Appetizers

APPETIZERS

DIPS

CLAM CHEESE DIP

8 oz. pkg. Cream cheese, softened
½ c bleu cheese, crumbled
1 T green onion, finely chopped
¼ t salt
few drops of hot sauce
7 oz. can clams, minced

Mix all ingredients except the clams, and beat until smooth. Drain clams and gently stir into cheese mixture.

If necessary, a bit of milk or sour cream can be added if the texture is too thick

CRAB DIP

1 c crab meat
1/4 c sour cream
1 T mayonnaise
1 T chopped capers
1 T grated onion
1 T lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients and chill. Serve with crackers or carrot and celery sticks.

FLORENTINE TUNA DIP

Yield: 4 c

*20 calories per 1 T

1# OR 2 c creamed cottage cheese
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 T crumbled bleu cheese
2 T fresh lemon juice
14 oz water-packed tuna, drained
4 t onion, grated
salt and pepper
1/4 t dried dill weed

Fresh vegetable dippers

Place cottage cheese and spinach in blender. Cover and blend at high
until smooth. Add blue cheese and lemon juice. Cover and blend until
smooth. Flake tuna in large bowl; add spinach mixture, onion - dill
and mix well. Cover and chill.
Serve with diagonally cut celery, cucumber slices, cauliflower and broccoli, carrot stick or whatever.

GARLIC DIP

1 whole head garlic
10 slices cubed bread (no crust)
1 c olive oil
½ c white vinegar
2 T water

Beat in mixer

SOUR CREAM SHRIMP DIP

Yield: 2 - 1/2 cups

1 T butter
3 T green onion, finely chopped
3 T celery, finely chopped
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c dairy sour cream
4 oz canned small shrimp, rinsed, drained, finely chopped
1/8 t pepper
2 drops red pepper sauce (to taste)

green onion, chopped
small shrimp
assorted crackers

Melt butter in medium heavy saucepan. Saute onion and celery until tender crisp, about 3 minutes. Combine cream cheese and sour cream. Stir into vegetable mixture. Stir in shrimp, pepper, and red pepper sauce. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until warm throughout. DO NOT BOIL. Transfer to serving container.

Garnish with green onion and shrimp. Serve with crackers.

CREAMY SPINACH DIP

Yield: 1 1/2 c

*Especially great on broiled red snapper

1 1/2 c cottage cheese
1 c lightly packed fresh spinach
1 T lemon or lime juice
1 T mayonnaise
1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
1/4 t onion salt
1/4 t paprika
dash Tabasco sauce, opt.

Combine ingredients in blender until smooth.
Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

SQUID AND GARLIC DIP

To clean squid: pull on head and insides come out easily. Then pull the plastic-like bone out, then squeeze the squid like toothpaste and the liquid insides come out. Now rinse and slice the squid in rings and flour.

Deep fry squid in pan 375 for a minute and dip in to the garlic dip.

SPREADS

CRAB PICKERS SPREAD

Yield: 3 cups

1# crab meat
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 cup sour cream
½ cup may or salad dressing
1 T horseradish mustard
Chopped parsley
Assorted crackers, raw veggies

Remove any shell or cartilage from crab meat. Combine meat – mustard and chill 2 hours. Garnish with parsley and serve with chips, etc.

NEWBURG CRAB AND SHRIMP CREPES

Serve as an appetizer or first course.

¾ c flour
1 T sugar
½ t salt
3 eggs
1 c milk
1 T butter, melted

Combine sugar, flour and salt. Beat eggs in a large bowl until blended; add flour mixture and mix until smooth and then stir in milk and butter. Heat a skillet and pour 1 T batter onto griddle and spread into 3” round with the back of a spoon. Fry 1 minute; turn and fry other side again for 1 minute. Rollup, jelly roll style and place on cookie sheet in warm oven.

