Greek Salad Bites
1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
1/2
cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped
parsley
2 Tbs. oil-packed sun-dried
tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp.
cracked black pepper
1 1/2 medium
cucumbers (I used English –as they have
hardly any seeds and are burpless)
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
In a small bowl stir together the
cheese, sour cream, parsley, tomatoes,
garlic, and pepper. Cover and chill for
at least two hours.
Bias-slice
cucumbers into 1/4 inch slices. Spoon 1
1/2 tsp. cheese mixture onto each
cucumber slice. Arrange on serving
platter.
In a small bowl, stir
together basil and olives. Spoon some of
the mixture over each cucumber slice.
Serve immediately.
AugustaPat
Ham-filled Mushrooms
1 lb.
mushrooms
Olive oil
1/2 cup minced
onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2
cup finely chopped ham (4 oz)
1/2 cup
fine dry bread crumbs
2 T grated
Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 T chopped
fresh parsley
1/2 t salt
Freshly
ground black pepper
Wash but do
not peel mushrooms, which should be
about as big around as a half dollar
Remove stems and spoon out a little of
the inside of the cap to make a pocket
for stuffing. Chop enough mushroom stems
to make one half cup. Heat one quarter
cup oil in skillet. Add mushroom caps
and toss them in the oil just long
enough to coat them. Remove caps from
pan and set aside. Add chopped
mushrooms, onions and garlic to pan. If
mixture seems dry, add another T of oil.
Cook over low heat for 10 min., until
mixture has cooked almost to a pulp.
Remove pan from heat and stir in ham,
bread crumbs, cheese, egg, parsley,
oregano, salt and pepper. Spoon the
mixture into mushroom caps. Arrange caps
in a baking dish and pour a little oil
over them. Bake at 325 for 30 min.
AugustaPat
Tiny Dessert Appetizers
Always a
hit are mini pies made in miniature tart
shells/pie crusts (shells baked in mini
muffin tins). Examples are mini crusts
(recipe follows) filled with Lemon Curd,
Apple Pie Filling, Cherry Pie Filling,
Pecan Pie Filling, etc.
Cream
Cheese Crust for Mini Pies
These
dainty mini tart shells are very easy
and quick to make, and are pliable and
delicious. They go with just any kind of
filling –sweet or savory (I also like to
fill them with Chicken Salad).
3
ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup
butter, softened (Don’t use margarine)
Blend cream cheese and butter or
margarine. Stir in flour just until
blended. Chill about 1 hour. This can be
made ahead and chilled for up to 24
hours.
Preheat oven to 325
degrees F (165 degrees C).
Shape
dough into 24 one-inch balls and press
into ungreased 1 1/2 inch muffin cups
(mini-muffin size) to make a shallow
shell. Fill with your favorite filling
and bake for 20 minutes, or until the
crust is light brown.
NOTE: If
using a filling that does not need to be
cooked; bake the shells; let them cool;
and fill with your filling of choice.
Trudy and all, the above are
recipes that I have used over and again.
I also searched the net for you and you
may want to check out this website at
allrecipes.com. They have some darling
recipe ideas for mini desserts.
AugustaPat
http://www.nancyskitchen.com
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