Start The Year With An Open House

What better way to usher in 2006 than with a New Year's Day open house for family and friends?

Cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ricthie shared recipes with The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm for a get together featuring Mediterranean food.

They prepared it in the flagship store in Manhattan of specialty home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma.

Ritchie suggests a buffet, so everything can be set out on platters for people to serve themselves as they come and go, or settle in to watch football. Plus, these recipes can easily be increased to feed more people.

RECIPES

GREEK FETA SPREAD (KOPANISTI)

This is easy to make in a food processor, and has a little kick from mint and hot peppers.

Feta cheese whips up into a smooth, creamy spread when blended with olive oil in a food processor. The Greeks like to flavor it with garlic, mint and pickled peppers to make a piquant dip for pita bread. Serve it with radishes and cucumber spears for dipping, too.

1/2 lb. Greek or French feta cheese
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 Tbs. minced fresh mint or 1 tsp. crumbled dried
mint
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, plus more as needed
6 Italian peperoncini (pickled green peppers), plus
more as needed, chopped

In a food processor, combine the cheese, olive oil, garlic, mint, the 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes and the 6 chopped peperoncini and process until smooth. Taste and add more red pepper flakes or peperoncini, if needed. Makes 1 1/2 cups; serves 4.

Williams-Sonoma.MINESTRONE WITH CHICKEN MEATBALLS

This has all the classic ingredients: vegetables, greens and beans, plus little meatballs to make it more substantial.

A scattering of freshly grated cheese adds a welcome layer of flavor to many dishes. Mellow and nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of the best cheeses for grating, but isn't the only option. Pecorino romano, a sharp sheep's milk cheese, is another good choice, or try milder cow's milk Asiago or dry jack. When grating, use a rotary grater or the smallest rasps of a box grater in order to reduce the cheese to the smallest particles and ensure a smooth incorporation into the dish.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds 1/2 inch
thick
2 celery stalks, cut into slices 1/2 inch thick
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chopped kale leaves
1 cup dry red wine
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped into 1-inch
pieces
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 can (19 oz.) cannellini or white kidney beans
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt, to taste, plus 1/2 tsp. salt
Hot red pepper flakes, to taste
1 lb. ground chicken
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus
more, to taste

In a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the kale and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and tomato and bring to a boil. Stir in the broth, water and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially and simmer until well flavored, about 1 hour. During the last 10 minutes, drain the beans, rinse with cold running water and drain again, then add to the pot along with the basil. Season with salt and red pepper flakes. Discard the bay leaf.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the chicken, half of the cheese, the bread crumbs, egg, the 1/2 tsp. salt and the 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Increase the heat under the soup to medium and bring to a light boil. Drop rounded tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the soup. Their texture will firm up on contact with the hot liquid. Cover and cook until the meatballs are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and black pepper. Ladle into warmed individual bowls and serve hot. Pass the remaining cheese at the table. Serves 8.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series,Chicken,by Rick Rodgers (Simon & Schuster, 2001).ONION TARTLETS

These are miniature versions of pissaladiere, a French pizza with onions, olives, and anchovies. And you can leave out the anchovies if you don't like them. The pizzas can also be made with purchased pizza dough and made ahead.

The topping of onions, olives and anchovies is inspired by pissaladière, the Niçoise relative of the pizza. If you make the tartlets in advance, they may be reheated for 6 to 8 minutes in a preheated 425°F oven.

13 oz. pizza dough, purchased or homemade
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 lb. large onions, thinly sliced and cut into
slivers
12 plump black olives, pitted and slivered
12 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and
halved crosswise
1/3 cup pine nuts

Prepare the pizza dough. Preheat an oven to 500°F.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to 3/8 inch thickness. With a round pastry cutter 1 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out 24 rounds. Roll these rounds out again until they are 3/16 inch thick. Lay the rounds on a nonstick baking sheet.

Combine the oil and water in a medium nonstick fry pan. Add the sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add the onions. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring from time to time, until the onions are golden and the water evaporates, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the olives, anchovies and pine nuts to the onions and mix well.

Divide the filling evenly among the dough rounds. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the filling and the edges of the pastry are golden, about 15 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 24 tartlets; serves 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series, Hors d'Oeuvres, by The Scotto Sisters (Time-Life Books, 1992).HAZELNUT AND DRIED CHERRY BISCOTTI

These are the popular Italian cookies that are dunked in coffee or sweet wine for dessert. You can make your own or buy them. These are flavored with hazelnuts and dried biscotti.

Biscotti means "twice baked" in Italian, and double baking is the secret to making these popular, crunchy cookies. To make biscotti, the dough is shaped into an oblong loaf and baked. The baked loaf is then cut into slices that are baked again until they become dry and hard. As durable as they are tasty, these cookies keep extremely well and are a good choice to give as a gift. They are delicious served with fresh fruit, and are perfect for dunking in coffee or a sweet dessert wine such as vin santo.

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsely
chopped
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. grated orange zest

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour 1 large baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Have another ungreased baking sheet on hand.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until fluffy and pale yellow. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is no longer gritty when rubbed between your finger and thumb. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla until blended.

Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon just until incorporated. Mix or stir in the hazelnuts, cherries and orange zest until evenly distributed. The batter should be very soft.

Turn the batter out onto a generously floured work surface and divide in half. With well-floured hands, transfer one-half onto the greased baking sheet and shape into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on one side of the sheet. Repeat with the remaining batter, leaving at least 4 inches between the logs. (They will spread as they bake.)

Bake the logs until the edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the logs cool for 10 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs, still on the pan, on the diagonal into slices 1/2 inch wide. Carefully turn the slices on their sides and return them to the oven. When you run out of room on one baking sheet, start transferring slices to the other sheet.

Bake until the edges are golden, about 10 minutes more. Let the biscotti cool completely on the pans on wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 4 dozen biscotti.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series,Cookies,by Marie Simmons (Simon & Schuster, 2002).