Appetizer/Hors D'Oeuvre/Starter Ideas

[Katie Nell]

I really like this appetizer, Fried Artichoke hearts on prosciotto chips with carmelized onions: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_27917,00.html

Can't stand the show, but the recipe is good!

I have a recipe for Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip with a cream cheese layer that's really good... if you'd like the recipe, let me know! It's super easy and even my Midwestern grandma will eat it!

I also have a Fruit Salsa recipe with cinnamon chips that's more of a sweet appetizer, but yummy!

Skewers of meats, cheeses, and veggies is always a good option and excellent at room temp. I've seen people do cherry tomatoes, bocachini, (sp?) and basil leaves, a take on that salad I can't remember the name of right now!!! (Too long of a day at a boring job!)

edited to add: I just remembered this recipe for White Bean Dip with cumin that everyone loved: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/2042

Edited August 18, 2005 by Katie Nell (log)

[tryska]

Throw some Little Smokies in a crockpot.  Mix up a jar of grape chili and a bottle of Heinz cocktail sauce and dump in.  People love this stuff.  It is a Halloween staple at our house.

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oh wow - i forgot about that one! except i use currant jelly and mustard for my sauce.

[chantal]

Union Cafe Bar Nuts. Very good.. Won't look like you tried to hard either. Paprika pita chips also good. Best with roasted red pepper dip or hummus. This hummus is excellent. Cheap cheap cheap too.

[cher48603]

Union Cafe Bar Nuts.  Very good.. Won't look like you tried to hard either.  Paprika pita chips also good.  Best with roasted red pepper dip or hummus.  This hummus is excellent.  Cheap cheap cheap too.

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Here's the Paprika Pita Chip recipe for those who don't have the F&W access code.

Paprika Chips

MAKES ABOUT 5 DOZEN

These spiced pita chips are good with all kinds of dips.

ingredients

1/2 teaspoon hot or sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 pocket pitas, each split into 2 rounds

1/4 cup vegetable oil

directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine the paprika, fennel seeds, onion powder, cinnamon and salt. Brush the rough sides of the pita rounds with the oil and sprinkle with the spice mixture. Stack the rounds and cut them into 8 wedges. Unstack and arrange the wedges on 2 large rimmed baking sheets, spiced side up, and bake on the upper and middle racks of the oven for about 9 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Switch the baking sheets halfway through for even toasting.

MAKE AHEAD The chips can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

[CanadianBakin']

I have a recipe for Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip with a cream cheese layer that's really good... if you'd like the recipe, let me know!  It's super easy and even my Midwestern grandma will eat it! 

I'd love this recipe if you have time to type it out.

[Katie Nell]

I have a recipe for Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip with a cream cheese layer that's really good... if you'd like the recipe, let me know!  It's super easy and even my Midwestern grandma will eat it! 

I'd love this recipe if you have time to type it out.

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Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip

tortilla chips

2 pckgs. (8 oz. ea.) low fat cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup low fat mayo

3 T. combination of southwest spices, i.e., cumin, chile powder, etc. to taste

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup diced red pepper

1 can (3.25 oz.) pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped fine

3/4 cup salsa

1 garlic clover (I use 2!) minced

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

Beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, and spices until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture in the bottom and up sides of a 9x9x2 dish or equivalent. Combine sliced green onions, diced red pepper, olives, salsa, garlic, beans, and corn and spread over cream cheese mixture. Serve with tortilla chips.

The original recipe calls for piping half of the cream cheese mixture on the top of the salsa mixture and garnishing with part of the green onions, but I never bother! It never lasts long enough to look pretty anyway! It makes A LOT! Hope you like it... I plan on making it next Friday for a dip contest at work!

[kdl1221]

Delete

Edited July 11, 2019 by kdl1221
Deleted (log)

[Pam R]

Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip

I was going to suggest a hot Mexican layered dip too. Just layer refried beans, salsa, shredded cheese and heat in the oven until warm and gooey. Then layer saour cream, black olives, chopped tomato and green onion on it. For some reason people love stuff like this.

How about doing a few dips/spreads (hummus, a mexican thing, babaganoush, etc.) and have lots of tortilla chips, pitas cut into triangles, breadsticks, breads, whatever you like for eating with them. I like to set up a table with this sort of stuff and add some crudite and grilled veg.

