cream and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir the lobster meat back into the cream mixture, add cayenne and season to taste. Cool completely before filling the triangles. Prepare the triangles as you would sharonÂs Spanikopita. If you need those directions, I can copy them over. Note - they freeze quite nicely ********************************************************** Cranberry Brie 8 ounces round brie cheese (about 4 inches in diameter) ½ cup cranberry sauce* 2 tablespoons chopped roasted salted pistachios or hazelnuts or pecans 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh chives Change to: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. With sharp knife, cut circle in top of rind of cheese, leaving 1/4-inch border around top of cheese. 3. Carefully remove center circle and discard. 4. (Do not cut side of rind.) Place cheese on pie plate or other small shallow ovenproof baking dish. 8. Spread cranberry sauce on top of cheese. 9. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is soft but not runny. 10. (Do not overheat.) Sprinkle with nuts and chives. 11. Serve with crackers. Cranberry Sauce ½ bag whole cranberries ¾ cup brown sugar ½ cup white sugar 1 cup apple cider pinch of cloves 1 tbsp candied ginger minced Put all into small sauce pan and cook over low for 20 min or until all cranberries have popped. If too thick, add additional cider or water.

This corn & pecan dip has gotten raves on the Food Forum. Corn & Pecan Dip 2 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened ¼ c. lime juice 1 Tbsp ground cumin 1 Tbsp ground red chiles (I used 2 tsp cayenne and it was plenty hot) ½ tsp salt dash black pepper ¼ c vegetable oil 1 16-oz. can whole-kernel corn, drained 1 c. chopped pecans 1 small onion, diced (I like more) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except corn, pecans, and onion. Beat until smooth with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in corn, pecans, and onion. Serve with tortilla chips Or how about the classic spinach & artichoke dip? This recipe is from Southern Living. FLORENTINE ARTICHOKE DIP 1 (10-ounce) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed 2 (6 1/2-ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained & chopped 3 garlic cloves, finely minced 1/2 c. mayonnaise 12 oz cream cheese, softened 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 c. freshly shredded Parmesan cheese 1 1/2 c. French breadcrumbs, (homemade...see note) 2 Tbsp butter, melted DRAIN spinach; press between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Drain and chop artichoke hearts. Combine spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic, and next 4 ingredients, stirring well. SPOON into a lightly greased 11" x 7" baking dish. Combine breadcrumbs and butter; sprinkle over spinach mixture. BAKE uncovered at 375° for 25 minutes. Serve with assorted crackers, bagel chips, or breadsticks NOTE: To get 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, tear off a piece of baguette. Pulse in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Measure crumbs, tear off another chunk, and repeat procedure until you get 1 1/2 cups These toasts are excellent. Robust Onion Cheese Toast 1 cup mayonnaise 1 8-zs pkg cream cheese, softened 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled 2 Tbsp chopped parsley 2 Tbsp minced onion ½ teaspoon minced garlic ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce ½ teaspoon white pepper 1 loaf sliced cocktail rye bread Combine mayo, cream cheese, blue cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, pepper sauce and white pepper. Cover and chill for 2 hours to let flavors blend. Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Spread 2 teaspoons mixture on each slice of bread and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic and chill until ready to serve. To Serve: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover baking sheet and bake 10  15 minutes until toasts are puffy and slightly brown.

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls Rolls: 1 lb cooked shrimp, chicken, or scallops, diced 1/8â 1 cup lettuce shredded then chopped fine 1 cup of bean sprouts, diced 1/4 cup fresh cilantro minced fine 1 cup cooked rice noodles, chopped 1 cup carrots shredded then chopped fine 1/4 cup scallions green and white part, minced fine 30 8â rice paper wrappers (Do not use egg roll/wonton wrappers) Large bowl of hot water for softening rice papers. Note: Depending on how fast you work, the water may need to be changed several times to maintain temperature. Mix first 7 ingredients together for filling. Prepare work surface for rolling spring rolls. I cover the counter with 2 layers of paper towels. Place one rice paper in the hot water. Keep remaining papers in plastic bag or they will stick together. As soon as the rice paper is soft about 30 seconds, remove from water and lay flat on paper towels. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of the rice papers. Fold end of rice paper over filling and pull tight to form log, roll slightly to hold then fold in sides and finish rolling tight. Place rolls seam side down on serving platter. Repeat. Makes 30. Sauce: 1 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup hot water 2 tbs. pickled ginger, minced fine 1/4 cup lite soy sauce 1 tbs. wasabi paste 3 pkts. of Splenda or sugar to taste 1 tsp. garlic minced very fine Whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce and hot water until smooth. Stir in ginger, wasabi paste and garlic and mix well. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving for flavors to blend. Stir well before serving.

Manly Meatballs I love the name of this recipe! I found it at The Food Maven website and it reminded me of something my mom used to make years ago (she spread ground round on firm white bread and put it in the broiler--I was crazy about these flat burgers). This was written by Arthur Schwartz: Alan Richman's Manly Meatballs Makes about 36 Alan Richman is the esteemed and always witty food writer for Gentleman's Quarterly magazine, but I take the blame for calling these his "manly" meatballs. He made them for a birthday party of our mutual friend Alexis Bespaloff, the well-known wine writer. As he was passing them on a platter, taking full responsibility for their simplicity and strong flavor, he explained that he made them because when he heard the menu planned by Alex's wife he felt there might be too much "sissy food" -- you know, pasta and salads. They are not, of course, anything like any recipe you've ever seen for Swedish meatballs, but to my mind they make an even better stand-in. Baking them on bread slices -- which, by the way, do not burn or get too hard, even though it seems as if they would -- makes them perfect finger food. 1 pound ground chuck (not leaner beef) 3 scallions, finely minced (use most of the green) 4 tablespoons dark soy sauce (or regular soy sauce, if that's all you have) 1 firmly packed teaspoon brown sugar (a rounded teaspoon, if using regular soy sauce) 1 baguette or ficelle (a small diameter French bread), about 20 inches long, sliced about 1/2-inch thick (if the bread has a large diameter, cut the slices in half, just a bit bigger than the meatballs) In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients, except bread. With your hands, mix and knead thoroughly until the meat is a fine paste. Make balls the size of smallish walnuts. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and place one meatball on each. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes in a preheated 450-degree oven until done to taste (Richman says "until just cooked through." I like them still rare.). Serve hot. source: www.thefoodmaven.com