Ingredient Title Chef Category

Party time is fast upon us

I would prefer cooking an entire Christmas feast to preparing the millions of little treats that spell hospitality during the holidays. Thank heaven there are creative people who love messing about with one-and two-biter and love sharing their recipes. Here are ideas, some new and some old, some hot and some cold

The Scandinavians love marinated herring and they are famous for their meatballs. When I was a kid we used to love being invited to the home of "Norsky" neighbors, especially if they had ligonberry sauce on the table.

And, lefse, num, num.

SPICED HERRING WITH RED ONION

The Norwegians serve this with small new potatoes boiled. It can be made a week or more ahead.

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
12 whole cloves, coarsely crushed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 (12-oz) jars wine snack herring fillets, drained
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
parsley, chopped (optional)

Combine vinegar, sugar, water, cloves, bay leaves and peppercorns in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove form heat; cool completely. Alternate layers of herring and onion slice in medium bowl. Pour marinade over. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 day. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Makes 12 servings.

DAKOTA SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Serve with tart ligonberries or whole-berry cranberry sauce. You will want to double or triple this. They freeze well.

1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 pound ground sirloin
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon (scant) ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons butter

Mix milk and bread crumbs; let stand until milk is completely absorbed, about 10 minutes. Add meats, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, allspice and cloves; mix with fork to blend will. Dampen hands and using 1 level tablespoon for each meatball, shape mixture into 1-inch diameter balls

Place on baking sheet. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add meatballs to skillet and saute until browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat and saute until cooked through, shaking pan often and adding butter as necessary. Makes about 12 servings.

PARMESAN CREAM DIP

Wrap half of a b lanced Chinese pea pod (green) around each pink shrimp and fasten with a toothpick for a pretty presentation. Sweet pepper cut into strips (yellow, red and green) are a colorful addition to celery, radishes and Belgium endive in a basket topped with a big red bow.

1 cup light or regular sour cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon minced parsley

Stir together sour cream, cheese, vinegar, mustard, garlic and sugar to taste. If made ahead, cover and chill up until next day. Pour into a small bowl and sprinkle with parsley. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

CAJUN MARINATED SHRIMP

Use either extra large or large shrimp to make this spicy-hot crowd pleaser.

1 pound (about 17) extra large shelled and deveined shrimp
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic power, or 1 small clove mashed
1/2 teaspoon onion power, or 3 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed or powdered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Toss shrimp with lime juice. In a small cup combine remaining ingredients. Sprinkle seasonings over shrimp; stir to coat evenly. Spray large skillet and heat until hot. Add shrimp; cook and stir until shrimp are pink, about 3 minutes. Place in bowl; cover and refrigerate about 1 hour. Serve with lime wedges.

HOLD ONTO YOUR COOKING TOOLS, HERE COME THE HOLIDAYS!

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