Back in the early 1980s, when Laura and Carla sang in the choir at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, this was a new and very chic treat to bring to a party. Fifty years later, it’s still delicious. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in 9 x 13 baking pan; heat until warm and slightly browned. Serve immediately with crisp crackers, tortilla chips, or toasted … Continue reading Artichoke Dip
Oh, man, we loved this when we were kids. We also loved it when Mom made us afterschool treats of anchovy paste on buttered toast points … yes, we also loved chocolate chip cookies and Lucky Charms, but Eastern European treats have so much of that lovely salty fatty umami that one just craves sometimes. We honestly thought this was lost until the kids came … Continue reading Mamcik’s Paté
This recipe is a work in progress. Carla is still trying to get it close to tasting like the mousse served at Kansas City’s old Californos restaurant; the first time she and a friend ordered it, they wolfed it down until there were only smears of it left in the serving dish. When the waiter tried to take the dish away, they nearly rapped the waiter’s knuckles and made him leave it on the table; they ended up scraping the last of the mousse off the sides of the dish with their fingers. Continue reading Shrimp and Salmon Mousse
We’d forgotten about this dip, and were delighted to find the recipe when we were digging through old recipe boxes to find our favorites for this book. Wow, is it good. Continue reading Shrimp Dip
Here’s a forgotten recipe from the 1960s. Why did we stop making this when it tasted so good? Continue reading Beef and Cheese Ball
The vivid red and green layers make this great for the Christmas holidays, and also as an appetizer for an Italian dinner party. Continue reading Layered Red and Green Pesto with Cream Cheese
Our friend Kim did what you should never, ever do – she made these for the first time when she needed to take appetizers to a holiday party. Against the odds, they were so good that they were the first apps to disappear from the buffet table. Continue reading Mexican Quiche Cups
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Separate dough into 10 biscuits; separate each layer into two layers. Press each biscuit layer to form a three-inch round. Place one half meatball and one piece of string cheese into the center of each dough round; add small dollop of marinara. Wrap dough around meatball, cheese and sauce, pressing edges to seal. Place seam side down in single layer … Continue reading Meatball Sub Dippers
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In small bowl, combine ham, cheese, pineapple, onions and mustard; mix well. From each pie crust, cut 8 two-inch rounds and 8 three-inch rounds. Press the three-inch rounds into mini muffin pans; the edges should extend above the top edge of the cups. Fill cups with about 1 tablespoon of ham mixture. Brush edges of the crust cup with beaten … Continue reading Ham and Pineapple Puffs
Our parents’ neighborhood grocery store was Payless, in Prairie Village, back in the baby boomer days of suburban sprawl, back when Jesse Clyde Nichols ferociously defended his acres of postwar tract houses from strip malls and pop-up commercial zones, back when all the stores were limited to pre-planned mini-plazas along the main roads, and the boomers’ parents congregated at the new, nice and neat little … Continue reading Rosie’s BBQ Meatballs
Around Our Table 