The appetizers are walk-abouts; use your barbecue for this party menu you can enjoy while on your feet - recipes

At this walk-about appetizer party for 12 (or lazy lunch for 6), you don't have to do a balancing act with glasses and plates. Instead, food you can eat with your fingers makes it easy to enjoy succulent morsels and beverages while strolling about to visit. For Stella and Sheldon Wilson of Chimney Rock Winery in Napa, California, it's a practical way to present food as guests sample their wines.

The Wilsons offer hearty tidbits-on-the-bone or skewers from the barbecue, plus bite-size vegetables like cherry tomatoes, green onions, and cold cooked sugar-snap peas and tiny squash with dipping sauces (about 1 cup vegetables per person).

You can use a barbecue with gas or charcoal briquets for fuel. To maintain even heat with briquets, every 30 minutes add about 1/4 of the original number of briquets used to start the fire.

Keep shellfish, raw meat, and poultry on a bed of ice until ready to grill. And have plenty of small paper napkins, with waste-baskets handy for scraps.

Lamb Chops with Mint Pesto

12 lamb rib chops, cut 1 inch thick (about 2 1/2 lb. total) Mint pesto (recipe follows) Salt

With a small sharp knife, trim all fat from chops. Then cut a horizontal 1 1/20inch-wide pocket in each chop, starting at meaty rim and cutting to bone. Fill pockets equally with pesto. If made ahead, cover and chill up until next day.

Place lamb on grill above a solid bed of hot coals (you can hold your hand at grill level for only 2 to 3 seconds). Cook, turning to brown evenly, until done to taste; for medium-rare (pink in center; cut to test), allow 7 to 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. Makes 12 servings.

Per piece: 142 cal.; 11 g protein; 11 g fat (2.6 g sat.); 1.3 g carbo.; 57 mg sodium; 29 mg chol.

Mint pesto. In a blender or food processor, smoothly puree 1 cup fresh mint leaves, 1/2 cup pine nuts, 3 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Makes 3/4 cup.

Skewered Shrimp

24 large (31 to 35 per lb., about 10 oz.) shrimp, shelled and deveined 1/4 cup dry sherry or rice vinegar 1 tablespoon minced ginger 24 green onions (root ends trimmed), cut to 6 inches in length Salt

In a bowl, mix shrimp, sherry, and ginger. Cover; chill 1 hour or up until next day.

In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan, place onions in 1 inch of boiling water until limp, 15 to 30 seconds. Lift out and immerse in ice water until cool; drain. If made ahead, cover and chill up until next day.

Thread a slender skewer lengthwise into each shrimp, going almost, but not quite, all the way through. Lay an onion flat. Center a skewered shrimp across center of onion; tie onion around shrimp. If made ahead, cover and chill up to 4 hours.

Lay skewered shrimp on grill above a solid bed of hot coals (you can hold hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds). Cook, turning several times, until shrimp are opaque in center (cut to test), 2 to 4 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serves 12.

Per piece: 31 cal.; 4.7 g protein; 0.4 g fat (0.1 g sat.); 2.2 g carbo.; 32 mg sodium; 31 mg chol.

Lemon Lamb Skewers

1 1/2 pounds boned and fat-trimmed lean lamb (leg or loin), cut into 3/4-inch cubes Lemon marinade (recipe folllows)

Mix lamp with lemon marinade in bowl. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to overnight; stir occasionally.

Divide meat into 12 equal portions. Thread each portion onto a slender skewer. Lay skewered lamb on grill above a solid bed of hot coals (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds). Cook lamb, turning to brown evenly, until done to taste; for medium-rare (pink in center; cut to test), allow 6 to 8 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

Per serving: 106 cal.; 12 g protein; 5.1 g fat (1.4 g sat.; 2.3 g carbo.; 76 mg sodium; 38 mg chol.

Lemon marinade. In a large bowl, mix 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon each ground coriander and ground turmeric, 1 tablespoon curry power, 2 tablespoons apricot jam, 3 tablespoons salad oil, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic (minced), and 1 large onion (minced).

Chinese-style Quail

6 quail (each about 4 oz.) 1 cup regular-strength chicken broth 1/2 cup dry vermouth or mirin (sweet rice wine) 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 small lemon, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 2 teaspoons Oriental sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

With poultry shears or kitchen scissors, snip off quail wing tips at joint. On each bird, cut parallel to each side of backbone, then cut in half lenngthwise through breast. Rinse birds and pat dry; save scraps for another use, such as broth.

Place quail in deep bowl. Add broth, vermouth, soy sauce, lemon, ginger, oil, and pepper. Cover and chill for 2 hours or up until next day; stir often. Lift from marinade and place on grill above a solid bed of hot coals (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds). Cook, turning to brown evenly, until breasts are still red but not wet-looking at the bone (cut from wing joint into breast to test), 7 to 10 minutes. Serves 12.

Per half quail: 113 cal.; 10 g protein; 7 g fat (1.8 g sat.); 2.1 g carbo.; 119 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.