BoomerGirl Diary

Often, our fast-paced schedules don't allow time to relax and enjoy time with friends.

An afternoon party is a perfect opportunity to return to a quieter, less hectic time, sip a cup of tea and nibble on homemade treats.

The Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary in Richmond, Ky., had an afternoon tea recently — one of the area's most popular events. Rather than hiring a caterer, the women prepare all the finger foods themselves.

Members made food for 225 guests, and most of it is individual servings of choco'roon brownies, blue cheese tea crackers, truffles, chocolate-dipped apricots, veggie rounds, nutty oat tea sandwiches, fruity petit fours, zucchini triangles, Italian stacks, bruschetta bites, butter chip cookies, crancrisps and Cheddar sunflower sandwiches — about 250 pieces of each.

Hungarland, a charter member and past ­president of the auxiliary, said the women work hard to make it an outstanding event as a way to give back to the community. Proceeds pay electric bills, buy food and meet other essential needs of people in the four counties — Madison, Rockcastle, Estill and Lee — served by the Richmond Salvation Army.

Here are their recipes:

Blue cheese tea crackers

Blue cheese spread:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 package (4 ounces) blue cheese

Crackers:

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup toasted pecans, finely ground

4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Pecan halves for garnish

Red and yellow peppers for garnish

Mix two cheeses together, either in a food processor or with hand mixer. Store in plastic container in refrigerator until ready to use.

To make crackers, combine flour and pecans in food processor. Pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add blue cheese, and process until dough is completely combined. Transfer dough to work surface, and shape into a 2-inch wide log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 24 hours. (Dough may be kept in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks and in the freezer up to 4 weeks.)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Slice chilled log into ¼ inch-thick slices. Place slices on a baking sheet, then bake. Rotate baking sheet about halfway through cooking. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until crackers are golden brown and firm in the center. Transfer to cooling rack, then to an airtight container when totally cooled. May be kept at room temperature.

To assemble, put about a teaspoon of spread on each cracker. Garnish with a thin strip of red and yellow pepper placed, crisscrossing. Place a toasted pecan half in the center of the peppers. Serve immediately.

Veggie rounds

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

1 package Good Seasons Zesty Italian seasoning mix

Dried dill

Cucumbers, sliced in rounds

Cherry tomatoes, sliced

Fresh dill

Mix cream cheese with Good Seasons mix and dried dill to taste. Place a dollop of cream cheese mixture on a cucumber slice, and top with a slice of tomato and dill sprig.

Choco'roon brownie

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 stick unsalted butter

3 eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2-2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini-muffin tins lightly with cooking spray.

Melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla, and add to chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared mini-muffin tins (fill each cup about 2?3 full).

Combine sweetened condensed milk and coconut. Spoon onto center of each mini-brownie. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm but still a little moist. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutty oat tea sandwich

18 slices of nutty oatmeal bread, crusts removed

Cheese-orange filling:

1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

½ cup finely chopped toasted walnuts

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Curried butter:

1 stick butter, softened

¼ teaspoon curry powder

¼ teaspoon grated orange rind (or dried orange peel)

¼ teaspoon ketchup

1/8 teaspoon salt

To make cheese-orange filling: Remove ­excess moisture from oranges by pressing them with towels. Combine oranges and remaining ingredients in food processor and process until well blended.

To make curried butter: Combine all ­ingredients and mix well.

Place nine slices of nutty oatmeal bread on a surface. Spread with orange filling. Spread curried butter on the remaining slices of bread. Place slices spread with orange ­filling on the slices spread with the curried butter. Cut diagonally into quarters or eighths.

Chocolate-dipped apricots

12 ounces premium semi-sweet chocolate bits

12 ounces white chocolate bits

Good quality dried apricots, separated into two equal batches

Microwave chocolate bits in a small bowl on high, stirring often, until melted. With one batch of apricots, dip one half of each apricot in melted dark chocolate and place on waxed paper. Chill 10 minutes or until firm. Repeat process with white chocolate and second batch of apricots.

Butter chip cookies

1 pound butter (not margarine), softened

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

3 cups plain flour

1½ cups potato chips, crushed by hand (not fine)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and flour. Stir in potato chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 60 cookies.

