Appetizers for Mr. T

Hopefully you've seen part 1 of Mr. T's birthday gift package in the last post and you drooled sufficiently over the sweet delights of the trinity cookie platter because now I bring you the succulent, savory appetizers. Since Mr. T (Triolo, that is) is a master of the eggplant parmigina, capponata, rigatoni with sausage and peppers dishes he prepared for his friends and family to share, I opted to show my savory skills with my original portobello rockefellers, my mother's acorn squash dip, and allrecipes.com artichoke bruschetta.

Sadly, I have no pictures of the artichoke bruschetta because I had to make it on the spot. I followed Roxanne Blesh's Artichoke Bruschetta recipe published in the May 6th issue of the AllRecipes.com Newsletter: Fast and Fresh Farmer's Market, but I exchanged the mayo for plain yogurt to keep it a bit healthier and to let the artichoke and onion take center flavor stage. Other than that one adjustment, this recipe is easy, light and super quick for such a great taste.

Here's the apps I do have pictures of!

This is the third time I've made my Portobello Rockefellers. Here they are whole and just out of the oven. I also waited for them to cool and quartered the caps to create the bite-size, well bite. :) What a crowd pleaser this one was! Another bit of prep info; I made these the day before the party and reheated them in the oven at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until the cheese melts again.

Acorn Squash Dip: This is probably best served in the Autumn but the taste is light and decadent and the presentation is not only beautiful, it's self-contained!!! This dish was also prepared prior to the party but needs to refrigerate for 24 hours anyway to firm the up the dip as well as absorb more of the acorn squash flavor from the shell.