Category:  Appetizers / Starters

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Though these cream cheese starters resemble mini pumpkins, they’ll impart onion-herb and nutty flavors! Serve Halloween Cream Cheese Starters on October 31 – they’ll be a guaranteed hit!

Prep time: 15 – 20 minutes
Makes: 8 to 10 cream cheese starter balls

Ingredients:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 to 2 tablespoons ground walnuts
2 large carrots, peeled and finely-grated
8 to 10 stems from mini chili peppers or toothpicks for easy pickup

Ingredients For Platter:
grape clusters (4 to 6 clusters)
salami slices, to taste
cheese slices, to taste
assorted or plain crackers
2 to 3 oregano or mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions:
1. Unwrap the cream cheese and place in a bowl or plate; bring it to room temperature.

2. When cream cheese has come to room temperature, using a spoon or whisk, mix in the onion salt and ground walnuts.

3. Using wet hands, roll the cream cheese into one-inch balls and set on an oiled plate (makes about 8 to 10 balls).

4. Wash hands and oil them slightly with vegetable oil; pick up each cream cheese ball and roll in shredded carrots.

5. Place the cream cheese balls on a serving platter; place a chili stem or toothpick in each one.

6. Arrange grape clusters, salami, cheese, crackers and oregano or mint sprigs around the Halloween Cream Cheese Starters. Cover with plastic wrap and chill up to 3 hours or serve immediately.
Text & Photograph ©2026 Nancy DeLucia Real

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Babaganoush is a popular Middle Eastern eggplant starter. Its main ingredients are roasted eggplant, olive oil, tahini and lemon juice.

Inactive prep time: 45 minutes (to roast & drain eggplant)
Prep time: 5 to 8 minutes (mixing ingredients in food processor)
Makes: 2-2-1/2 cups

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash dried, crushed chili peppers (optional)
2 fresh mint or parsley sprigs (for garnish)

Directions for Roasting Eggplant:

1. Wash and dry the eggplants.

8. Remove baking sheet with eggplant from oven and set aside to cool to warm or room temperature.

Directions for Babaganoush:

1. When eggplant is cool enough to touch, carefully peel skin off each eggplant; cut and discard stem at top.

8. Refrigerate babaganoush or serve immediately with mint or parsley garnish, cucumber and/or carrot sticks, pita bread and/or tortilla chips.
Text & Photograph ©2026 Nancy DeLucia Real

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Active prep time: 15 to 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ceviche is very popular in Mexico and now globally. It’s made with fresh white fish (cod, halibut or sea bass) and usually served with tostadas. You can also enjoy ceviche as an added protein to a green salad at lunch or dinner. Buen provecho!

Ingredients:
1 pound (16 ounces) fresh cod, halibut or sea bass, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
Juice from 10 to 12 limes
1/2 of a medium red or yellow onion, finely-chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, cut in half, inner pulp discarded and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
6 sprigs fresh cilantro, stems discarded and leaves finely-chopped
1 Serrano chile, finely-chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
8 to 12 corn tostadas

Directions:
1. Place the cutup fish in a 4–quart glass or porcelain bowl.

2. Pour the lime juice onto the fish and mix with a spoon.

3. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

4. After 2 to 3 hours, using cooks’ plastic gloves, grab enough fish to fit in your palm and drain and squeeze the excess lime juice out, discarding it.

5. Place the drained fish in another glass or porcelain bowl; continue this process with remaining fish.

6. When all the fish has been drained and placed in bowl, mix in all ingredients except for tostadas. Taste and adjust chile, salt and black pepper levels.

7. Serve immediately by spooning a thin layer onto one tostada per person. If guests would like more, then serve the ceviche tostadas as you go along. This will keep the tostadas crispy and not soggy with the weight of the ceviche.

8. Alternatively, do not serve immediately, but cover the bowl of ceviche with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours if serving the same day. If not, ceviche makes good leftovers for up to one day after it has been prepared.
Text & Photograph ©2026 Nancy DeLucia Real

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Active prep time: 15 minutes
Inactive prep time: 30-35 minutes (cooking beets)
Serves: 4

For a dinner on Valentine’s Day or any day, this beet salad makes for a perfect side dish. The beets are infused with exquisite flavors – olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, red onion. The white tzatziki complements the red and yellow beets!

PREPARE THE TZATZIKI FIRST AND THEN CHILL IT IN REFRIGERATOR FOR AT LEAST TWO (2) HOURS –

Ingredients for the Tzatziki:
1 Persian cucumber (this variety is small)
1-1/4 cups Greek yogurt (whole milk, low fat or nonfat)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or dill (optional)
salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions for the Tzatziki:
1. Peel and coarsely grate the cucumber. Put it in a sieve and squeeze out as much of the water as possible.

