Tapas party: celebrate the year-end holidays with an easy menu of dazzling appetizers

NOW THAT THE HOLIDAY SEASON is here and party-giving has swelled to a fever pitch, hosting a tapas (Spanish appetizers) party might just be the answer to your entertaining needs. It accommodates the most guests with the least amount of effort, and it can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. The food can be prepared in advance and for relatively little expense, and the informal format will leave you with enough free time to enjoy mixing and mingling. What more could a host ask?

If you're planning to pass trays of food, our stuffed mushrooms and roasted sweet peppers are perfect for a stand-up crowd. The marinated olives and spicy potatoes should be served with small plates and forks. The food can also be stationed at strategic points around the room to give guests a reason to circulate. And seasonal garnishes--small wreaths fashioned from twigs of rosemary, shimmery gold ribbon, red rose petals--enhance the beauty of a holiday appetizer tray and buoy spirits.

So send out the invitations, and get set for a hassle-free holiday party full of great food and good cheer.

Roasted Sweet Peppers
with Paprika

20 SERVINGS

A tray of toasted bread rounds topped
with colorful roasted peppers and
crumbled blue cheese makes an attractive
finger food that's uncommonly delicious.
Roasted peppers can be made
up to 3 days ahead or frozen up to
1 month.

4 large red and/or yellow bell
  peppers
2 Tbs. olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
1/8 tsp. sugar
Crumbled blue cheese (optional)
Toasted bread rounds for serving

1. Roast peppers over gas flame or under
broiler, turning, until charred all over.
Place in paper bag, and allow to steam
and cool for 20 minutes. Working over
bowl, scrape off blackened skin, and remove
cores, seeds and ribs, saving any
juices from inside peppers. Chop peppers
coarsely.

2. In large skillet, heat oil over medium
heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring often,
until soft and just beginning to color,
about 3 minutes. Add roasted peppers
and 1 to 2 tablespoons reserved juice.
Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring
occasionally, 20 minutes. (If peppers
start to dry out, add more reserved juice
as needed.) Add paprika, salt and sugar,
and mix well. Cover, and cook, stirring
occasionally, until peppers are very tender,
about 15 minutes. Remove from
heat, and cool. (Roasted peppers can be
made ahead. Cover, and refrigerate up
to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.)

3. To serve, place roasted peppers on
toasted bread rounds, and top with
crumbled cheese if desired.

PER SERVING (WITHOUT BREAD ROUNDS OR CHEESE):
18 CAL; 0 PROT; 1G TOTAL FAT (0 SAT. FAT); 1G CARB; 0
CHOL; 54MG SOD; 0 FIBER

Mushrooms Stuffed with
Tomatoes and Olives

MAKES 36 MUSHROOMS

These stuffed mushrooms make
delightful mouthfuls. Purchase the
mushrooms where you can hand-pick
them so you can choose small caps of
uniform size.

1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 oz. sun-dried tomatoes, preferably
  organic (about 6 pieces)
1 small all-purpose potato, peeled
  and quartered
3 Tbs. skim milk or soy milk
36 small to medium-size mushrooms
  (about 1 lb.), stems removed and
  reserved
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes,
  or more to taste
2 Tbs. grated Romano cheese,
  optional
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf
  parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375 [degrees] F. Spread walnuts
on baking sheet, and toast in oven until
lightly browned and fragrant, about 6
minutes. Set aside to cool. Reduce oven
temperature to 350 [degrees] F.

2. Put sun-dried tomatoes into small
bowl, and cover with hot water. Cover
with plastic wrap, and let stand until
tomatoes are plump, about 30 minutes.
Drain well, and chop. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, steam potato quarters until
tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to
small bowl, and let cool slightly. Mash
potato quarters with fork, then add milk
and stir until smooth. Set aside. Finely
chop enough mushroom stems to equal
1/3 cup, and set aside. Reserve remaining
stems for another use; store them in refrigerator
up to 3 days.

