ItÂs summer party time. So I thought instead of a single taste, IÂd make a selection of appetizers, all based on won-ton mini-cups. That way, the appetizer is a party on a plate.

To make the cups, trim won ton wrappers into 2 ½ inch circles, using a cooking cutter. I prefer a serrated cutter, because it makes a nicer edge. Slip a cut wrapper into the cavity of a mini-muffin tin, starting it in with the bottom of a shot glass.

Once the muffin tins are filled, bake them in a 325 degree oven for 5-6 minutes, until slightly crisp and colored. Let cool.

Won-ton cups can be made up to a week ahead of time and stored in a zipper bag, at room temperature.

Filling choices are limited only by your imagination. Here are three I suggest:

1. Gorgonzola/Pear Tarts
Mix cream cheese and gorgonzola on a 2:1 ration. Season with a little salt and pepper. Thin, if necessary, with a bit of mayo.

Peel and core a ripe pear. Cut into small dice. Sauté, over low flame, in butter until pear is soft and slightly colored. Sprinkle with crushed crystallized ginger.

Cut some proscuitto ham into strings.

To assemble: Fill about half a cup with the cheese mixture. Fill balance of cup with sautéed pears. Top with a small nest of proscuitto strings.

2. Caramelized Red Onion Tarts
Lightly beat together egg yolks with a little cream. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Cook several slices of bacon until crisp. Cool and crumble.

Slice red onions thin. Divide into 8 or 10 wedges. Caramelize the onions in butter and a sprinkle of sugar, over low heat, until onions soften and start to change color. Remove from heat and let cool.

Grate some gruyere or similar cheese.

Put a layer of crumbled bacon in the bottom of each won-ton cup. Cover with a layer of caramelized onions. Fill almost to the top with the custard mix. Top with a layer of grated cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until cheese melts and is bubbly.

3. Cherry Tomato Tapanade

Cut cherry tomatoes in half through the middle. Remove seeds.

Make a tapanade: In a food processor combine a half cup of pitted black olives; 2-3 garlic cloves, and 2 anchovy filets. While machine is running add olive oil, in a stream, until a paste-like consistency is formed.

Hard boil eggs. Reserve whites for another purpose. Mash the yolks with salt, pepper, paprika, and just enough mayonnaise to bind them together.

To assemble: Put a half cherry tomato, cut side up, in the bottom of a won-ton cup. Fill the cup with tapanade. Top with a smidgeon of the egg mixture.

Plating: Put one of each wonton cup in the center of a small serving plate. Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.

Oh GL, that sounds wonderful. I love appetizers, the onion ones sound especially good.

Oh yeah, soup. I've made this one a couple of times and I really like it, although it's pretty substantial for summer. Of course, in the name of health, I used 2% milk instead of the cream and it was still pretty darned good. It would be awesome with the cream, probably, but my arteries wouldn't thank me! I have also added fresh corn, cut from the cob, to this, and that's very good. I like lots of vegetables in my soup.

Salmon Chowder

2 pounds red potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 (49.5 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
1 pound salmon steaks, bones removed, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups milk
1 cup half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, bring the potatoes, onion and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Add salmon and bacon; cook over medium heat until fish flakes easily with a fork. Reduce heat; stir in milk, cream, butter, salt and pepper; heat through (do not boil). Thicken if desired.

14 servings

Bring on the summer parties......good idea Joe! I find that my tastes change greatly between summer and winter foods.

Here's a grilled chicken recipe that is good....put some Jimmy Buffett tunes on and have fun!

Caribbean Grilled Chicken Marinade

6 boneless, skinless, split chicken breasts

Marinade:
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tblsp. Balsamic vinegar
2 Tblsp. Honey
2 Tblsp. Firmly packed brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp. Minced gingerroot or 1/2 tsp. Ground ginger
1/2 tsp. Ground black pepper
5 leaves fresh basil, chopped

Place chicken in non-metallic dish and set aside.
To make marinade, place orange juice in small saucepan. Add soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sugar, garlic, ginger root, pepper, and basil. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Pour cooled marinade over chicken, cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator to marinate overnight.
Preheat charcoal or gas grill. Remove chicken from marinade with slotted spoon. Pour marinade in saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer 3 minutes. Reserve. Place chicken on prepared grill and cook over medium heat, 4 to 6 inches from heat source. Cook 5 to 10 minutes on each side, basting occasionally with reserved marinade, until chicken reaches 160 degrees F. on meat thermometer or juices run clear and meat is no longer pink inside. Discard marinade.

Nancy

This is so exciting! Gardenlad, I love wonton wrapper appetizers. I have made them, but only with a Mexican cream cheese mixture served along side salsa and a margarita-I am going to try the onion recipe! Summer started here in the Delta a long time ago, so we are already bringing in fresh vegetables from the garden. This is one of my favorites this time of year. It is simple and fresh, and it goes well with just about any meal. I hope you all get a chance to enjoy it! I cut all the vegetables about 1/2 inch thick; except for the potatoes since they take a little longer to bake, I cut them about 1/4 inch thick.

Layered Summer Vegetable Casserole

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a casserole dish. Then add a single layer of each:

sliced red potatoes
salt, pepper, and fresh chopped basil
sliced zucchini
salt, pepper, and fresh chopped basil
sliced yellow squash
salt, pepper, and fresh chopped basil
sliced tomatoes
pepper, and fresh chopped basil
all of 1 container of shredded parmesan cheese

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake about 25 minutes more until cheese begins to get bubbly and brown.

I thank you all for letting me in on the fun this round!

Sounds like a winner. And even better when the squashes are first coming in.

I'm going to try this with a cross-section of different colored baby pattypans.

I love looking at the "summary" of all of our menus - its such a good resource! Here is a salad I had over the weekend at our DD's, its from Sara Foster's Fresh Every Day cookbook and it was delicious.

WHITE BEAN SALAD WITH TARRAGON VINAIGRETTE

Serves 4 to 6
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 - 15 1/2 ounce cans navy or great northern beans, rinsed and drained or 1 3/4 cups dried beans, cooked until tender
1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts packed in water, chopped
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, thinly sliced
8 pepperoncini (Italian peppers in vinegar) sliced into thin rounds
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
Tarragon Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Toss the onion and olive oil on a baking sheet with sides and roast until the onion is soft and lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Place the drained beans in a large bowl. Scrape the onion into the bowl with the beans; add the artichoke hearts, olives, pepperoncini, parsley and 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette and toss. Season with salt and pepper and add more vinaigrette to taste.

TARRAGON VINAIGRETTE
Makes about 1 cup
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Stir the vinegar, lemon zest and juice, garlic, tarragon, parsley and paprika together in a small bowl. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until all is incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

We like sweet potatoes on the grill, but don't want to start them an hour earlier. I wash them and poke them all over, then cook them in the microwave in high until just tender, but not QUITE done all the way through. Let them cool a bit, then slice into 1 inch rounds.

Brush with olive oil and salt and pepper, and place on the grill with the chicken. They have to cook through and get grill marks and a little charry in places.

Serve with pats of butter. I prefer these over plain roasted because the salt and pepper and grilling add a savoury note that I like.

How about some Greek Prawns as a 1st course. They can be done on the BBQ while the chicken is cooking.

Prawns (any size)
fresh basil leaves
Pancetta bacon
olive oil

Rinse and drain prawns. Split prawns open and place a basil leaf on top of each prawn. Leaving each prawn open, wrap with the pancetta, covering most of the prawn. Brush
with olive oil and gril til prawn is cooked through, turning as needed, about 3 min. Serve with a fresh sprinkle of black pepper.

Shelley

This is a recipe the kid found a couple of years ago...heavier than flan and lighter than cheesecake.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Cheesecake Flan

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Tablespoons Water
8 Ounces Cream Cheese -- softened
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Can Evaporated Milk -- (13 Oz.)

Caramelize the sugar and water. Pour into a 9-inch round pan.

Put cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla in blender. Blend until smooth. Add condensed milk and blend. Add evaporated milk and blend. Pour over caramelized sugar in pan and set in another pan with about one inch of water in it. Bake for one hour in a 350F oven. Cool and invert on a plate. Chill thoroughly.

It would be fun to keep to a summer theme here for a while...at least I like it! Good menu this week!

Nancy

Wizard, it is a really good menu, isn't it? I love GL's idea of several different mini wonton cups. That's why I like our progressive dinner threads, I like to cook but I'm just not creative on my own - I need somebody to think of all the good ideas so I can follow them :-) Thanks buddies!

How 'bout we all go over to Woodie's house. We can do the creative cooking while she plays hostess with the mostess.

Sure! You mean I don't have to cook, LOL? Its a deal!

Long as you remember the general rule, Woodie. Them that cook, cook. Them that don't----do the dishes!