Note: If you like, sift powdered sugar over the cookies after baking or add colorful ­edible glitter.

Bruschetta bites

1 small tomato, finely chopped (about ½ cup)

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons sliced green onions

1 tablespoon Kraft zesty Italian dressing

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

3 boxes (15 each) mini phyllo shells

In a medium bowl, mix together tomato, mozzarella cheese, onions and dressing. Fill each shell with about 2 teaspoons of cream cheese; top with 1 to 2 teaspoons tomato mixture. Makes 45 bruschetta bites.

Crancrisp

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

½ package Ocean Spray Cran-Fruit

¼ to ½ cups finely chopped pecans

Celery

In a small bowl, cream cheese, Cran-Fruit and pecans. Use the mix to stuff 10 celery stalks, then cut celery into bite-size pieces.

Truffles

1 package (1 pound, 2 ounces) Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

2 packages (8 squares each) Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted

Mix 3 cups cookie crumbs and cream cheese until well-blended. Shape into 42 1-inch balls.

Dip balls in melted chocolate; place on baking sheet covered with waxed paper. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Note: To jazz up truffles, sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles in addition to, or in place of, cookie crumbs.

Zucchini triangles

3 cups finely sliced zucchini (about 4)

1 cup Bisquick baking mix

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon pepper

½ cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, slightly beaten

Grease a 13- by 9-inch pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, and mix until blended. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Fruity petit fours

3 extra large Sara Lee pound cakes, frozen

6 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur

6 tablespoons apricot nectar

Icing (recipe follows)

Sliced almonds

Orange peel

Clear edible glitter

With a toothpick, poke holes in the tops of the frozen cakes. Brush tops of cakes liberally with a mixture of the nectar and liqueur (or use nectar only). Return cakes to freezer to allow mixture to permeate cakes. Cut cakes into 1-inch cubes. Allow to thaw for an hour.

Place cubes on a rack over a cookie sheet or waxed paper, to catch the icing drips. Spoon, or pour, icing evenly over top and sides of cake cubes, letting the icing coat the sides. Icing that drips may be reused. Let stand until icing is set, several hours.

When icing is set, stand three almond slices up on top of the cubes to look like a flower bud. Place a small amount of orange peel in the center of the "bud." Sprinkle with edible glitter.

Store in single layer in airtight containers at room temperature. Makes about 60.

Note: Instead of pound cakes, you may make a yellow cake using apricot nectar and orange peel for flavor. Bake it in a jellyroll pan.

Icing

4½ cups powdered sugar

3?8 cup apricot nectar

¼ cup light corn syrup

2½ tablespoons of margarine or butter, melted

1 teaspoon of almond extract

Place all icing ingredients in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed until all sugar is moistened, then beat on high speed until smooth. Add nectar by the teaspoon until icing is pourable.

Italian stack

2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls

½ pound sliced deli salami

½ pound sliced provolone cheese

½ pound sliced boiled deli ham

7 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 jars (12 ounces each) roasted red peppers, drained

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Unroll 1 package of crescent rolls, and use dough to line the bottom of the baking dish. Pinch seams together with fingers. Cover rolls with half the salami, provolone and ham.

Lightly beat together 6 eggs and the Parmesan; pour half evenly over top. Top with half the roasted red peppers. Repeat layering with remaining salami, cheese, ham, egg mixture and peppers. Top with remaining package of crescent rolls.

Lightly beat remaining egg and brush over top. Cover dish with foil; bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes. Cool for 1 hour. Cut into 32 squares and serve.

Cheddar sunflower sandwich

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

6 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 jar pimento-stuffed olives, drained

1 carton (8 ounces) plain yogurt

1 small package sunflower seeds

1 cup mayonnaise

Pumpernickel bread, cut into rounds

In the bowl of a food processor, blend cream cheese and Cheddar cheese. Add olives, and blend until olives are chopped. Add yogurt and mayonnaise, and process until smooth. Stir in sunflower seeds, then spread on pumpernickel bread rounds. Top with another pumpernickel round.