Cocktail munchies.... PARMESAN BLACK-PEPPER BISCOTTI These savory biscotti are ideal for a soiree. Their crisp texture is accented by the richness of parmesan and the bite of black pepper perfect for nibbling in between sips of wine. 1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns 4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons salt 4 1/2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (2 1/4 cups) 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 4 large eggs 1 cup whole milk appetizer biscottiPut oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Pulse peppercorns in grinder until coarsely ground. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, 2 cups cheese, and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 3 eggs with milk and add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quarter dough. Using well-floured hands, form each piece into a slightly flattened 12-inch-long log (about 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch high). Transfer logs to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging logs about 3 inches apart. Whisk remaining egg and brush some over logs, then sprinkle tops of logs evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper. Bake, rotating sheets 180 degrees and switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until logs are pale golden and firm, about 30 minutes total. Cool logs to warm on sheets on a rack, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Carefully transfer 1 warm log to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides down, in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining logs, transferring slices to sheets. Bake, turning over once, until golden and crisp, 35 to 45 minutes total. Cool biscotti on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes. Cooks' note: Biscotti keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks. Makes 5 to 6 dozen biscotti. Blue cheese cocktail cookies....4/12 dozen 1 3/4 cups flour 3/4 cups chopped pecans 8 ox Maytag Blue cheese 1/2 cup butter 2 egg yolks beaten 2 tsps fresh ground black pepper Combine all and mix with hands until smooth. roll into 2 1 1/2 inch rolls, wrap in plastic and chill 4 hours or over night. Slice into 1/4 inch slices, and bake 425 on ungreases sheet for about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Snackers 1 ring Dutch Balogna ( about a pound ) 2 medium yellow onions ( about the size of a baseball) Slice and layer in a crock or straihgt sided bowl In a sauce pan place 1 c. cider vinegar, 1 cup water and 3/4 c sugar and 1 tsp mustard seed ( whole). Bring to a boil and pour over meat and let stand un refigerated for 24 hours. Serve with cocktail rye. Robins blue blazers 1/2 cup butter or margarine 2 oz Maytag Blue Cheese 1 T cognac 2 T chili sauce 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 2 T minced green onion Cayenne pepper to taste ( more is better!) 4 English muffins split and lightly toasted Black olive halves to garnish Have butter and blue cheese at room temperature. Mix all but muffins and olives with a fork until well mixed. Spread on muffin halves, cut into quarters, top each piece with a black olive half, place on a cookie sheet and broil until lightly browned. Serve hot.

Here's a couple simple things that sell like hot cakes at our craft shows; Diane's Home Cookin 4.8 Chapter: Candy White Trash =========== 3 Cup chex type cereal 3 Cups cheerios type cereal 2 Cups salted Peanuts 1-1/4 Pounds White Dipping Chocolate (melted) . Mix first 3 ingredients. Pour melted white chocolateover mixture-toss to coat. Spread into waxed paper and cool. Break up clumps. I package this in sandwhich sized ziplock baggies & sell for $1.25---also do Moose Droppings Buy a lrg bag of caramel popcorn from the bulk section of groc store---melt a bag of chocolate dipping wafers & toss with the caramal popcorn-spread out to cool & break up clumps--package & sell like the White Trash. WE also do plain white popcorn ( salted) covered with melted white chocolate & use the colored candy coating wafers to do brown, orange & yellow at our Fall shows, white-- green & red at our Christmas shows. And small ziplock bags (3 x 4 inches)of Tiger Bark sell well at $1.25 Diane's Home Cookin 4.8 Chapter: Candy Tiger Bark =========== 1 Cup milk chocolate chips 2 Cups (12 ounces) vanilla milk chips or almond bark 2 Cups peanut butter chips 1/2 Cup chopped peanuts . Line jellyroll pan with foil. In microwave, melt 3 types of chips separately, stirring until smooth. Pour melted peanut butter chips into prepared pan, spreading level. Sprinkle on peanuts. Pour melted vanilla and chocolate chips on top, drizzling each randomly. To marbleize, use knife to pull through chocolate in wide curves. Refrigerate until set. Break into pieces.

Well, I'm on my first leg of using up some things in the fridge, and tried a new cookie recipe for using up a Hershey's Symphony bar--stuffed cookies. The recipe is much better explained on Dara's blog that I got it from. She used Carmello bars, which are probably MUCH better. I should have thrown some of my leftover caramel topping into the cookie. They are good but kinda strange. But they taste good. Good way to use up leftover Halloween candy bars too. Sorry if the photo doesn't show, I've been having trouble with my Pbase account lately, it is slow and doesn't seem to be that reliable anymore. I hope it's not on the way out, I really have liked that site! Here's the recipe, copied from the blog linked below. I put the dough in the fridge for a couple hours before shaping the cookies. Chocolate & Caramel Sugar Cookies (from Dara's blog, "Cookin' Canuck") 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups granulated sugar, divided 14 tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 2 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 8 oz. chocolate caramel chocolate bars (such as Cadbury), cut into individual square Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar with an electric mixer set on medium speed until the mixture is creamy and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually beat in the flour mixture until it is just combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture a few times to make sure all of the flour mixture is incorporated. Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Use 2 tablespoons cookie dough for each cookie. Split the piece of dough in half, slightly flatten the bottom half, place a square of chocolate caramel bar on top, and cover with the other piece of cookie dough. Seal the edges with your fingers. Roll the ball in the sugar to coat it and place it on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate caramel squares, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheets. Lightly coat the bottom of a glass or metal measuring cup with butter and dip into the sugar. Use this to gently flatten the cookies to 3/4-inch thickness. Bake the cookies, one sheet a time, rotating from front to back halfway through baking. They are done when the edges are set and beginning to brown, 10 to 13 minutes. The centers of the cookies should still be soft and puffy. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Using a spatula, remove the cookies from the baking sheet and let cool on a rack. They can also be served warm. Makes 24-28 cookies. Here is a link that might be useful: Chocolate Caramel Sugar Cookie Reciep - Cookin' Canuck

Monterrey Stuffed Mushrooms 1 lb. medium fresh mushroom caps Monterey Jack jalapeno pepper cheese Clean mushrooms and twist out stems. Fill with cubes of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve hot. Makes about 30. Penzey's Spicy Cheese Bread 1 cup grated Mozzarella, Monterrey Jack, or Swiss cheese 1 cup Colby or Cheddar cheese 1 6-inch loaf of French bread, split in half lengthwise 2 TB butter 1/2 small red or yellow onion, minced 1 to 2 t Italian herbs 1 t garlic salt 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes 1.Heat oven on broil. 2.Cover baking sheet with foil. 3.Grate cheeses in a bowl. Toss to combine. 4.Butter bread halves, top with onion and half of herbs. 5.Mound cheese on bread evenly. 6.Top with rest of herbs and sprinkle on red pepper. 7.Broil 5-7 minutes. 8.Cut in strips, lay out on platter to serve.