FILLING
7 oz crab meat, frozen
1 c shrimps, cooked
3 T flour
3 T butter

WERNER’S SHORE APPETIZER

1# tilapia filet or any panfish
seasoning salt
2 tomatoes, diced
garlic salt
cumin
2 limes
diced onions
cilantro

Skin the filet, and cut the raw fish into very small pieces
(half the size of your baby finger). Sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt.
I don’t have the amount, so experiment. It’s well worth it.

Mix and refrigerate overnight. Don’t worry, the lime juice cooks the fresh fish.

Serve with taco chips or break crispy tortillas.

Thanks, Werner Scherr. He's our next door neighbor and good friend from the lake. We were single together over 48 years ago.

P.S. Last weekend, Werner made the above using raw shrimp and chopped mango. That was better than good.

SEVICHE

Try using other kinds of fish or shellfish. Check the Fish Substitution Chart.

Serves 4-6

1# fresh Dolphin
3/4 c lemon juice
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
1/2 c green pepper, chopped
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t salt
1/2 t Tabasco
2 T salad oil

Cut fish into strips. Place in glass mixing bowl and add lemon juice. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours. Drain. The lemon juice cooks the fish. (Editor's note: REALLY, IT DOES) Mix remaining ingredients and add to fish. Mix well and chill. Served over lettuce as a salad or as an appetizer.

SPECTACULAR SHRIMP SPREAD

Yield: 4 ½ cups

½# cooked, peeled and deveined rock shrimp or other shrimp
13 oz. artichoke hearts, drained
1 c mayo
½ c Parmesan cheese
¼ t lemon-pepper-dill seasoning
1/8 t salt
Dash cayenne pepper
Assorted crackers

Finely chop shrimp and artichoke hearts. Add mayo – seasonings. Place mixture in a 9” pie plate or a 1 qt. shallow baking dish. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes or until hot.

SMOKED SALMON

Yield: 1 c filling

8-10 oz smoked salmon, flaked
3-4 T mayonnaise
1/2 t dried dill weed
1 t lemon juice

Put salmon-juice in bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade.
Process 5 seconds scraping down sides of bowl. Process another 5 seconds
or until finely ground.

SMOKED SALMON PATE

Yield: 3 cups

*regular canned salmon may be used by adding 3 or 4 drops
of liquid smoke

7 oz. smoked salmon
8 oz cream cheese
1 T fresh dill, coarsely chopped
1/4 c lemon juice
black pepper

Place salmon in food processor and blend until smooth. Add
rest of ingredients.

TUNA MOCK CHOPPED LIVER

Yield: 2 c

* 265 calories per cup

2 c cooked green beans
1 T water
2 hard-cooked eggs
1 small onion, thinly sliced
7 oz water-packed tuna, drained
4 oz can mushrooms, chopped
3/4 t salt
black pepper

Blend beans and water until smooth. Add eggs - tuna and blend until smooth. Turn into a bowl; stir in mushrooms, spices and serve with as a spread on crackers or crustless bread.

OTHERS

FISH BALLS

Yield: 22 balls

*If used as an appetizer, make smaller balls

1# fish fillets
2 c water
1/2 t salt
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1/3 c milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 T catsup
1 t minced instant dry onion
1/4 t seasoned salt
1/2 c fine dry bred crumbs
oil

Pat fish dry with paper towels. Heat water and salt to boiling.
Add fish fillets and simmer several minutes until fish is tender.
Drain fish and flake with a fork. Tear bread in small pieces, soak
in milk in medium bowl. Add flaked fish - salt. Shape in 1" balls.
Roll in dry bread crumbs. Drop into hot oil and fry until golden brown
about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain and serve warm.

Check out the various Sauces in this website

MY MOM'S HERRING

This was a favorite appetizer for our annual New Year's Day parties. My mom, Mickey Mularkey, was a big time party gal from Pewaukee, Wisconsin.

