APPETIZERS

CAPONATA - Eggplant appetizer

1 small eggplant (1lb)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup wine vinegar mixed with 2 teaspoons sugar
3 tomatoes peeled and chopped fine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 large olives chopped
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons pine nuts

Peel eggplant and cut into small cubes, sprinkle generously with salt and set in a colander to drain for 30 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat half the olive oil and over medium heat saute the celery for 10 minutes, stir in the onions and cook another 5 minutes until they are soft and lightly colored. Remove to a bowl. Pat the eggplant cubes dry in paper towels. Heat the remaining oil and add the eggplant and saute over high heat for about 8 minutes until they are lightly colored.

Return the onions and celery to the skillet and add the rest of the ingredients except for the pine nuts. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes, season with salt and pepper and add the pine nuts. Let it cool and refrigerate. This tastes great with thin slices of french bread that you have dried in the oven for about 10 minutes. Makes about 2 cups






HUMMUS

2 cans garbanzo beans (also called Chick Peas) drained and rinsed with water (shake off excess water in a strainer)
3 or 4 Tablespoons of tahini (sesame seed paste which comes in jars - keep in the frig and stir up before measuring) This keeps a long time.
2 lemons - squeeze the juice directly into the blender jar and get the seeds out with a fork
2 smashed and chopped cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste - half teaspoon or more

Place all ingredients in a blender or use food processor and blend until smooth - taste and add more seasonings if needed or more olive oil if it is too thick.
Serve with pita or bagel chips - leftovers keep nicely in the frig.


MANGO SALSA

2 or 3 ripe mangoes (they should feel soft to touch like a ripe peach - too soft they're mushy and very firm they aren't flavorful)
1/2 white onion chopped fine
2 or 3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 small Serrano green chili pepper - slice lengthwise, discard the seeds and mince. Put about 1/2 teaspoon of the minced pepper into the mixture - you can always add more later but you can't cool it down if it starts off too hot.
1 bunch of cilantro chopped fine (strip off most of the stems)
2 or 3 limes (sometimes limes have almost no juice so have some extra ones on hand)
salt

Peel and dice the mangoes, mix with other ingredients, salt to taste and squeeze limes over the mixture and refrigerate. Keep in sealed container because garlic odor will stink up the frig. Serve with chips.

CROSTINI A LA LOULIE

24 Slices of a baguette sliced 1/2 inch
12 halves of marinated artichokes drained
2 medium Roma tomatoes chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh basil chopped
8 Chopped black olives
Pam olive oil spray
Garlic powder
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 325 - place bread slices on cookie sheet,, sprinkle with garlic powder or minced fresh garlic, spray with Pam Olive Oil and bake about 10 minutes until lightly browned and crisp. Cool on a wire rack.

In a bowl combine artichokes, tomatoes, basil, olives and olive oil. Mix well and spread about 1 Tablespoon on each slice, sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.

PESTO CHEESECAKE

Crust
1 Tablespoon butter (soft)
1/4 fine dry bread crumbs (if you make the crumbs from some dried bread with herbs - so much the better!
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan

Filling
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 large eggs
1/2 cup pesto sauce (you can find it in frozen foods)
1/3 cup pine nuts

Garnish
Fresh basil leaves and crackers

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray Pam or smear butter on the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan or use a springform pan. Mix the bread crumbs with 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan and coat the pan with the mixture.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, salt and cayenne until it's well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Transfer half of the mixture to another bowl. Mix the pesto into the remaining half mixture and pour the pesto/cheese mixture into the pan, smoothing the top. Spoon the remaining cheese mixture over the top and smooth the top and sprinkle with the pine nuts.

Bake the cheesecake until the center no long jiggles when the pan is shaken which will take about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

If you used a springform pan, run a knife around sides to loosen, release pan sides from the cake and transfer to a platter. If you've used a pie plate you can serve directly from it. Garnish with basil either chopped or sprigs and surround with crackers. This is a substantial appetizer that serves about 15 people - it looks pretty and tastes great! It is adapted from the "Simply Classic" Junior League cookbook of Seattle, published 1993.