And the winner is . . .sausage stuffed creminis!

This party had rules -- and Dawn spells them out!

How’s this for a Saturday night party idea? An appetizer sampling!

Our friend Dawn Ford loves to entertain and she loves appetizers. So when she bought a new Harry & David appetizer cookbook the other day, she decided she should gather a bunch of guinea pigs (us!) and test some of the recipes.

 Note to Dawn’s other friends: we only did this as a favor to you! We have identified the appetizers that were best and banned a few others. We did this so you won’t have to. (Thank us later!)

Dawn took this exercise very seriously. We were each given a sheet listing the eight dishes and instructions to score them on a scale from one to five.

But, first things first: drinks! We gathered at the bar to wait for everyone to arrive.

From left, Alan Carmichael, Sara Rose, Jack Rose and Richard Ford.

Although we are all creatures of habit and each of us has our own favorite wine (or, in Richard’s case, beer), Dawn wanted us to branch out and try a new sauvignon blanc recommended by her friends at Bob’s Package Store for this occasion.

Richard offers Bell sauvignon blanc.

When everyone got there, it was time to hear the rules for scoring.

Phyllis Nichols, left, and Sara Rose listen to Dawn's instructions about scoring.

The first two dishes were curry cashews and fig preserves over rosemary cheese. They did not turn out to be top contenders.

Dawn prepares the fig and cheese dish.

Fig preserves over rosemary cheese and curry cashews.

Jack gives the rosemary cheese a taste.

Then we moved into the living room for Merguez meatballs with yogurt sauce followed by these yummy roasted veggies, which were served with both an arugula green goddess dip and basic aioli.

This dish tied for second place at the end of the night.

Jim Nichols digs into the veggies.

Then came sausage stuffed cremini mushrooms, which did not photograph well at all, but tasted great. And my favorites: tomato-gruyere tart and asparagus fontina tart.

These pizza-like tarts used frozen puff pastry as their crusts. They shared second-place ratings with the roasted veggies.

My left-handed hubby took the scoring responsibility very seriously.

Then, it was downstairs to Richard’s “man cave” for champagne.

Jim and Phyllis get romantic when the champagne comes out!

Dessert was served outside on the large and comfortable back porch. It was margarita ice cream.

Sara samples the margarita ice cream, another high-scoring dish.

What a relaxing finale! (Until the political discussion! Yikes!)

The winning dish was the sausage stuffed creminis, of course the one I didn’t get a good picture of! But here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

36 cremini mushrooms (about 1-1/2 inch diameter)

Salt

12 oz. mild Italian sausages (2 or 3 depending on size)

1/2 cup packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 clove garlic

1 slice soft white bread, with crust

1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

4 to 6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Freshly ground pepper

Vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel, then twist off the stems to hollow the caps (save stems for another use). Put the mushroom caps in a bowl and sprinkle them well with salt. Toss the mushrooms and salt, then set them aside at room temperature to draw off excess moisture.

Crumble the sausage meat into a large nonstick skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring to break up the meat as much as possible. When the sausage is no longer pink, transfer it with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Put the parsley and oregano in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. With the motor running, drop in the garlic clove and process until finely chopped. Tear the bread into small pieces and add it to the processor; process until the bread is in fine crumbs. Add the drained cooked sausage and pulse until the meat is finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the cheese; stir well. Pour in 4 tablespoons of the cream and mix well. If the stuffing seems dry, add the remaining cream until the mixture holds together when a small amount is squeezed in your palm. Season to taste with pepper.

Oil a baking sheet. Remove the mushrooms from the bowl and pat off any excess liquid with paper towels. Arrange the caps on a work surface. Spoon the sausage mixture into each cap, mounding it well and packing it with your fingers so it holds firmly, then transfer each cap to the baking sheet. Bake until the stuffing begins to brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

Transfer the mushrooms to plates and let them cool for about 10 minutes before serving. (The stuffed mushrooms can be made up to one day ahead, cooled, covered and refrigerated. Reheat in a 325 degree oven until hot through.) Makes 36 portions or 18 servings.