Appetizer Recipe Roundup for May ...

Kim at Hiraeth is having a recipe roundup. Click on her name and read her instructions for the Roundup at her blog.

Here is my families most favorite recipe's ...

Smokey Salmon Spread

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon Hickory smoked salt or 1/4 tsp. Liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
30 ounces smoked salmon, coarsely chopped or 2 cans Salmon, cleaned and drained.
1 bunch green onions, chopped
(also you could add a handful of Smoke House Almonds – chopped)

In food processor blend cream cheese, salt or smoke flavor and dried dill until smooth. Add salmon and green onions, and process very briefly, just to mix. Serve with hearty crackers. (Also can mix by hand with a latex glove) For presentation you can make into the shape of a fish (double recipe works best) on a nice plate, use sliced almonds for scales and a sliced olive for the eye, fresh parsley for some color. Chill well.

Makes 2 cups

Crab Dip

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 bottle shrimp cocktail sauce
1 can crab meat Sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning

Place cream cheese on serving dish. Cover with cocktail sauce. Drain crab meat. Mix lightly together or you can just place crab meat on top of cream cheese. Sprinkle Old Bay Seasoning on top. Chill well. Serve with crackers.

Bagna Cauda (Anchovy & Garlic Dip)

4 cloves garlic, crushed
l 1/2 oz. butter, melted
4 oz. salted anchovies
fresh ground pepper
1 cup olive oil

Sauté the crushed garlic and chopped anchovy fillets in the oil. Stir constantly until the anchovies disintegrate. Add butter and mix. Add pepper to taste. This sauce is served in a pot, for everyone to dip the vegetables in, or in individual terracotta bowls. Bagna cauda should be placed on warmers, as it should simmer constantly. Serve fresh vegetables cut up: red, yellow & green peppers, cabbage wedges, carrots, celery, fennel, cauliflower, and broccoli. Also a fresh loaf of Italian bread torn is great to dippy sop in the Bagna Cauda along with the vegetables. (You can also serve this as a sauce on cooked noodles as a side dish.)

fried zucchini blossoms

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup club soda or beer (not dark)
1/4 teaspoon salt
About 4 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying
18 zucchini blossoms
a deep-fat thermometer

Whisk together flour, club soda or beer, and salt in a bowl until smooth.
Heat 1 inch oil in a 3-quart wide heavy saucepan over moderate heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer. Working in batches of 3, dip blossoms in batter to coat, brushing them against side of bowl to remove excess batter, and fry, turning occasionally with a slotted spoon, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle lightly with salt. (Return oil to 375°F between batches.) Serve warm.

( Batter can be made up to 2 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature and whisk again before using.)

First batches of fried blossoms can be kept warm on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until all of blossoms are fried.

Blossoms can also be panfried, but they will not be as crisp. Instead of making batter, stir together 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss blossoms in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until the foam subsides. Add blossoms in batches and cook, stirring, until they just begin to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes.

They can also be stuffed with a mixture of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, dash of nutmeg, s & p, and parsley flakes. Tie the stuffed flower with a long piece of sliced green onion top. Also can be stuffed with an anchovy & cream cheese mixture.