Every year I celebrate a Generic Christmas Party with women my Mom went to college with and knew in the salad-days of her 20′s. Since my Mom died a long time ago, these women provide loads of important things I need in my life – stability, wisdom, guidance, support and love. Oh, and food. Lots of food.

When I called this year to find out what to bring to the annual gathering, I found out two pieces of information. One, I was assigned an appetizer. And two, one of my Mom’s college friends died this past year. Sounds like she had had cancer for a while and the family was very quiet in their grief. Barbara was a friend of Mom’s from the residence hall on campus, where they all lived in together for all 4 years of school. Her parents “adopted” my Mom for school vacations and breaks, and I remember hearing good stories about Barbara’s family. In the last several years, I had come to know her as an adult at these once-yearly gatherings, and found her quiet and thoughtful with a quick wit.

Last year, Barbara had shared with me her super Easy Clam Dip, and I have decided that is what I should bring to the party, in her memory. It is delightfully easy to make and always served with Ruffles, to hold all the creamy cheesey clammy goodness. Hope you can share this with your friends and family this season!

• Cherry tomatoes (from the garden)
• Basil leaf (from the garden)
• Cucumber
• Feta or Mozzarella Cheese
• Kalamata Olive (pitted)

Skewer in any combination you desire. Drizzle with a lemony vinaigrette. Next time, I will use smaller toothpicks and make them more one-bite, with just tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese.

Spread goat cheese on crackers or crostini. Top with a slice of Nectarine (from our Frog Hollow Farms CSA box) and a sprig of mint (from the garden). Use local goat cheese for the best flavor – Harley Farms from Pescadero is excellent.

Not truly from my garden, but by next spring, I plan to be able to make Deviled Eggs with eggs from our own chickens.

• 12 eggs, boiled and cooled. Cut in half, saving 18 halves for presentation. Place all egg yolks in a bowl
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper

Mash and mix everything together. All ingredients can be adjusted, taste as you go along. To fill the egg halves, put mixture into a pastry bag or Ziploc with a fluted tip. Chill, and before serving, dust with more smoked paprika.

This post serves as my entry into the Grow Your Own Roundup, hosted by Andrea at Andrea’s Recipes.

The Tennis Ball

The Tennis Ball

• 1 ounce Midori
• 2 ounces Vodka (I used citrus flavored, plain would be good too)
• 2-3 ounces Fresca (to taste)

Shake the Midori and Vodka together in cocktail shaker with ice. Pour into a highball glass with ice, and add Fresca to taste. Serve.

Sweet Cheese Ball

Sweet Cheese Ball

Savory cheese balls are common in our neck of the woods, especially for 50′s-themed cocktail parties. For this event, I wanted something that would pair well with (green-tinted) coconut, so I found a few recipes for sweet cheese balls and came up with this variation. Next time, I would try pineapple bits instead of maraschino cherries.

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 3 drops green food coloring, plus 2 TBS water
• 2 packages cream cheese, 8 ounces each, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped fine
• 10 maraschino cherries, chopped fine

In a medium bowl, mix food coloring with water. Add in coconut and stir until color is uniform. Spread out on a tray with paper towels to dry.

Beat cream cheese until light, then add sugar and continue to beat until smooth. Using a spoon or flexible spatula, mix in pecans and cherries.

Gather up the cheese mixture and form into a ball. Place in the middle of the coconut tray, and pat coconut all around the ball. It may seem messy and difficult to do, but the coconut sticks really well and the cheese ball will keep its shape. Once you have it coated with as much coconut as you want, put it on a serving plate and stick the cheese ball in the fridge for 1 hour, or until serving. Decorate to resemble a tennis ball, if desired.

Serve with apples or other fresh fruit, pretzels, crackers or anything else that works well with sweet cheese. Bagels, perhaps?

IMG_2046

This week, I harvested my first artichoke and decided that grilling would be the right preparation. And since Inger just taught me how to grill artichokes, I thought I would pass the recipe onto you!

IMG_2016

IMG_2040

Grilled Artichokes

• Large, globe artichokes, enough for at least 1/2 per person
• Olive oil

To prepare the artichokes, cut off the stem and snap off the bottom few leaves. Using a serrated knife, cut off the tops of the artichokes. Cut the artichoke in half, through the stem, and using a paring knife, clean out the choke (the fuzzy stuff) and some of the inner leaves.

If you are preparing more than one artichoke, fix a bowl of acidulated water. Squeeze the juice of one lemon, then add the two halves to a bowl of water. When you have fininshed removing the chokes from each artichoke, add them to the water until ready to cook. The lemon juice will keep them from turning a yucky brown color.

In a large pot over medium heat, bring about 8 cups of water to a boil. Add the artichokes and cook until the stems are fork tender, 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the artichokes. Remove artichokes and drain. Artichokes can be prepared to this point and set aside until ready to grill.

Prepare your grill to medium-hot. Rub the artichokes with a little olive oil and place cut-side down on the grill. Roast until nice grill marks appear, about 5-9 minutes.

Normally I like to serve artichokes with an aioli (flavored mayo, examples here, here and here) but this artichoke was so good with drizzled olive oil that it needed no additional accouterments, making it a nice, healthy, appetizer.

How do you prepare your artichokes? What is your favorite accompaniment?

Shrimp/Crab Spread was one of my Mom’s favorite party recipes – I remember she would bring it out on almost any occasion. Even though we can find good crab in California, she always made it with shrimp.

One of her best parties was in 1987, and she pulled out all the stops. I remember helping with the party, we went next door to borrow our neighbor’s kitchen and fridge to prepare appetizers ahead of time. She made several batches of the Shrimp/Crab Spread, which went fast. I will definitely have this on my holiday party table!

Shrimp/Crab Spread

1st layer:
12 ounces cream cheese
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 small chopped onion
Mix together and put into pie plate

2nd layer:
1 jar Chili Sauce (my Mom always used the one in the round jar)
Spread over top of cream cheese mixture

3rd layer:
8-10 ounces shrimp or crab
Spread over top of cream cheese, chili sauce

4th layer:
Sprinkle with chopped parsley

Chill and serve with crackers (Ritz was the preferred cracker!). Prepare the 1st and 2nd layers way in advance, then add the 3rd and 4th just before serving.

Be sure to check out the other Vintage Thursday recipes at Joy of Desserts!

The radishes were so lovely, and tasty, that I decided to create a simple appetizer to share with my friends Sue and Suzy at our weekly lunch.

radishes

Following Ina Garten’s suggestion, I served the radishes with their tops, along with a bowl of salt and fresh, high quality butter. I also sliced up a baguette, and to assemble, we spread butter on the baguette, sprinkled with a little salt, then a radish. Hold the whole thing together and take a bite. Absolute heaven!

What is growing in your garden these days?

Grow Your Own #28 is hosted this month by the Daily Tiffin. Be sure to stop by and see all the amazing home grown goodies!

With an old-fashioned recipe box in my collection, I have loads of vintage recipes to post. This week’s recipe is from the appetizer section, and not only does it look quick and simple, it gives me proof that my interest in entertaining is in my genes!

Pennies from Heaven

• 1/2 pound cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup butter (original recipe called for margarine)
• pinch of cayenne
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup flour

Have butter at room temperature. Work in cheese and cut in flour with pastry cutter. Make into long rolls – place in refrigerator overnight – cut thin. Bake at 375F for 5 minutes (watch carefully). Makes 70 crackers.

Figs with goat cheese and honey

Very easy to make – wash the figs and cut in half. I usually leave the stems on, as I find they make a good handle. Add a teaspoon of goat cheese, and drizzle with your favorite honey. Serve. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!