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Food

You Asked For It: Welcoming appetizers for an open house

By ELLEN FOLKMAN
Published April 26, 2006

Flip Miller is a real estate agent and she wanted appetizer recipes to serve at her open houses. Carol Pappas shares spinach cheese swirls that are always a winner when she makes them. They can be served warm or at room temperature, which makes them great for a potluck event. Henrietta Rice shares a recipe for cocktail cheese biscuits. The nice thing about this recipe is that it can be made ahead and frozen. Henrietta prefers to use a small mixing bowl and stir in the last ¹/₃ cup of flour by hand then roll the dough in wax paper and chill before continuing. She says it also makes a nice hostess gift. Deborah Griswold's creamy pesto dip is easy to make and can be made up to 48 hours in advance.

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For: Flip Miller of Tampa

From: Carol Pappas of Crystal Beach

Recipe: Spinach Cheese Swirls

^{SPINACH CHEESE SWIRLS}

^_1/2 package frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet)

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

^_1/2 cup shredded Muenster or Monterey Jack cheese

^_1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 green onion, chopped

^_1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

Nonstick spray for baking sheet

Thaw puff pastry sheet at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix egg and water. Mix cheeses, onion and garlic.

Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Brush with egg mixture. Top with cheese mixture and spinach. Starting at one side, roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into 20 (^_1/2-inch) slices. Place on lightly sprayed baking sheet 2 inches apart. Brush tops with egg mixture.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 20 appetizers.

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For: Flip Miller of Tampa

From: Henrietta Rice of Brooksville

Recipe: Cocktail Cheese Biscuits

Cocktail Cheese Biscuits 

1 stick butter

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon salt

^_1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup flour

46 pecan halves

Cream together all ingredients, except pecans. Roll into small balls about 1 inch. Press down pecan half in center. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

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For: Flip Miller of Tampa

From: Deborah Griswold of Dunedin

Recipe: Creamy Pesto Dip

Creamy Pesto Dip

^_1/2 cup sour cream

^_1/2 cup mayonnaise

^_1/3 cup pesto

2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Stir together all ingredients except vegetables. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 48 hours. Serve with raw vegetables.

Martha Watson is looking for a Jell-O recipe from the 1950s. It is for a soufflé salad and was printed on the Jell-O packages. It was made by beating partly set Jell-O and adding vegetables, meat and/or fish. Martha even contacted Jell-O but was unsuccessful. MaryAnn Delzer used to have the recipe for a water whipped pie crust that was on the Crisco package. She called the company and they no longer have it. Barbara Wells would like to have recipes that use Mexican Nopal cactus, either fresh or canned. She is especially interested in the fresh and how to prepare it for cooking.

You Asked for It is a reader mail column. Send requests to You Asked for It, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to youaskedforit@knology.net Please put "Recipe request'' in the subject line. Be sure to include your full name, city and phone number.

[Last modified April 25, 2006, 13:45:42]