"Pierogi are originally a recipe from Slavic Pagan cultures of Eastern and Central Europe. Originally they were served exclusively as a meal following the completion of a magick ritual performed by a group of practitioners or as an offering to gods (specific deities) one would call when casting the spells for the peace at home, in the family, or a community. This was their primary purpose, and again is nowadays in some neopagan groups in Eastern and Southern Europe, mostly as a ritual meal.

Instructions:
Mix 1 egg, 1 tbsp oil, a pinch of salt and enough flour to make a good pasta dough. Roll this out thin. Cut circles out of the though, using a floured, upturned glass. Place a small amount of filling in the center of the circle and fold over, wetting the edge to seal. Boil in salted water until tender. You may then fry them in butter with sliced onions. Serve with sour cream.

Pierogi fillings:
Seasoned Mashed potatoes
Seasoned mashed potatoes & sauer kraut
Seasoned farmer's cheese
Chopped mushrooms with onion
Ground meat mixed with 1 raw egg & some dill-weed

Overview
Prep 10 minute(s)
Ready in 10 minute(s)
Serves: 4

Ingredients
    * 1/2 cup shredded carrots, divided
    * 1/2 cup PHILADELPHIA Herb & Garlic Light Cream Cheese Product
    * 2 medium cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, seeded

Instructions
Remove 2 Tbsp. of the carrots; set aside.
Mix remaining carrots with the cream cheese product until well blended.
Spoon evenly into hollowed-out cucumbers.
Sprinkle with the reserved carrots.
Cut each cucumber half into five pieces to serve, if desired.

Chef-lifted from: http://www.cookingwithphilly.ca/

SUBMITTED BY: Lillian Julow
"'These savory crisps are wonderful with creamy soups,' says Lillian Julow of Gainesville, Florida."

Original recipe yield:
2 servings
PREP TIME 5 Min
COOK TIME 10 Min
READY IN 15 Min

INGREDIENTS
* 1 whole pita breads
* 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
* 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Split pita bread into two rounds. Spread with pesto and sprinkle with cheese. Cut each into six wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until crisp. Serve warm.

Nutritional Analysis: 6 wedges equals 233 calories, 13 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 479 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 10 g protein.
-from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pesto-Pita-Appetizers/Detail.aspx

SUBMITTED BY: Sheryl Siemonsma
"'These hors d'oeurves are oh-so-good!' writes Sheryl Siemonsma from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 'For fun variations, I sometimes substitute venison or crabmeat for the pork sausage in the stuffing.'"

Original recipe yield:
24 servings
PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 20 Min
READY IN 35 Min

INGREDIENTS
* 48 large fresh mushrooms
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 pound bulk pork sausage, cooked and crumbled
* 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise*
* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
* 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard or horseradish mustard
* 1 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS
1. Remove mushroom stems (discard or save for another use); set caps aside. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Stuff into the mushroom caps. Place in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dishes. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 16-20 minutes or until heated through.

Reduced-fat or fat-free mayonnaise is not recommended for this recipe.

-from: http://allrecipes.com

These are so simple and will be the hit of any party platter.
Serving: 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 grated lb Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 1/4 cup flour

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients together in large bowl. Roll dough into balls the size of large marbles.
2. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
3. Variations: Use different cheeses, add chopped olives, mushrooms, toasted onions, garlic salt, eggs, parsley, or finely chopped ham when mixing.

Gougeres (or Cheese Puffs) are a nice way to start a party, especially as guests arrive and imbibe their first drinks. Our first drinks this year were Kir Royale (Champagne with Cassis Liquor added), whicih always makes for a festive beginning. Champagne goes well with salty or oily foods, both of which happen to be the case for cheese puffs.

Cheese Puffs are one of those things that you can find recipes for just about anyplace. I did a quick google and came up with this one which I used as the basis. I think it's a bit high on butter and low on flour and ended up adding another 1/4 C of flour to get the right dough prior to the eggs.

Basically, you just make pate a choux, add some cheese and other flavorings (mustard is common), and then pipe and bake as normal. A few quick tips about pate a choux:
- by far the easiest, quickest, and most reliable way to incorporate the eggs is via a stand mixer with a paddle attachment

- you can easily prepare the pate a choux up to an hour in advance with no ill effect (this lets you wash up before the party). Put into the piping bag, but don't pipe or bake until the last minute. A large glass or pitcher can be used to keep the piping bag under control until you are ready to use it.

- for complex parties, it is often less cleanup work to use a zip-top bag as your piping bag either with or without a tip. For very thick pate a choux, you may (like we did) "blow out" the plastic bag and need to re-seat it within another before continuing. You can also buy disposable plastic piping bags, which will not generally suffer from this problem.

- use parchment paper for baking. This ensures quick release, and very little cleanup.

 

Ingredients:1/4 c. California raisins

2 T. reduced fat cream cheese

1 slice Orowheat sandwich thin (or other brand)

1 ounce sliced cheese

1/3 of a medium green pepper

Directions: Slice cheese into triangles. The best way is to slice it in half one way, then in half the other. 

Then, slice each square into triangles (see below)

Place sandwich thin on plate and spread with cream cheese. Sprinkle raisins on top and set on plate. Slice green pepper into strips. Spread on plate too look like a flower "stem" and "grass". Arrange cheese trianges around sandwich thin and serve.

* 1 Tbsp. KRAFT Light Smooth Peanut Butter
* 24 BARNUM'S Animal Crackers
* 1 Tbsp. PHILADELPHIA Light Cream Cheese Spread

Spread peanut butter evenly onto 6 of the crackers; spread 6 of the remaining crackers with cream cheese spread.
Cover each with second cracker to make sandwich.

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Croque Monsieur


Ingredients
* 2 thick slices crusty bread
* 2 Tbsp. PHILADELPHIA Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese Spread
* 8 slices (125 g) Blackforest ham or turkey
* 3/4 cup shredded KRAFT Swiss Cheese

Instructions
1. PREHEAT broiler. Place bread on baking sheet. Broil 2 to 3 inches from heat source 30 sec. or until toasted. Turn bread over.

2. SPREAD 1 Tbsp. of the cream cheese spread on each bread slice. Place 4 ham slices on each bread slice; sprinkle each with cheese.

3. BROIL 2 to 3 inches form heat source 30 sec. or until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Serves: 2
Prep: 5 min.
Total: 10 min.
Variation Do It As a Sandwich:
Top each serving with second bread slice. Sprinkle top of bread with cheese. Broil until cheese melts.

Serving Suggestion:
Serve with a crisp green salad.

Variation Make a Croque Senor:
Substitute sliced spicy Italian salami for the ham, and manchego cheese for the Swiss cheese.

Nutrition Information Per Serving (1 sandwich):
359 Calories, 20.8g total fat, 9.6g saturated fat, 77 mg cholesterol, 1261mg sodium, 17.1g carbohydrate, 0.8g dietary fibre, 26.8g protein, 15%DV vitamin A, 0%DV vitamin C, 38%DV calcium, 12%DV iron

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Recipes above from: http://www.cookingwithphilly.ca/