4. In large skillet, heat oil over medium
heat. Add onion, garlic and red pepper
flakes, and cook, stirring often, until
onion begins to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add sun-dried tomatoes and chopped
mushroom stems, and cook, stirring
often, scraping bottom of pan occasionally,
2 to 3 minutes.

5. In medium bowl, mix all ingredients
except mushroom caps. Mixture should
be moist but hold its shape well. Add
small amounts of water if mixture is too
dry. Season with salt to taste. (Filling can
be made ahead and refrigerated up to 2
days. Return to room temperature, and
moisten with additional water if necessary
before proceeding.)

6. Coat shallow baking dish with nonstick
cooking spray. Spoon filling into mushroom
caps, mounding slightly. Arrange
mushrooms in prepared baking dish.
(Mushrooms can be prepared up to this
point and refrigerated, covered, for 1 day.)

7. Bake until mushrooms are tender
when pierced with fork and filling is
heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve
warm or at room temperature.

PER MUSHROOM: 20 CAL; 1G PROT; 1G TOTAL FAT (0
SAT. FAT); 2G CARB; 0 CHOL; 9MG SOD; 0 FIBER

Marinated Olives

6 SERVINGS

Good-quality olives are sold in specialty
food stores and in the deli
section of most supermarkets. Make
them even more interesting with this
flavorful marinade. Before serving,
drain the olives, but save the oil and
use in salad dressings or as a topping
for pasta or sauteed vegetables.

8 oz. green olives, pitted if desired
  (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary,
  or 1/2 tsp. dried
3 Tbs. fresh mixed herbs (such as
  thyme, oregano, chives and sage),
  or 3 tsp. dried
1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
1 Tbs. coarsely chopped garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
3 medium bay leaves
Strip lemon peel, about 1 x 3 inches
Olive oil

1. In medium bowl, combine olives, rosemary,
mixed herbs, fennel seeds, paprika,
red pepper flakes, peppercorns,
garlic and salt. Mix thoroughly. Pack seasoned
olives into pint jar, layering them
with bay leaves and lemon peel. Pour
enough oil over olives to cover, then
tightly close jar. Refrigerate for at least 4
days, shaking jar occasionally each day.

2. To serve, drain olives, then remove
and discard peppercorns, bay leaves
and lemon peel. For best results, serve
at room temperature.

Note: To pit green olives, make slit
down one side of olive. With heavy
cleaver or rolling pin, smash olive on cutting
board two or three times, turning
olive over in between. Remove pit.

PER 1/4-CUP SERVING: 129 CAL; 1G PROT; 14G TOTAL FAT
(2G SAT. FAT); 2G CARB; 0 CHOL; 997MG SOD; 1G FIBER

Spicy Potatoes

16 SERVINGS

The combination of crispy potatoes
and spicy tomato sauce makes this
appetizer simply irresistible. If you prefer
less heat, use one jalapeno pepper
instead of two.

5 Tbs. olive oil
8 large baking potatoes, peeled
  and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. can peeled plum tomatoes,
  finely chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded
  and finely chopped
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 425 [degrees] F. In large skillet,
heat 4 tablespoons oil over medium-high
heat. Add potatoes, and cook, stirring
often, until browned, about 8
minutes. Transfer potatoes and any oil
remaining in skillet to baking dish, and
bake until crisp and tender, about 12 to
15 minutes.

2. In same skillet, heat remaining tablespoon
oil. Add Onion and garlic, and
cook, stirring often, until onion is softened,
about 5 minutes. Add remaining
ingredients, and simmer, uncovered, 10
to 12 minutes. Transfer potatoes to serving
bowl. Add tomato mixture, and toss
to coat. Serve warm.

PER SERVING: 94 GAL; 2G PROT; 4G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT.
FAT); 13G GARB; 0 CHOL; 72MG SOD; 1G FIBER

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