Elba, My family is vegetarian and I make this appetizer for kids (lot of our friends are vegetarian also). I like it as it is a good protein option. You can also make ahead and warm up in oven before serving. Serve as is or with mini toothpicks. Can also use kabab sticks (like a satay). I usually also add some cherry tomatoes and bell peppers to make it look nice and get some veggies in. Also works well for mini wraps with lavash or tortillas. Size up as you wish. Glazed Tofu/ paneer Ingredients: 2 cups cubed paneer (indian grilling cheese)or super firm tofu. Rinsed and patted dry. Cubed into 1 inch cubes.. You can also make them longer (about 3 inch long by 1 inch thick) if you are planning to serve it like a satay on a kabab stick. 1 bell pepper (cut into large chunks like for a kabab) 1 large onion (large chunks like for a kabab). Red onions or shallots work well here. a cup of cherry tomatoes (optional to make it look pretty) 1 tsp ginger garlic paste (use freshly ground paste if possible) 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp ketchup 3 tbsp oil 1/2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp cornstarch + 3tbsp water (make a smooth paste) Salt to taste scallions (1 bunch) For the Marinade: 5tbsp corn starch 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp freshly ground pepper 1 tsp minced garlic a pinch of cayenne or paprika for a bit of bite (optional). You can experiment with other flavorings here as well. A pinch of salt Water Make a thick-ish paste with the ingredients for marinade. Add water after soy sauce to make sure the marinade is not too thin. Dunk the paneer/ tofu pieces in and let them soak in the marinade. It will be instant love, I promise. I let it marinate for about and hour with occasional gentle mixing to get the tofu or paneer to be evenly coated. In a wide pan/ griddle,heat the oil and shallow fry the paneer/ tofu pieces turning them over to evenly brown all sides. Remove to a plate with some paper towels to soak up any excess oil. In the same pan on high heat, stir fry the bell peppers and then the onion (separately) till tender crisp. They should not get limp. Season with a pich of salt. Some charring on corners due to high heat is a good thing. Remove to a plate. In the same pan on high heat, add the soy sauce, ginger garlic paste, sugar and tomato paste. If you choose, you can add other seaStir-fry on high for about 30 seconds until well blended and turn the flame to low. Now add paneer/ tofu cubes and give it a good toss. Add the corn flour paste to make a smooth glaze.. stir as you add this to prevent lumping. Cook 3-4 mins to thicken the glaze. Add the bell peppers and onions and give it all a good toss. Turn off heat. Sprinkle scallions slices for garnish. You can either serve it on a plate or use tooth picks or kabab sticks to make individual finger food. Also works as a stuffing in mini pitas or rolled in a lavash or even as a lettuce wrap. Whole cherry tomatoes (do not cook) can be added here to give a visual punch and a fresh taste. This dish is very flexible.. Just the marinated and pan fried tofu/ paneer is yummy as a hors d'ouevre. I always save some for DD and some of the younger kids. You can actually stop right there. The glaze is gorgeous to look at. Feel free to dress up the marinade or the glaze with other spices (cayenne, minced chilli, hot sauce, any jerk seasoning you mightg have etc.) You can also sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top if you want an added crunch. If you find any fresh small red radishes, they really dress up the dish (either finely mince and sprinkle on top or slice and add it to your kabab arrangement). Other veggie appetizer options I make are cilantro lime hummus with pita triangles, tortilla chips, or toasted bread. Warm garbanzo, channa dal or edamame salad is wonderful as well. Mini veggie sushi, ravioli on toothpicks, mini quesedillas. I will check back to see if you need any more recipes. Now I have to look into this whole bunco party thing.. It sounds like fun.. I like the 3-4 tables thing.

We have made this many times using Kraft's Old English jar cheese; it's a little less competition for the crab than Cheez Whiz would be, and the crab needs to be the star here in Baltimore. Also here in B'more, we use fresh cooked "canned" crabmeat, not what is available in the canned fish aisle. CRAB MUFFINS 6 English muffins ½ cup butter or margarine 1 5-ounce jar Old English cheese ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 Tablespoon minced onion 1 7-ounce can crab meat Paprika (some use Old Bay instead) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Split the English muffins. Beat together butter or margarine and cheese. Add garlic powder, salt, pepper, and minced onion. Drain crab meat well and squeeze dry. Gently add crab meat to cheese mixture. Spread on muffins and sprinkle with paprika. Cut into sixths or eights for appetizers, or leave as open halves for sandwiches. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 2 minutes. When crabmeat is not in the budget, we do make these with canned tuna, and they're still good, but please don't tell any Maryland natives.