All the other posts gave great suggestions - your guests will enjoy whichever ones you choose to have for them. Enjoy the party.

[dockhl]

Throw some Little Smokies in a crockpot.  Mix up a jar of grape chili and a bottle of Heinz cocktail sauce and dump in.  People love this stuff.  It is a Halloween staple at our house.

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oh wow - i forgot about that one! except i use currant jelly and mustard for my sauce.

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Cranberry sauce and tomato sauce in our house.........with meatballs.

[Terrasanct]

Meatballs and chicken wings are both things that would be good and can be kept warm easily. Not expensive, either.

[Foodie in Vancouver]

What about edamame? Nothing is simplier and they always disappear in mere minutes. Just remember to use good salt.

[avocado]

Thanks for all the awesome suggestions!

The party's tonight, and I'm going to make the Buffalo Chicken Dip as well as- talk about lowbrow- bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, the ones in the ketchup/sugar sauce. I'm toying with the idea of homemade salsa too but may just pick up a jar.

I do these parties alot, so all of your ideas are going on file!

[tryska]

Throw some Little Smokies in a crockpot.  Mix up a jar of grape chili and a bottle of Heinz cocktail sauce and dump in.  People love this stuff.  It is a Halloween staple at our house.

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oh wow - i forgot about that one! except i use currant jelly and mustard for my sauce.

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Cranberry sauce and tomato sauce in our house.........with meatballs.

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now i'm going to be forced to start a thread on this topic.

[jgm]

Here's my standby:

Get a few packages of button mushrooms and some sausage. If you can find fennel sausage, great; otherwise I usually use Jimmy Dean or something like that.

Trim the ends of the stems of the mushrooms, then remove the stems and throw them into the bowl of a food processor. Then add the bulk sausage; you want about a 50-50 ratio, or maybe about 1/3 mushroom stems to 2/3 sausage. It's not extremely critical. Process the stems and the sausage until the stems are somewhat chopped, and mixed well with the sausage. Form the sausage into meatballs, and put each on an upside-down mushroom cap, of about the same size. Sprinkle each with about 2 to 5 fennel seeds (unless you're already using fennel sausage). Bake at around 325 to 350 for 20 minutes or so; until the sausage is cooked through and a bit browned.

These are easy and really good. I've never prepared them ahead and refrigerated, and then baked just before serving, but I would think you could do that.

[johnnyd]

bacon-wrapped water chestnuts

dredge these in a coarse mustard and brown sugar blend. Broil 'til bubbly. You'll love 'em.

[lesfen]

Damn. I wish I would have seen this thread earlier!

My friends won't even come over unless I promise to make BLT Dip... or as they call it, "Crack Dip". "Hey Les, got any more Crack Dip? Please tell me that you made extra Crack Dip"."

This recipe is very flexible as far as the amount of sour cream and mayo, but this is the ratio that I use...

1 lb. bacon, fried crisp and well crumbled

12 oz. sour cream

1 cup mayo (or to taste)

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

Combine first three ingredients and chill for about an hour, then add the tomato before you set it out. Serve with (insert dippers here). I like to use pita chips, bagel chips, melba toasts, etc.... but it tastes awesome on everthing.

[Megan Blocker]

One that's always been a big hit with my crowd is a curry-chutney spread (topped with scallions and bacon - yum!). There are tons of variations on this, but my favorite is now listed on Recipe Gullet.

[Megan Blocker]

Damn.  I wish I would have seen this thread earlier! 

My friends won't even come over unless I promise to make BLT Dip... or as they call it, "Crack Dip".  "Hey Les, got any more Crack Dip?  Please tell me that you made extra Crack Dip"." 

This recipe is very flexible as far as the amount of sour cream and mayo, but this is the ratio that I use...

1 lb. bacon, fried crisp and well crumbled

12 oz. sour cream

1 cup mayo (or to taste)

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

Combine first three ingredients and chill for about an hour, then add the tomato before you set it out.  Serve with (insert dippers here).  I like to use pita chips, bagel chips, melba toasts, etc.... but it tastes awesome on everthing.