2 ½# herring in wine sauce (not onions)
Drain in colander

Put herring only in deep dish
2T herring sauce
1 med. new grated carrot
1 pt. sour cream
3T miracle whip

Mix and refrigerate.

Do not use for 24 hours. Put fish on a saltine cracker.

MUSHROOMS STUFFED with CRAB MEAT

Yield: 40

1# mushrooms
1/2 c melted butter
1 1/2 c crab meat
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 T mayonnaise
1/2 c onion, grated
2 T lemon juice
1/4-1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients, except the mushrooms. Wash mushrooms and take off
stems. Fill the mushrooms with crab filling and bake on cookie sheet
at 375 for 15 minutes. Serve at once.

HOT SCALLOP COCKTAIL

2 c scallops, cleaned
2 T margarine
¼ t black pepper
½ t salt
¼ t garlic salt
1 T soy sauce
sour cream, optional

Saute all ingredients, except sour cream in large skillet, until scallops become well coated and syrupy (about 20 or 30 minutes). Serve hot with additional soy sauce and sour cream.

SCALLOP APPETIZER KABOBS

Yield 24

7 oz. frozen scallops
8 oz. frozen potato puffs
11 oz. mandarin oranges, drained
4 oz. mushrooms, whole, drained
8 oz. pineapple chunks, drained
Sweet Sour Sauce, Please check the Sauces under this website

Arrange scallops – pineapple on small skewers; brush with sauce before and after broiling. Place on broiler rack and broil 10 minutes.

* If scallops and potato puffs are defrosted, they may be put on skewers without cooking first.

PARTY SEAFOOD FONDUE

Enough fresh shrimp, finfish and oysters to allow 1/3-1/2 # per person
approx. 1 qt. corn oil
1 t salt
sauces of your choice for dipping (Please check Sauces in this website)

Peel shrimp, leaving on last shell segment and tail section.
Cut fish into strips or bite-size pieces
Drain oysters well, roll in flour, and wrap each in 1/3 slice bacon

Secure with a wooden pick. Refrigerate all seafood until 1/2 hour
before serving time, drain well or pat dry with a paper towel.

Pour oil into fondue cooker to 2" depth or no more than 1/2 capacity of
pot. Heat to 375 degrees; add salt. Spear fish with fondue fork; fry in hot oil
oil until lightly browned. Shrimp require only a minute or less to cook,
fish need a bit more time, depending on size of piece. For easier
handling, transfer to dinner fork and dip into the sauce.

SEAFOOD FONDUE

1# raw shrimp, shelled
2 lobster tails, shelled and cut into chunks
2 slices fish steak

salad oil
1 t salt
tartar sauce

Drain seafood on paper towels; arrange on tray or platter.
Heat oil and salt in a metal fondue pot. Spear seafood on fondue fork;
fry in hot oil until until tender. Dip in tartar sauce, Spicy Tomato Sauce,
or Avocado Sauce from SAUCES in this website.

GARLIC SHRIMP

1# raw shrimp, cleaned and deveined
¼# butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
salt and pepper

Saute garlic in butter until soft. Remove the garlic and add the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp turns red, only a minute or three.

SMOKED FISH PATE

Serves 3 ½ c

3 c flaked, smoked fish (2 ¼# of smoked fish fillets yields 3 c flaked, smoked fish)
2 – 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 T lemon juice
2 T grated onion
3 T chopped parsley
Assorted crackers or raw vegetables

Combine cream cheese, lemon juice and grated onion. Whip until smooth and fluffy. Then stir in fish and parsley. Chill for one hour. Garnish with parsley.

SMOKED SALMON

Yield: 1 cup

8 or 10 oz smoked salmon, flaked (no skin or bones)
3 – 4 T mayonnaise
½ t dill weed, dried
1 t lemon juice

Blend ingredients. If using a food processor, use the steel blade and process 5 seconds. Scrape down sides of the bowl and process another 5 seconds or until finely ground.