Conference turris::cooks

    I know there's a recipe for the spinach and cheese and phyllo dough
    in Jeff Smith's 'Frugal Gourmet', but I tried it once and they didn't
    make it overnight in the fridge very well. 
    Other things I've done ahead of time that have worked well:
    	Chicken Wings - can be frozen up to 3 weeks
    	Spinach Dip - recipe on Knorr's veg. soup box - serve with cocktail
    			rye bread or buy a loaf of dark round bread,
    			scoop out the middle and put the dip in there,
    			and use scooped out bread as dippers
    	Stuffed Shells- medium-sized pasta shells, cooked, and stuffed
    			with a mixture of shrimp,yogurt, chives and
    			cayenne
    	Spinach Squares-freeze well, mentioned a few (tens,hundreds)
    			notes back; I have a lower-calorie version if
    			you want it
    	Dips,Chips and Vegetables - I have good recipes for Chilied
    			Bean dip and Hummus if you'd like them.
    
    Good Luck! We were only brave enough to have the rehearsal dinner
    at home (Lasagne, made two weeks ahead of time and frozen)
    
    Sue

    I bet that was meant as two separate things - it would be a wierd
    mixture!  Hummus is easy to make; I can give you that recipe off
    the top of my head.  Buy a large can of garbanzos (chickpeas). 
    Drain them and purree them in a food processor with about half
    a cup of tahini (sesame seed paste), some garlic or garlic powder,
    a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, some cumin, and enough water
    to reach the consistency that you want.  Some people add olive oil
    and/or paprika, and some people like to mix in a few whole chickpeas.
    This makes a reasonable-sized bowl of hummus.  Serve it with wedges
    of pita bread.  Oh, some people will claim that the cumin should
    be left out...there are a lot of variations.

    Re.3 - That's right - I meant it as 2 separate recipes. I've tried
    4 variations; the latest has chopped onion and garlic sauteed in
    olive oil for a little bit; then added to the chickpeas, lemon juice,
    tahini, soy sauce and extra sesame seed.
    Re.0 - Since you mentioned margaritas, I looked through a New Mexican
    Cookbook I have and it suggested a taco bar - chop up all the toppings
    ahead of time, make the seasoned meat ahead of time, then all you
    have to do is re-warm the meat and set the toppings out.
    Re.2- Recipe for Chilied BeanDip (from Jane Brody's Good FoodBook)
    
    
    	Chiled Bean Dip
    	
    	1 16oz can kidney or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
    	2 or more tablespoons chopped green chilies or jalapeno
    		(fresh or canned, to taste)
    	1 tablespoon vinegar
    	1 teaspoon chili powder,or to taste
    	1/8 tsp cumin
    	2 tsp minced onion
    	2 tsp minced fresh parsley
    	
    In a blender, process beans,peppers,vinegar,chile powder and cumin
    until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in onion and parsley and
    serve.
    
    
    	
    

    thanks for the suggestions! But I do have a question - does the
    yogurt get too runny in the stuffed shells??
    
    Also, yes, I'd appreciate a lo-cal version of the spinach squares,
    if not for the wedding, for euchre parties! Does anyone play euchre
    besides in Ohio and Michigan??
    
    The taco party sounds like a fun theme party with minimal fuss!!
    to reciprocate, I have a dynamite margarita recipe I'd like
    to share:

    A glass jar or container that has marks up the side makes it easy
    - I have an old Ball jar with eight marks.  If not, this can be
    adapted to any container you have.
    
              3 parts tequila (using white or gold will change the taste,
                depending on whether you want to avoid the taste, or
                savor it!)
              1 part triple sec
              1 part Rose's lime juice (this is 30% sugar, don't use
                Reallime or straight lime juice without adding sugar)
              2 parts sour mix (Daily's is best, if you can't get it,
                sometimes your local neighborhood bar will sell it to
                you - it is what bars use instead of Holland House,
                etc)
    
fill your blender can two thirds full of ice, then pour in the 'rita
    mix till it comes two thirds of the way up the ice, then blend.
    
