Combine ahead and let rest in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Options to add prior to heating or have available for individuals to “top” their cheese with:
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup drained crab meat (if adding to the cheese before heating, add single dash of Worcestershire and hot sauce for additional contrast)
1/2 can drained and chopped artichoke hearts
1/8 cup drained, chopped roasted red peppers
Chiffonade basil or parsley
Heat in microwave 30-45 seconds, stir and serve warm.
Can be spread on crackers or bread slices and baked or broiled.
Also great as dip for veggies and/or small lettuce leaf wraps.
Paulette DiAngi, www.paulettesredkitchen.com, Osterville MA
Kristian’s Shrimp
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. Cajun or Creole seasoning (McCormick's works well)
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbs. dried)
1 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. soy sauce
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Combine first 7 ingredients in a 9”x13" baking dish. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 450º. Bake shrimp with the marinade, uncovered, until shrimp are cooked through - about 10 minutes. Serve hot with toothpicks.
Betsy Menser, Harwich MA
The Burg’s Original Sausage Bread Roll
Ingredients:
1 tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls – the full flat sheet
1 lb of bulk sausage, hot or sweet
1 red or green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion or whole (depending on how much you like onions!)
1 Tbs. olive oil (or less if you are using a small skillet)
Shredded Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese
Roll tube of crescents onto a cookie sheet.
Mix bulk sausage with peppers and onions and brown in skillet with olive oil.
After sausage mixture is cooked, drain the oil and crumble the mixture over the bread dough. Spread shredded Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese on top; roll the entire loaf and close up and bake in oven according to instructions on crescent rolls tube until golden brown. Slice warm bread and enjoy!
Mary Leone, Trenton NJ
Bunco Babes Crab Dip
Ingredients:
1 lb crab meat (remove any shell or cartridge)
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
Dash or two of Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. horseradish
1 Tbs. sherry
Old Bay Crab Seasoning
Mix cream cheese and next 3 ingredients; gently stir in crab.
Spray a decorative ovenproof bowl with Pam and add crab mixture.
Sprinkle top of crab mixture with Old Bay.
Bake at 350º for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with crackers or a sliced baguette.
Carol Lloyd and the Bethany Beach, Delaware, Bunco Babes
Boursin en Croute
Ingredients:
1 package (5.2 oz) plus 1/2 package of a Boursin cheese with herbs, about 8 oz. total
1 lb mushrooms, sliced thick
6 slices or 1/4 lb. cooked ham, julienned
1 shallot, chopped
5 phyllo leaves
Have pan or dish of melted butter handy.
Saute mushrooms in enough butter to coat the skillet for 2-3 minutes on high flame, but don't let their juices seep out.
Butter a medium-sized ovenproof dish or pan; oblong shape is easiest.
Spread a phyllo leaf across the pan and brush with melted butter. Repeat 4 more times, (5 leaves total).
Slice Boursin cheese and put on each phyllo. Scatter chopped shallots, then mushrooms, on top and finish with a layer of the julienned ham.
Butter 3-4 phyllo leaves as before, adding each separately to the top.
Roll up edges and make a rim.
Bake at 375º for 20 minutes.
If you make it early, cover with dry towel then bake just before eating.
Carol Smilgin, Osterville MA
Parmesan Cheese Puffs
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Directions:
Mix and spread on party rye bread. Broil at 400º until golden brown.
Nan Connell, Centerville MA
Tortilla Spirals
Ingredients:
6 oz cream cheese at room temperature
4 oz mild chevre (goat cheese)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 scallions, trimmed and minced
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
6 sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained but reserve oil – slice tomatos into thin slivers
1/3 cup pitted black olives, minced
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup finely diced cooked white chicken meat (optional)
3 Tbs. minced cilantro
2 tsp. chili powder
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt to taste
8 large (10”) flour tortillas
Beat the cream cheese and chevre together in a mixing bowl until smooth.
Beat in the remaining ingredients except the tortillas and oil from sun-dried tomatoes.
Spread 1 tortilla with a generous amount of the cheese mixture and top with a second tortilla and spread cheese mixture.
Roll up the 2 tortillas tightly like a jelly roll and wrap in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375º.
Cut each tortilla roll into 1/2 inch slices and place cut sides up on a non stick baking sheet.
Brush the top of each with a little oil from the sundried tomatoes (you can substitute olive oil).
Bake for 12 minutes or until tortillas are puffed and lightly browned.
Let cool a minute or two and serve.
