Conference turris::cooks

    Heat equal parts Dijon mustard and grape jam.  Cut up kielbasa (or
    hot dogs), dip in heated mixture . . . and enjoy.
    
    I'd never have believed how good the mustard/jam mixture could be
    'til I tried it.
    
    If you like, you can serve it in a chafing dish for a little added
    pazzaz -- and to keep it warm.

    I did a "DIRECTORY/KEYWORD=APPETIZER" when I was planning menus
    for my last few parties, and got TONS of good ideas.
    Give it a shot!
    

I added one of my favorites in 952.

Alos,  here's another

cheese crabbies :

1 jar kraft old english cheese 
1 can crabmeat
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs mayonaize
1/2 stick margerine

1 pkg english muffins

melt margerine, add to rest of ingredients, mix well.  separate muffins 
into their halfs, spread mix over the 12 halfs.  Cut each half into 
quarters, put on cookie sheet

broil until bubbly and slightly brown.  will burn fast, watch

    Mix some mayo and grated parmesan cheese together. Spread on those
    little cocktail rye breads. Put a slice, actually 1/4'ed or 1/2'ed,
    on the bread and then place strips of your favorite cheese,
    criss-crossed on top of the tomatoes. Broil until cheese melts.
    
    These are like little grilled cheese and tomatoes sandwiches but
    the parmesan gives it a more zesty flavor. You can get more elaborate
    with these by placing a piece of cooked bacon, smoked ham, etc
    on them as well. You can make these ahead of time, keep in the
    refrigerator covered so the bread won't dry out ,and bake when the
    time comes.  

    Re .1   I can vouch for this one - it is good. I have also made
    the dipping sauce with mustard and honey. Some gourmet places
    carry something called Sweet and Rough mustard which it essentially
    honey and mustard and mustard seeds. If you can find it, you don't
    even have to mix something up. Kielbasa is great for appetizers
    because it is usually pre-cooked so all you need to do it slice
    it up and then heat it in the microwave, without water. It seems
    to dry out if you don't slice it up first and you don't have to
    hold a hot kielbasa to slice it. Put out your dipping sauce, some
    horseradish, the kielbasa and some of those little rye cocktail
    breads. 

 Try broiled cherry stone clams on the half shell.
    
    Take cherry stone clams and split them in half.
    next place 1/3 slice of uncooked bacon on clam.
    Place 1 teaspoon of dry shery into each clam sheell along with 2
    to 3 drops of tabasco sauce.
    
    place on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for approx 10 min.
    or till bacon is crisp.
    is crisp
    

    ...get some of that party rye bread, put some cheddar cheese and a slice
    of pepperoni and pop under broiled until cheese melts       
    
    Rick

    Re .6....cherrystones on the half shell.....these sounded good so
    Friday I bought a bag (4) of cherrystones and proceeded to do this
    one.
    
    Well, I dont happen to have a special clam knife....or whatever
    it is you need to open clams......Perhaps I should have used a
    wood chisel....anyway, with a paring knife I finally got the
    four of them opened.....and had this nice big, sore red spot in
    the palm of my right hand....
    
    So I proceeded to add the sherry, hot sauce and bacon and cooked
    until bacon was done...
    
    Well, I must say this didnt do anything for me.....they were on
    the tough side and to be honest, Id rather eat steamers
    
    Rick

    Rep .8
    
    Rick
     I have found that if you place cherry stones in micro wave for
    about 1min at a time on high the cherry stones open up enough where
    you can put a knife in easily to open (usually 8 cherry stones at
    a time)

    
    Scallop and bacon rolls.
    
    Wrap each scallop in a half slice of bacon, use a toothpick to hold
    the bacon around the scallop.
    Broil it in the oven just until the bacon is cooked.
    -----------------------------------------------------
    
    Keilbasa with sweet and sour sauce.
    
    Cut the Keilbasa in 1/2 pieces. Put them all in a casserole and
    cover with sweet and sour sauce. Place the keilbasa on the table
    near a box of toothpics...
    
    Well, that's the extent of my culinary knowledge....

