New Year Recipes From Rachael Ray

Dec. 31, 2003 -- Rachael Ray, host of the Food Network's 30 Minute Meals and $40 a Day shared some of her party time recipes with Good Morning America.

Check out Ray's recipes for Lavash Pizzas with Smoked Cheese and Ham, Barbecued Shrimp in Lettuce Wraps, Stovetop Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Crust and Seared Scallops with Bacon and Scallions.

Lavash Pizzas with Smoked Cheese and Ham

• 1 package lavash flat bread, plain or flavored

• Extra-virgin olive oil ("EVOO"), for drizzling

• 1 pound smoked mozzarella, diced into small cubes (28 to 32 pieces)

• 1/4 pound prosciutto, cut into 1/2 inch strips

• 1 cup arugula leaves (a couple of handfuls) chopped

• Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cover 2 cookie sheets with lavash. Drizzle lavash with a little evoo and turn over. Dot lavash with cubes of smoked mozzarella, spacing 1 inch apart. Make rows of cheese dots down and across the flat bread.

Place bread in oven to melt cheese, 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top with prosciutto strips, draping them over the cheese. Scatter chopped arugula over the pizza. Cut into squares and drizzle with evoo and season with black pepper, to taste. Transfer to a plate and serve. Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Barbecued Shrimp in Lettuce Wraps

• 16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

• Light oil, such as vegetable oil, for drizzling

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• Salt and pepper

• 1/3 cup orange marmalade, eyeball it

• 1/2 cup hoisin barbecue sauce, available in the Asian foods aisle

• Bibb lettuce, for wrapping

• 1/4 cucumber, julienne sliced

Preheat a grill pan over high heat. Toss shrimp with a drizzle of oil and season with crushed pepper, salt and black pepper. Mix marmalade and barbecue sauce.

Grill shrimp 2 minutes on the first side, turn and baste liberally with sauce. Cook a minute or 2 longer, turn and baste again. Cook 1 minute more then transfer to a serving dish.

To eat, wrap shrimp in lettuce with cucumber. Yield: 4 servings

Seared Scallops with Bacon and Scallions.

• 4 slices bacon

• 18 sea scallops

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (evoo) or vegetable oil

• 4 scallions, chopped

Crisp bacon in frying pan, under broiler, or in a microwave. When bacon is crisp, drain and chop, set aside.

Season the scallops with salt and pepper. To a very hot skillet, add 1 tablespoon evoo (once around the pan), then place 9 scallops in the pan, 1 inch apart. Sear scallops 2 minutes on each side, until caramelized and opaque. Transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil. Repeat with remaining oil and scallops.

To serve, top scallops with chopped bacon bits and scallions by scattering them evenly over the scallops. Place party picks in a shot glass or small dish and set them on or near platter. Yield: 18 bites

Stovetop Spinach and Artichoke Dip

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1/2 onion, chopped

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, a few sprigs or 2 teaspoons dried

• 1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

• 1/2 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

• 1 (15-ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped• 2 (10-ounce) boxes chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry in kitchen towel

• 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian 4 cheese blend (provolone, Parmesan, mozzarella and asiago) available in 10 ounce pouches on the dairy aisle of your market

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 round loaf crusty bread, top removed and cubed, bottom hollowed out to use as serving bowl

• 1 loaf multigrain or whole wheat baguette, sliced at bakery/bread counter in market

To a medium saucepot, preheated over moderate heat, add about 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan in a slow stream. Add butter to oil. When butter melts, add garlic and onions to the pot. Sprinkle in thyme leaves.

Saute 2 minutes, add chopped red pepper. Saute mixture a minute more. Sprinkle in flour, stir to coat vegetables. Cook flour a minute. Whisk in wine and reduce by half. Whisk in stock and thicken sauce 1 minute. Stir in half-and-half or cream. When sauce returns to a bubble, add artichokes, spinach and cheeses. Keep stirring until cheeses melt and sauce is well combined. Add salt and pepper and adjust seasonings to your taste.

Pour dip into hollow bread bowl on serving platter and surround with sliced multi or whole grain bread for dipping. Reserve extra dip to warm and refill as necessary. Cut up bread bowl when baguette slices are gone. The bowl is the best part as it absorbs juices from the dip. Yield: 8 servings

All recipes courtesy of Rachael Ray, host of Food Network's "30 Minute Meals" and "$40 a Day." Copyright 2003