Peggy Sullivan Crespo, Chatham MA
Ms. Chef On Deck’s Mock-Crab Dip
Ingredients:
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise (you can use light mayo but I prefer the real thing)
8 Tbs. chopped green onion
8 oz package shredded Swiss cheese
Combine all of these ingredients. Press the mixture down into a small rectangular dish or a pie plate.
Topping:
One stack of crumbled Ritz crackers
6 Tbs. melted butter
1 lb bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled (I always drain first on paper towels.)
Mix these ingredients in a bowl. Spread the topping over the creamy mixture.This is the easy part – microwave on high for 10 minutes. If you make this earlier in the day, place aluminum foil on the top and keep the dish in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, remove the foil and microwave for 11 minutes.
Serve with pita chips, bugles, tri-colored veggie chips or anything you’d like.
Karla Carreiro, aka Ms. Chef On Deck, Chatham MA
Mini Quesadillas
Ingredients:
1 package Wonton wrappers
Filling:
2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped black olives
3/4 cup mild salsa
1/4 cup cilantro or parsley
Topping:
Sour cream
Chopped scallions
Chopped tomatoes
Heat oven to 350º. Lightly oil mini muffin tin (24). Mix cheese, olives, salsa and cilantro in a bowl. Press one wanton wrapper in each cup. Put about 1tablespoon of cheese mixture in each. Bake about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
Garnish with a small amount of sour cream, tomato, and scallions.
Phyllis Welby, Osterville MA
BUNCO Pizza
Bacon, 4 slices, cooked
Unilever Mayonnaise (A.K.A. Hellman’s), 4 tsp.
Nan, 4 pieces*
Cheese, 4 Tbs. freshly grated Parmesan or Romano
Olives and onions, 1/4 cup kalmata olives, chopped and 2 onions, peeled and sliced thin
Pre-heat oven to 450º. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium heat and cook onions until transparent, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add olives.
Spread 1 teaspoon mayonnaise on each of the 4 breads. Divide onion mixture evenly on the breads. Crumble 1 slice bacon over each pizza and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon grated cheese.
Place the pizzas directly on the oven rack and bake about 3 or 4 minutes. Slice as desired.
*Nan is a flatbread available in any major supermarket (Shaw’s, Stop & Shop).
Mary Lynn Kiley, Centerville MA
Desserts are also a big hit at Bunco parties. Here’s a keeper recipe that’s easy to make and delicious to eat.
Raspberry Mousse
Ingredients:
1 – 6 oz or 2 – 3 oz boxes raspberry Jello
2 cups hot water
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
2 packages defrosted frozen raspberries
Mix the hot water and Jello. When well dissolved, fold in softened ice cream until mix is smooth -- no ice cream lumps! Add fruit and fold until well mixed. Pour into bowl and refrigerate for several hours or until firm.
(If using strawberries, mash them well before adding to ice cream mix.) Serve in a clear glass bowl for a very pretty presentation.
Barbara Parker, Dennis MA
Bon appétit!
To Learn More About Moving Can Be Murder
Please visit our website: www.babyboomermysteries.com, for a schedule of author events, book signings, general news or to send us your questions and comments. If you have tips about dealing with retirement, moving, or other stories to share, we’d love to hear them.
Attention Book Clubs: If you have made Moving Can Be Murder your book club selection and would like to have Susan Santangelo discuss the book with your group after you’ve finished reading it, please go to the website and send us an e-mail. Due to scheduling constraints, not all book club meeting requests can be satisfied, so please reserve your date well in advance.
About the Author
An early member of the Baby Boomer generation, Susan Santangelo has been a feature writer, drama critic and editor for daily and weekly newspapers in the New York metropolitan area, including a stint at Cosmopolitan magazine. A seasoned public relations and marketing professional, she produced special events for Carnegie Hall's centennial. Susan is a member of Sisters in Crime and The Cape Cod Writers Center, and also reviews mysteries for Suspense Magazine. She divides her time between Cape Cod, MA and the Connecticut shoreline, and shares her life with her husband Joe and three English cocker spaniels: Tucker, Lucy, and Boomer.
A portion of the sales from Moving Can Be Murder is donated to the Breast Cancer Survival Center, a non-profit organization based in Connecticut which Susan founded in 1999 after being diagnosed with cancer herself.
Moving Can Be Murder is the second in the Baby Boomer mystery series. Susan is currently at work on her third book, Marriage Can Be Murder.
You can find Susan blogging twice a month
at www.murderousmusings.blogspot.com.
Or contact her at [email protected].
She’d love to hear from you.
Moving Can Be Murder Page 24
