1 (4.25-ounce) package oven baked Italian toasts or 20 round garlic-flavored melba toasts 

2 (3-ounce) cans Spam Spread 

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

¹/3 cup sliced ripe olives

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Spread each toast with 2 teaspoons Spam Spread. Top with chopped tomatoes, olives and cheese. Makes 20 servings.

1 (7-ounce) can Spam Classic, cubed 

1 small green bell pepper, chopped 

1 small onion, chopped 

½ cup chopped mushrooms 

1 (1-pound) loaf frozen bread dough, thawed 

1 egg, beaten 

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese 

³/4 cup pizza sauce 

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In skillet, sauté Spam, green pepper, onion and mushrooms until lightly browned. Divide bread dough into 6 equal parts. Roll into 6-inch circles. Brush circles with egg and sprinkle with cheese. Divide Spam mixture among bread circles. Top with 2 tablespoons pizza sauce. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Fold circles in half. Pinch edges together. Place on baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 6 servings.

Divine on its own or a perfect accompaniment to a mixed seafood or smoked fish salad or antipasto.

8 egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

½ cup fresh passion fruit pulp (or 4 to 6 passion fruit)

¼ cup chopped tomatoes

4 tablespoons Heinz Tomato Ketchup

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1¼ cups heavy cream

Put the egg yolks and sugar into a food processor and blend until they turn a pale creamy color. Add the passion fruit, tomatoes, ketchup and lemon juice and blitz again for about 30 seconds. In a separate large bowl whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Pour in the blended mixture and fold in the cream with a plastic spatula until it is well combined. Put into a plastic tub and freeze for about 45 minutes. 

Remove from the freezer and stir the ice cream well. Leave again in the freezer for 45 minutes, remove and repeat the stirring. This will avoid the ice cream crystallizing. You may need to do this once more until the ice cream is completely frozen. Flavors can be blunted by the cold so leave to stand at room temperature for a few minutes before serving decorated with a stem of fresh red currants and some dark chocolate shavings. Makes 2 quarts.

While these recipes call for Heinz ketchup, naturally, any type will do. In fact, try to jazz things up with any number of flavored ketchups.

1 medium onion, diced

Olive oil

1 14½-ounce can chopped Italian plum tomatoes

¹/3 cup vodka

1 tablespoon sherry

2 tablespoons ketchup

¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash of tabasco sauce

½ teaspoon celery salt

Ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

1 vegetable bouillon cube

¾ pound macaroni

Ground black pepper

Handful of torn basil, for garnish

Parmesan shavings, for garnish

To make the sauce, in a large frying pan, cook the onion in a little oil, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients except the herbs. Increase the heat and cook fairly rapidly for 8 to 10 minutes, until you can no longer smell alcohol in the steam and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the herbs, remove pan from the heat, and set aside.

Bring a pan of water to a boil, crumble in the bouillon cube, and add the macaroni. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the pasta is just al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little olive oil and season with pepper. 

Reheat the sauce if necessary, serve the macaroni in warmed bowls, and pour over the sauce. Garnish with the basil leaves and Parmesan shavings. Makes 4 servings.

½ pound mixed fresh mushrooms

2 tablespoons ketchup

¼ teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

Generous pinch cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons heavy cream

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Wedges of warm crusty bread, for dunking

Clean the mushrooms, trim the stems and break up any larger pieces. In a small bowl, mix together the ketchup, soy sauce, mustard and cayenne. Heat the butter in a frying pan. When it just begins to foam, add the mushrooms and saute gently for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat a little, stir in the ketchup mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and continue cooking for a couple of minutes longer. Taste the sauce—you can add more cayenne, if you wish. Pour the mushrooms into warmed soup bowls and garnish with the parsley. Serve with the bread. Makes 2 servings. 

Asparagus, Artichoke and Mushroom Sauté with Tarragon Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large shallot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 bunch asparagus (1 pound), sliced into 3-inch pieces

1 (8-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

1/2 pint teardrop tomatoes, halved

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the vinaigrette:

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and the garlic and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and artichokes and cook until the asparagus is tender, about 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and reserve.

For the vinaigrette, combine the oil, vinegar, tarragon, salt and pepper in a glass screw-top jar. Seal the jar and shake vigorously to mix the vinaigrette. Toss the vegetables with the vinaigrette and serve.

1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil, as needed to sauté sausage and coat mushrooms

1 pound Chorizo sausage, casings removed

3 cups fresh spinach, soaked in salt water to remove grit and dried in a salad spinner, and cut Brunoise-style (julienne then crosswise) into 1/2-inch pieces

32 large white button mushrooms (about 16 ounces), cleaned and stems removed

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup Parmesan

Heat a small amount of canola oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage meat and brown. Drain off any excess fat and add spinach. Cook together until flavors integrate and spinach softens, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Season mushroom caps with salt and pepper and toss with canola oil. Stuff mushroom caps with sausage/spinach mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan. Brown in oven and serve.

This recipe is from Sen. Tom Libous’ Buy from the Backyard Web site.

 

1 head escarole

10 cups chicken broth or stock 

3 medium size potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 small sweet white onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

Splash of olive oil

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon parsley

For the meatballs:

¼ pound ground sirloin

1 large egg

1½ tablespoons chopped garlic

1 slice white bread, dampened

2 teaspoon parsley

1/3  cup grated hard cheese, such as Parmesan 

Mix together the meatball ingredients, roll into tiny meatballs and set aside. Wash, clean, drain and chop escarole. Melt butter and olive oil over medium-high heat and sweat the onion. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Add escarole and turn down to medium heat. Add meatballs, potatoes, parsley and pepper and simmer until meatballs and potatoes are cooked and flavors have blended, 35 to 45 minutes.

This recipe is from Sara Moulton’s Cooking From the Heart (Broadway Books; 2003).

 

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

1 medium eggplant (1 pound) 

2 medium tomatoes (¾ pound) 

¼ pound feta cheese, crumbled 

Prepare the grill so that the temperature on one side is hot and the other is medium-low; you should be able to hold your hand 5 inches above the grill for about 5 seconds. Whisk together the vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Peel the eggplant and cut crosswise into  1/3-inch slices, about 12 slices total. Cut the tomatoes crosswise into 1/3-inch slices, or 8 slices total. Place the vegetables on a tray and brush generously with the dressing. 

On the grill’s hot side, grill the eggplant until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side, brushing with more of the dressing. Grill the tomato slices for 1 minute per side. (The vegetables should retain their shape.) Transfer the vegetables to a tray as they finish grilling. Arrange 4 stacks of vegetables on the cooler side of the grill: start with the eggplant, add a slice of tomato, then add some crumbled cheese. Repeat. Cover the grill and cook the stacks or 3 to 5 more minutes or until the feta melts. Serve immediately.

While not my favorite Food Network chef, Paula Deen occasionally comes up with some pretty tasty grub that doesn’t have butter as an ingredient.

 

2 cucumbers 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 teaspoon white vinegar 

½ cup mayonnaise 

¼ cup sour cream 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill 

Freshly ground black pepper 

Peel and slice the cucumbers and put them in a glass bowl. Sprinkle them with salt and vinegar. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Pour off the excess liquid and drain in colander for about 30 minutes to allow complete drainage. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill and pepper, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.