2. Place grated cucumber in a 1-quart bowl.

3. Add the yogurt, garlic and chopped mint or dill to the cucumber in bowl. Mix well.

4. Stir in the salt and ground black pepper, to taste. Adjust seasonings, if needed.

5. Cover the tzatziki with plastic wrap and chill in refirgerator.

6. Meanwhile, cook and prepare the beet salad.

Ingredients for the Beets:
2 fresh, whole medium red beets, peeled and set aside
2 fresh, whole medium yellow beets, peeled and set aside
1/2 of a red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice from 1 lime
4 tablespoons dark balsamic vinegar
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh pistachio meats, coarsely-crushed for garnish

Directions for the Beets:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Wrap each peeled beet in aluminum foil, gathering the foil at top of beet and twisting it closed.

3. Place each wrapped beet on an oven rack that is set at center of oven.

4. Bake the beets for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, partially unwrap one beet and place a pointed knife all the way through. If the beet feels too firm, bake for 5 more minutes.

6. After 5 minutes, test doneness of beet once more. If tender, the knife will easily go through the beet. If needed, bake beets for 5 more minutes.

7. When beets are done, transfer them to a plate on a counter. Unwrap the beets and set aside to cool.

8. After beets have cooled to room temperature, slice the red ones into 1/4-inch thick slices.

9. Cut each slice into 1/4-inch wide sticks; transfer the but beets to a mixing bowl.

10. Repeat with the yellow beets, placing them in a separate bowl.

11. Divide the red onion slices, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and ground black pepper among the red beets and yellow beets.

12. Taste and adjust levels of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and seasonings, if needed. Cover each bowl of beets with plastic wrap until ready to serve. Beets can be prepared a few hours before serving.

At Serving Time:
1. Inside the rim of a dinner plate, using a spoon, form a one-inch wide circle of tzatziki.

2. Next, spoon the beets at center of the dinner plate, alternating red beet salad and yellow beet salad, for colorful display.

3. Garnish beets and tzatziki with crushed pistachios and drizzle drops of olive oil over the tzatziki. Serve immediately.
Text & Photograph ©2026 Nancy DeLucia Real

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Inactive prep time: 10-20 minutes (for marinating melon & roasting peppers)
Active prep time: 15 minutes (for assembling the salad)
Serves: 6 to 8

Believe it or not, this strange “melange” or “mix” of flavors tastes great! Sweet and sour notes hit the palate with a fusion of melon, lime juice, olive oil, capers and crumbly, breadcrumb textures. Enjoy this summer salad with a crowd al fresco!

Ingredients:
1 whole cantaloup melon, peeled, seeds discarded and flesh cut into 1-inch cubes
juice from 2 limes
6 to 7 tablespoons olive oil, to be divided
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
5 canned anchovies (optional), minced
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs, lightly toasted with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet
10 to 12 green pitted olives, halved (you can also use green olives stuffed with pimiento)
6 sprigs fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Marinate Melon & Grill the Peppers:
1. Place cubed melon in a large glass or porcelain bowl and gently toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the lime juice; cover with plastic wrap and set aside in refrigerator.

2. Meanwhile, cut each bell pepper in half lengthwise; discarding stems and seeds.

3. In an 18 X 12-inch baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (DO NOT USE PARCHMENT – IT WILL BURN), place the bell pepper halves with rounded side up.

4. Place the baking sheet with peppers on an oven rack positioned 6 inches from the top grill or broiler (this part is the top grill you see when you look “UP” inside the oven).

5. Set oven on “BROIL” and let the peppers broil/grill for 8 minutes.

6. After 8 minutes, make sure the peppers’ skin has blackened. If not, broil/grill peppers for 2 more minutes or until peppers have blackened but not burned to a crisp.

7. Remove sheet with grilled peppers; set aside to cool to warm or room temperature.

Prep & Assemble the Salad:
1. When peppers are cool enough to handle but are still warm, remove and discard blackened skins; tear the peppers apart in half, lengthwise.

2. Using a 12 to 14-inch rectangular, square or round platter, place the peppers (alternating their colors) along the platter’s edges; drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil on the peppers. Set aside.

3. Next, scatter the minced anchovies and capers over the peppers. IF YOU DO NOT WANT ANCHOVIES, OMIT THEM.

4. Sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs over anchovies and peppers; drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil over breadcrumbs.

5. Place the cubed, marinated melon at center of platter so that it is framed by the pepper-breadcrumb mixture.

6. Evenly scatter the olives over the melon.

7. Garnish the salad with the basil leaf sprigs.

8. Serve immediately or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. This salad can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 3 hours.
Text & Photograph ©2025 Nancy DeLucia Real