Appetizers/4 recipes

Hamaguri Shigure-Ni, a Japanese sweet-savory clam appetizer cooked in sake, soy sauce, and sugar. Only 4 ingredients. The sauce reduces to a glossy syrup that coats each clam. Served cool.

Salami roll-ups with cream cheese, avocado, tomato, and lettuce in flour tortillas. No-cook appetizer sliced into pinwheels, perfect for parties. Make ahead and chill.

Broiled potato skins loaded with pepper jack cheese and crispy bacon, cut into bite-size pieces for game-day appetizers. A quick broil melts the cheese in two minutes.

Delicious! And simple to make in a large batch for appetizers. As made in Thrace, the soft-dough may be spread into a sheet and cut in squares before baking, or each shaped individually into daintly "bastounakia" (little canes or sticks). The word "trifti" identifies the texture - crisp and crumbly in the mouth.

Low calorie tomato bruschetta on garlic-rubbed toast with sauteed onion, oregano, and optional Parmesan. Just 1 teaspoon of olive oil keeps this appetizer light and fresh.

Marinated fresh mushrooms in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, and tarragon. A make-ahead appetizer that improves over 1-2 days in the fridge.

Note: In lieu of fresh trout, 1/2 lb cooked and flaked fish may be used. Make smaller protions and serve as an appetizer. Oatcakes that have been gently warmed in the oven go well with this dish.

Andouille was a great favorite in nineteenth-century New Orleans. This thick Cajun sausage is made with lean pork and pork fat and lots of garlic. Sliced about 1/2 inch thick and greilled, it makes a delightful appetizer. It is also used in a superb oyster and andouille gumbo poplular in Laplace, a Cajun town about 30 miles fromNew Orleans that calls itself the Andouille Capital of the World.