Here's a couple: Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Appetizers--hot Phil's Roasted Garlic With Brie =============================== Phil's recipe . 2 whole heads of garlic-cut off straight across top-drizzle with olive oil & roast until cloves are soft- remove from oven & squeeze cloves out into ovem proof dish-add cut up brie-bake 350° until cheese melted. Serve with Wheat crackers or toasted rounds of baqette-scooping each clove & cheese out with crackers. Savory Chicken Bites ==================== 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened) 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil 1/4 teaspoon of onion salt 1/8 teaspoon of dried thyme 2 ounces of pimiento, drained and chopped (can leave out) Combine all ingredients and mix well . Add 1 Cup of cooked chicken, chopped fine 1/3 Cup of celery, chopped fine Stir celery and cooked chicken into the cream cheese mixture, mixing well 2 Cans of crescent rolls (8 ounce cans) . Separate crescent rolls into 8 rectangles. Spread mixture evenly over the rectangles. Starting at long sides, roll up each one jellyroll fashion and pinch seams to seal. Slice into one inch pieces. Place seam down on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees (preheat oven) for 12 to 15 minutes. Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Appetizers-cold Tomato Basil Elephant Ears Copyright, 2005, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved =========================================================================== 1-1/4 cups sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 clove) 5 cups basil leaves, packed 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup good olive oil 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan 1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted (recommended: Pepperidge Farm) 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash . Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. To make the paste, place the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for 15 seconds. Set aside. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry and place it on a lightly floured board. With a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it's a 13-inch square. Using a knife, spread the paste over the top of the puff pastry. Fold the sides of the square toward the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the 2 folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold one half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Brush each piece with egg wash and place in the oven. Bake for 6 minutes. Turn each pastry slice over and continue baking an additional 5 minutes. Zucchini Appetizers 6 cups thinly sliced unpeeled zucchini (8 small) 2 cups Original Bisquick® mix 1 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon seasoned salt 1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano leaves 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 cup vegetable oil 8 eggs, slightly beaten Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and sides of rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. 2. Stir together all ingredients. Spread in pan. 3. Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 2-inch squares; cut squares diagonally in half into triangles. makes 8 dz. BLT BITES -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 16 Cherry tomatoes 1 pound Bacon; cooked -- crumbled 1/2 cup Mayonnaise -- or Salad dressing 1/3 cup Chopped green onions 3 tablespoons Grated parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons Snipped parsley (Recipe by: Taste of Home magazine, 93/08-09) Cut a thin slice off of each tomato top. Scoop out and discard pulp. Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain. In a small bowl, combine all remain ingredients; mix well. Spoon into tomatoes. Refrigerate for several hours. ===================================== Miniature Puff Appetizers And Fillings 1 C Water 1/2 C Butter/margarine 1 C Flour 4 Eggs Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat water and butter/margarine to a rolling boil in saucepan. Stir in the flour all at once and beat over low heat until the mixture leaves the side of the pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs thoroughly, one at a time. Beat mixture until smooth and velvety. Using a spoon or pressing with a pastry bag, drop balls the size of a thimble on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 25-30 minutes, or until puffs are golden brown and dry.NOTE: Puffs may be made in the morning and covered loosely with paper towel so they soften a little. Slice in half and fill with one of the fillings. Mix together all ingredients for any one of the fillings. CORN BEEF FILLING 1 Cn (12-oz) corned beef , 2 Tb Dried french onion soup mix - 1 1/4 cup sour cream DEVILED HAM FILLING: 1 Cn (2 1/2-oz) deviled ham 1 Pk (3-oz) soften cream cheese 1 Tb Chili sauce 1/2 Ts Prepared mustard SPINACH FILLING: 1 Box (10 1/2-oz) frozen spinach-chopped thawed and drained -well 1 1/2 C Sour cream 1/2 C Salad dressing 1 Pk Vegetable dry soup mix 1 C Chopped water chestnuts/ -almonds Mix together all ingredients for any one of the fillings. Or use your favorite chicken , lobster or shrimp salad for filling. Diane

I've been making soft deep pizza dough using some 'Herman' starter. http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/388/HermanStarter14095.shtml I mix the pizza dough in my bread machine dough setting- start out with it on moist side and add remaining flour as needed for a soft but not sticky dough. 1 cup of the herman starter 1 cup of warmed water 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil about 3 cups flour - add 2 cups to start then add more as needed when mixing has started 1 pkg quick yeast tsp salt or as you like 2 tsp sugar or as you like onion or garlic powder if you like(for a flavored crust) turn on dough cycle adding more flour as needed for the dough to form a soft but no sticky ball and then let machine finish the cycle. gently remove risen dough from bread machine pan I lightly flour the pizza pan and put it on that- don't smash it, let sit a bit, then start to shape as a thick crust or place into a deep pan for very deep dish pizza. you want to keep those air bubbles be gentle. After it's shaped set aside while you finish preparing any toppings. a light coating of any sauce- tomato sauce or alfredo sauce with chicken, turkey, beef, canadian bacon , pepperoni anything you like. if toppings will be heavy precook the crust a bit before adding toppings. bake at approx 425* on next to lowest oven rack setting- till a golden brown and cheese is melted. let sit a short time to cool a bit before cutting or cheese will run all over. This is a loose recipe- I kind of made it up myself- but if you make bread very often you can do it. http://www.bettycrocker.com/ there is a deep dish recipe at betty crocker but the site is down so I couldn't searchit for you. Here is a link that might be useful: cd kitchen