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Have you seen the BLTomatoes from the new Gourmet cookbook? Those are just as addictive and delicious...you basically take chopped iceberg lettuce, crumbled bacon and some mayo, salt and pepper and throw it into hollowed-out grape tomatoes. UNREAL.

And very Atkins-friendly, so they were a big hit at my parties last year (This being Manhattan, everyone was off of the carbs.).

[lesfen]

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[CanadianBakin']

I have a recipe for Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip with a cream cheese layer that's really good... if you'd like the recipe, let me know!  It's super easy and even my Midwestern grandma will eat it! 

I'd love this recipe if you have time to type it out.

←

Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip

tortilla chips

2 pckgs. (8 oz. ea.) low fat cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup low fat mayo

3 T. combination of southwest spices, i.e., cumin, chile powder, etc. to taste

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup diced red pepper

1 can (3.25 oz.) pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped fine

3/4 cup salsa

1 garlic clover (I use 2!) minced

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

Beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, and spices until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture in the bottom and up sides of a 9x9x2 dish or equivalent. Combine sliced green onions, diced red pepper, olives, salsa, garlic, beans, and corn and spread over cream cheese mixture. Serve with tortilla chips.

The original recipe calls for piping half of the cream cheese mixture on the top of the salsa mixture and garnishing with part of the green onions, but I never bother! It never lasts long enough to look pretty anyway! It makes A LOT! Hope you like it... I plan on making it next Friday for a dip contest at work!

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Sounds awesome! I'll definitely put it in my "to try" file. Thanks.

[ruthcooks]

An aquaintance swears by an Italian Chop Salad recipe she got out of one of those Betty Crocker booklets at the grocery. The salad is stuffed into large pasta shells, and includes romaine, tomatoes, basil, cucumber, chicken and salami in an Italian vinaigrette. All the ingredients are chopped medium. I think you might be able to play on this theme, substituting olives and cheese(s) for the meats for a vegetarian version. They look beautiful in the picture, but I've never made it. Recipe says you can refrigerate for up to 2 hours, but you could do all the prep ahead and toss and stuff right before eating with a little help in the kitchen.

[CanadianBakin']

I have a recipe for Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip with a cream cheese layer that's really good... if you'd like the recipe, let me know!  It's super easy and even my Midwestern grandma will eat it! 

I'd love this recipe if you have time to type it out.

←

Black Bean, Corn, and Salsa Dip

tortilla chips

2 pckgs. (8 oz. ea.) low fat cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup low fat mayo

3 T. combination of southwest spices, i.e., cumin, chile powder, etc. to taste

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup diced red pepper

1 can (3.25 oz.) pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped fine

3/4 cup salsa

1 garlic clover (I use 2!) minced

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained

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I tried this sunday night and I really liked it. I especially liked the contrast of the sweet corn with everything else. Will definitely make again. Thank-you!

[chow guy]

Meatballs in BBQ sauce are always a hit and cheap too.

[chow guy]

Union Cafe Bar Nuts.  Very good.. Won't look like you tried to hard either.  Paprika pita chips also good.  Best with roasted red pepper dip or hummus.  This hummus is excellent.  Cheap cheap cheap too.

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Thanks...I'm nuts for these nuts.

[jgm]

A friend has just opened a gallery, and in our community we have "Final Fridays", where on the last Friday of every month, there's an "art crawl". Various galleries, exhibits, etc. are open late that night.

The grand opening was last Friday night, and I made some hors d'oeuvres. I had a lot of trouble, though, coming up with ideas and recipes. When I arrived at the gallery and began putting the food on the trays, I realized I don't know much about the display of such items. It wasn't a disaster, but it could have been a whole lot better.

Do you have suggestions for what can be served at these events? I have access to a very small refrigerator/freezer, and a microwave. I'd like to be able to show up, drop off the food, chat a short while, and leave. In other words, I don't want to have to fuss with the food all evening, so continually warming things in the microwave isn't a desirable strategy.

Also, I could really use some assistance with display. Are there any guidelines? Tips? This question is kind of vague, and I'll be happy to supply more info if you have questions. I will go ahead and say that all of the food is put out on tables and attendees serve themselves.