    We keep a jar of the mix in the freezer all the time - eliminates
    having to make the mix up everytime you crave a cold one, just stir
    well first.
    

    The shells don't get too runny - they're supposed to be refrigerated
    first. I imagine that helps. I'll type in the recipes tomorrow.
    
    Your recipe for margaritas sounds like my husband's recipe for 'near-
    famous' margaritas. 'Famous' margaritas are made from frozen fresh
    lime juice ice cubes made from limes from his parents' back yard.
    (Those are only for the brave; they're VERY sour!)
    

    	Shrimp-Stuffed Shells
    1/2 pound raw shrimp (frozen is acceptable)
    1/3 cup plain low-fat yougurt
    2 tsp minced fresh chives
    Cayenne to taste
    4 oz large macaroni shells, cooked al dente
    Parsley and chopped red pepper for garnish
    
    Cook the shrimp in boiling water for 1 minute or until they
    are pink and firm. Drain and rinse twice. Remove shells and
    devein if necessary.Finely chop shrimp.
    Mix the shrimp,yogurt,chives and cayenne in a small bowl. 
    Cover and chill for 1 hour.
    Using a small spoon, fill each shell with a small amount of
    shrimp mixture.
    
    About 10 calories each. The author suggests using garlic chives,
    or adding a small clove of crushed garlic.
    

    2 large eggs
    6 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
    10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
    	(squeeze out excess liquid)
    16 oz (2 cups) low-fat cottage cheese
    6 oz (2 cups) grated Cheddar
    1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
    1/8 tsp cayenne, optional
    Pinch nutmeg, optional
    3 tbs wheat germ
    
    In a large bowl, beat eggs with flour until smooth.
    Add spinach, cotage cheese, Cheddar,pepper, cayenne and nutmeg and
    mix well. Pour into well-greased 13x9x2 baking pan.
    Sprinkle top with wheat germ, and bake in 350 oven for
    about 45 minutes. Let stand about 10 minutes then cut 
    into 1 1/2 inch squares for serving.
    
    No calorie count on this one, but I've a similar recipe
    which uses a full pound of cheddar, and each piece has
    59 calories.
    Both this recipe and the stuffed shell recipe from "Jane Brody's
    Good Food Book"
    

    Thanks to all of you for your suggestions/encouragement! The wedding
    came off without any major disasters or horror stories.  So, I thought
    I'd share what we came up with, and if anyone wants the recipes,
    let me know and I'll post them here!
    
         Fresh fruit skewers in watermelon baskets - bamboo skewers
           broken in half with a strawberry, seedless grape, chunk of
           pineapple and chunk of watermelon on each.  The watermelon
           was carved so that they looked like baskets with handles.
           We skewered the fruit ahead of time but didn't put it in
           the watermelon till just beforehand so that it wouldn't get
           mushy.
    
         Phyllo triangles with fillings of spinach and feta, and chicken
           and walnuts - these are really easy and can be done ahead.
    
         Mini quiches - were thinking of using the mini-muffin pans,
           but when frozen 3" tart shells priced out at 9 cents each,
           we decided to have these be the main thing - mushroom/onion/
           Swiss and bacon/onion/cheddar.
    
         Prosciutto cups - these were an experiment, but easy, too.
           Prosciutto is spicy ham and you line mini muffin pan cups
           with it, then fill with spinach and ricotta, top with sour
           cream.  The ham holds it shape, and we just put them in mini-
           sized paper liners when done to absorb grease after they're
           baked.
    
         Veggie pizza - on a crust of spread out baked crescent rolls,
           spread with a cream cheese/ranch dressing layer, then minced
           raw veggies and cheese, then chilled & cut in squares.
    
    In addition there were the round loaves of bread with filling for
    dipping pieces in, and misc. sweets and nuts, and frozen snowshoes
    for making toasts when we cut the cake.
    
    thanks again to all -
    
    tw