    My recipe for sweet and sour kielbasa - through months of trying:
    
    1 bottle ketchup
    1 jar grape jelly
    1 jar picalilli
    onions
    brown sugar
    lemon
    tabasco
    (did I leave anything out?)
    maybe a dash of balsamic vinegar
    
    Heat all ingredients together with kielbasa and cook a while.
    taste for sweetness/sourness
    
    Add accordingly
    
    What's your favorite kielbasa recipe?
    

    Soften a package of cream cheese and spead over a round dish leaving
    a ring around the edge. Cover the cream cheese with a layer of crab
    meat. Cover that with a jar of cocktail sauce. Place some crackers
    around the outer rim.
    

    RE: .11  "Scallops broiled with bacon"
    
    I cook the bacon a little bit first, otherwise you have to leave
    it under the broiler longer than is necessary for the scallops and
    it tends to dry them out.  Also, I sometimes cut the strips of bacon
    in half so that there is only one thickness of bacon wrapped around
    the scallop.
    
    

    Chopped onions
    Mayo
    Saltine crackers
    Paprika
    
    Mix chopped onion with mayo
    Spread on Saltine crackers
    Arrange as many as possible on cookie sheet
    Sprinkle with paprika
    
    Broil for a couple of minutes until golden and bubbly
    *be careful* the crackers can burn quickly, do not overcook!
    
    This is so simple, and sooooo good!  
    
    jacki
    

    Does anyone know exactly what Old English cheese is?  Can you
    substitute Velveeta for it? It looks like Velveeta or Cheese Whiz.
    
    Thanks,
    Gail

	I substituted Cheese Whiz for it once.  Are you having trouble
	finding it?

    No.  I'm not having trouble finding the Old English Cheese, but I plan
    on making quite a bit of it and it seemed kind of expensive.
    
    Thanks.
    
    Gail

    Old English Cheese is more of a combination of cheddar and American
    cheese flavors, a bit sharper than Velveeta, but you could probably
    substitute. I use it in a fondue and it seems to add more flavor and
    give a better consistency than Velveeta (for fondue).
    
    Debbie
    

Technically American cheese is a very mild cheddar.  Then it gets pasteurized
and "processed".  (I always wondered what sins that disguised?)

    > (I always wondered what sins that disguised?)
    
    I dunno, but I'm always sceptical about a product that seems to be
    required to be labeled as "food". ("Processed American Cheese Food")
    
    Is it really *that* far removed?
    
    Edd

I thought cheese food has less fat in it than cheese and is therefore better
for you than cheese.  I wouldn't swear to it, though.

Rachael

    "Cheese food" just means that it does not meet the government
    definition of cheese and therefore cannot be labeled as cheese.  
    Sometimes the difference can mean that it is lower in fat, but
    it can also be labelled :cheese food: for other reasons, like being 
    made from oil instead of dairy products.
    
    -ellie

RE: .22

"Pasteurized process cheese food" is usually made out of scrap ends, bits of 
questionable appearance, and other miscellaneous pieces of cheese that would 
not be marketable as cheese on their own.  These are combined together (the 
"processing"), pasteurized to prevent spoilage, then combined with emulsifiers, 
artifical coloring, artificial flavoring, etc. so that the resulting product 
more or less looks like cheese.

Rather than being better for you than real cheese, I would say the likelihood 
is the exact opposite, if what you're looking for is fewer additives.  Real 
cheese made from skim milk is the way to go if you're trying to cut down fat.

--PSW

And while we are on the subject...  why are many cheese colored orange??  Is 
it the result of some natural processes, or is it just a dye added to hide 
imperfections?

    >And while we are on the subject...  why are many cheese colored orange??  
    >Is it the result of some natural processes, or is it just a dye added to 
    >hide imperfections?
    
    All the "orange" cheeses in the UK are dyed to that colour. Not to hide
    anything, but simply as an early form of marketing. The locals
    preferred the colour, or the cheese-maker THOUGHT the locals preferred
    the colour, or the cheese-maker wanted to differentiate his cheese from
    the cheese made in the next region, or ....
    
    Presumably the original dyes were natural ones - some still are, but
    most I guess are now synthetic. In many cases you can buy both dyed and
    undyed versions of the same cheese - e.g. Red/White Leicester.