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What to Serve Before The Bird BY DANA JACOBI FOR THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH

Two things always give me a hard time when planning a Thanksgiving menu: what to serve while everyone gathers before sitting down for dinner, and which dishes make it possible to spread out the work, so the cooks can catch their breath and join the rest of the group for a while before serving the Thanksgiving dinner.

This year, I plan to serve two dishes for people to munch on while everyone arrives and starts chatting to catch up. Part of my strategy is to sneak more vegetables into the day. One dish will be an old-fashioned relish tray, presented in one of my grandmother’s pressed glass treasures. Shaped like a large leaf, it contains many compartments that I will fill with rose-cut radishes, celery and carrot sticks, cottage cheese and sweet corn relish – the same selections offered when dinner was at grandmother’s.

The second hors d’oeuvres will be miniature corn muffins, small enough to eat in one neat bite. They will be topped with ricotta cheese and half a cherry tomato.

The relish tray is a healthy alternative to dip and chips, since guests use the vegetables to scoop up the cheese and relish. It will also be a work-spreader, because a volunteer can prep the veggies the day before and bring them in containers of cold water, and the cottage cheese and corn relish come straight out of commercial containers.

The muffins need to be made on the spot and served fresh. But the cheese, blended with chives and shallots, tastes better when refrigerated overnight. Because the muffins are small, a cup of the seasoned cheese will top enough to feed a mob. So will one pint of cherry tomatoes, which take five minutes to halve and lightly coat with oil so they glow. I save the rounded tops cut off the muffins, let them dry out, then crush them into golden crumbs that make a great corn meal-crusted fish later in the weekend.

Tomato and Corn Muffins - Makes 24 servings.

• 1/2 cup finely-ground yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat (2%) milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• 12 small cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 Tbsp. low-fat plain yogurt, preferably Greek-style
• 1 Tbsp. finely-chopped chives (or 1/2 tbsp. dried)
• 2 tsp. very finely chopped shallots

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat two mini-muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, beat the milk and egg together, then mix into the dry ingredients. Add the butter and mix just until the batter is combined, leaving any small lumps. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them halfway.

Bake until golden on top and lightly browned around the edge, about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 3 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto the rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes in a small bowl with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well coated. Sprinkle with pepper and set aside. In another bowl, combine the ricotta, yogurt, chives and shallots. Season the filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice off the rounded top of each muffin. Spread with 1 tsp. of the cheese mixture and top with a cherry tomato half, cut side down.

Serve immediately. Save the muffin tops to use in a stuffing.

Per serving: 39 calories, 1 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 6 g. carbohydrate, 1 g. protein, less than 1 g. dietary fiber, 75 mg. sodium.

“Something Different” is written by Dana Jacobi, author of 12 Best Foods Cookbook and contributor to AICR’s New American Plate Cookbook: Recipes for a Healthy Weight and a Healthy Life.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) offers a Nutrition Hotline online at www.aicr.org or via phone 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, MondayFriday, at 1-800-843-8114. This free service allows you to ask questions about diet, nutrition and cancer. A registered dietitian will respond to your email or call, usually within 3 business days. AICR is the only major cancer charity focusing exclusively on how the risk of cancer is reduced by healthy food and nutrition, physical activity and weight management. The Institute’s education programs help millions of Americans lower their cancer risk. AICR also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S. Over $82 million in funding has been provided. AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.

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