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Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature, cut into cubes

1½ cups Clamato juice

2 cups spicy tomato juice or bloody

Mary mix

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

2 teaspoons celery salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup pepper vodka

4 green onions, finely chopped, using the white and tender green parts

4 stalks celery, finely chopped

coat the insert of a 3- to 5-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Put the cream cheese in the insert, cover, and cook on low for 20 minutes, until the cream cheese begins to melt. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, stirring a few times during the cooking time.

serve from the cooker set on warm.

serves 8

Maytag Blue and Walnut Dip with Apple Dippers

My favorite cheese, nuts, and fruit combine here for a sensational dip. Maytag blue cheese comes from The Maytag Dairy, which was founded by the son of the folks who gave us the Maytag appliances. The blue cheese is aged in caves in Iowa, and it’s delicious, but you can use your favorite blue here. Many students ask me how to keep the apples from turning color, and a colleague here in San Diego shared with me that submerging the apples in Sprite will keep them perfectly colored for 4 hours. It does work, and I’ve used this trick lots of times. When you drain the apples for serving, make sure to pat them dry.

Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Ruby Port

6 drops Tabasco sauce

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups crumbled Maytag blue cheese

4 to 6 Granny Smith Apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges each, for serving

Crackers for serving

coat the insert of a 1½- to 3-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Put the cream cheese, mayonnaise, port, Tabasco, walnuts, and blue cheese in a mixing bowl and stir until blended.

transfer the mixture to the slow-cooker insert. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, until heated through and bubbly.

serve from the cooker set on warm with the apple wedges and crackers.

serves 8

Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta

Not only is this a terrific appetizer, but you can also serve these roasted tomatoes over pasta or as a sauce for a grilled entrée. The slow cooker roasts the tomatoes. When they cool, you stir in fresh mozzarella to make a terrific bruschetta topping to serve as part of an antipasto.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large red onion, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

Three 28- to 32-ounce cans whole plum tomatoes, drained

2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into

½-inch dice

Lightly toasted baguette slices for serving

combine all the ingredients except the mozzarella and the baguette slices in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Uncover the cooker and cook on low, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours, until the tomato liquid has almost evaporated.

remove the tomato mixture to the bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off five times to chop the tomatoes and garlic. Transfer to a serving bowl to cool, then stir in the mozzarella.

serve with the toasted baguette slices.

serves 8

Orange Chipotle Wings

Smoky chipotles, orange, and honey combine in this wing treatment to give you a sweet, smoky, and sticky chicken experience. Although there are six chipotles in this recipe, they provide more smoky flavor than heat, but if you would prefer to reduce the amount, that’s fine.

3 pounds chicken wing drumettes

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

6 chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1½ cups orange juice

½ cup honey

½ cup ketchup

½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

coat the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking