HORS D' OEUVRES

[xraytech]

With the winter holidays and entertaining quickly aproaching I thought I would ask everyone here what some of their favorite Hors D' Oeuvres are.
I'm not sure about everyone else, but during the holidays I love to serve a large variety of those tasty little morsels to snack on, along with a nice punch.

So I'd love to see what everyone else likes, hope to get some good recipies too.

 

[kevin313]

Good for you! I think Hors D'Oeuvres make the party and I think most people appreciate the effort that goes into preparing them. Perfect for cocktail parties or where you're not having a huge sit-down dinner.

What kind of punch to you like to serve? Of course the holidays often call for an egg-nog of some sort, but I'm partial to a Whiskey Sour Punch. My guest seem to really like it. My go-to stand bys for Hors D'Oeuvres are fairly traditional, but here they are:

-Some sort of deviled egg (with a fancy fun filling - something with bacon, or salmon, or wasabi)
-Lots of big shrimp on cracked ice (have plenty of lemon and a good spicy cocktail sauce)
-Assorted cheeses like smoked cheddar, Saint Andre - hard to find sometimes, but Trader Joes usually has it - it's a triple creme brie type cheese - like eating butter!), a smooth baby swiss, Stilton
-Lots of grapes (red and white - seedless)
-Assorted olives (buy a six or eight different types - green, brown, black and put them in a big bowl - they look beautiful)
-thin slices of Italian meats (prosciutto, salami, mortadella)with some fancy crackers
-Radishes and celery (maybe it's the red and green thing, but I always put these out at Christmas time - it provides something crunchy)

I don't usually do hot appetizers - because of the extra attention they usually need. The cold appetizers can all be prepared in advance - put out on tables - and then you can enjoy your party with your guests!

 

[luxflairguy]

I usually have at least one hot item. Mostly a hot crab dip with toasted french bread. I often add chooped artichoke hearts to the crab. I also do gougeres a lot. Warm cheese puffs. People often ask for those. Being the NW, there's usually a smoked salmon cold spread, a sun dried tomato spread. I think a mixed up buffet is more fun. Greg

 

[58limited]

I sometimes do this salmon spread:

1 can red salmon (these are the smaller cans without bones)
2 blocks Philly cream cheese
1/2 tsp red pepper - powdered
splash lemon juice
mash and mix all ingredients together

I usually serve on bread cut into small shapes with a small cookie cutter, prepare ahead and let the bread get slightly dry. I put a little dollop of salmon spread on the bread and garnish with a small sprig of fresh dill weed.

 

[toggleswitch]

ooooh MEZZE (TAPAS) platters!

I like to do small golf-ball sized meatballs. Pan-fried or oven fried/roasted.

The magic ingredients are plenty of grated onion (sweetness) and MINT--yes mint--leaves.

No tomato products please.

Meze - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[toggleswitch]

recipes

http://greekfood.about.com/od/appetizerssalads/Recipes_for_Greek_Appetizers_and_Mezethes.htm

 

[perc-o-prince]

Yum to all...

but to add to the list, Stuffed Dates!

Take pitted dates and stuff them with a relatively soft blue cheese of your choice. Then, wrap in a 1/3 slice of thin bacon and secure w/ a toothpick. Bake at 400 for about 8-10 minutes until the bacon is crisp (check it after about 6 minutes).

I usually make these when we have the AW.ORG NE Holiday party (Dec 11th this year), and they go lickety-split. Of course, a lot of the finger foods people bring disappear rather quickly!!!!

Chuck

 

[wetguymd]

Kevin313

Please share the recipe for the whiskey sour punch! Sounds wonderful!

 

[xraytech]

Kevin313,

I'm also interested in the Wiskey Sour Punch.

You asked about my punch, usually I serve Holiday Punch, it is:
2 cans frozen lemonade
2 cans frozen limeade
6 cans of water
4 litres of gingerale
1 qt lime sherbet

dissolve lemonade and limeade in the water, add gingerale, and then add scoops of sherbet to top of punch. I usually add some top shelf(usually Belvedere Intense 100 proof)vodka to the punch, but that is to your liking the amount added.

 

[washernoob]

Cheese (gruyere, Gouda etc) , meats (prosciutto or similar) and crackers for me!

Man I feel cheap and unoriginal. Lol. Im not into fishy dishes, or fancy cheese/veggie combo ones. I have a big NO-NO when it comes to tomatoes... Ugh, Just never could stand the sight, feel or smell of them. I do love other tomato products though, like ketchup, tomato soup, and a few others.

Wow I am unoriginal Ha!

 

[xraytech]

I have several things I routinely serve, such as:

assorted cgeese cubes(mild cheddar, swiss, muenster, and pepper jack) with cubed pepperoni and salami along with a nice buttery cracker
relish tray consisting of pickles, pickled beets, and pickled cauliflower, all home made, and cream cheese stuffed celery
a dish of mixed ripe black olives and pimento stuffed spanish olives
spinach artichoke dip
hot broccoli dip
sweet and sour meatballs
garlic herb cheese ball
cucumber canapes
bruschetta
kielbasa and pineapple

a few of the recipies:

Garlic Herb cheese ball

2 8 oz cream cheese softened
2 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
2 pkts Lipton garlic herb soup mix
2/3 cup shredded colby or longhorn cheese

Beat all ingredients together with mixer, then shape into a ball, I sprinkle it with dried parsley for color, never nuts I feel they ruin a good cheese ball

Hot Broccoli Dip

3/4 cup butter
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1 4oz can sliced mushrooms(optional)
1 can cream of celery soup
5-6 oz garlic cheese
1 10 oz pkg frozen broccoli thawed

melt butter and saute onions and mushrooms, stir in flour, then stir in remaining ingredients and either put in a crock pot for 2-4 hours on low or place in a casserole and bake at 350 for 15 min

Kielbasa and pineapple

take 1 lb kielbasa and slice, in a casserole combine with 1 jar chili sauce, 1/2 cup water, 1 15 oz can pineapple tidbits and enough juice to make sauce slightly thin

Bake at 350 for 30 min

 

[kevin313]

Whiskey Sour Punch

All these recipies sound great - I can't wait to try the stuffed dates!! Anything that includes bacon as an ingredient gets my attention!

Here's Detroit-style Whiskey Sour Punch (can be doubled/tripled if you have a large punch bowl)

1 - 12oz can frozen lemonade (thawed)
1 - 6oz can frozen orange juice (thawed)
1 litre bottle of club soda
1.5-2 cups Canadian whiskey (like Canandian Club - that's what we drink up here in Detroit since the distillery is right across the river - but YOU CAN USE BOURBON if you prefer)
3 tablespoons of sugar (superfine if you have it since it disolves better in cold liquid)
Garnish with orange slices and a drop in some marachino cherries (I put in a little of the juice, too).
Make an ice ring out of one of your jello molds and float that in bowl to keep punch cold.

Feel free to spike it with a little more whiskey if you or your guests prefer something stronger.

Enjoy!

 

[mattl]

I just came across this one and saved it:

Looks, good!

 

[58limited]

Here is one of my favorites, but it is a lot of work:

Bacon-wrapped Shrimp

Large shrimp
bacon (jalapeno or chipotle bacon is best)
Shredded Colby-jack cheese
1 or 2 whole garlic cloves, minced
1 or 2 jalapenos, minced
olive oil
tiger sauce
dill weed
lemon (or lime) juice
shot of tequila or rum (coconut rum is good)

Peal and butterfly the shrimp (I use a pound or more) and stuff following these directions:

Mix together these ingredients (I make a handful at a time, if you run out make another handful):

a handfull of shredded ColbyJack cheese
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 clove garlic, minced

When making the cheese mixture, squeeze it together with your hand to make a lump. Pinch off a solid lump and stuff it into the butterflied shrimp. Cut the bacon strips into thirds or halves (depending on shrimp size), wrap the bacon around the shrimp, and secure with a tooth pick. If you don't cut the bacon strips in half or thirds, you will go into bacon overload after eating just a few.

Marinate in this mixture (I do not measure, just mix to taste) for at least 1 hour:

Tiger sauce
olive oil
dill weed
lemon (or lime) juice
shot of booze

Grill the shrimp - this makes a world of difference, they are just not as good when cooked in the oven or under the broiler. I set my gas grill to about 350 degrees and cook them slowly. I usually add wood chips to the metal wood box for flavoring - applewood is good. When the bacon is done, they are ready. I usually turn them over once. Enjoy. This can be a messy recipe when cooked - the cheese oozes out, but they are wonderful!

 

[toploader55]

For Cheese Lovers...

Try the Cabot's Horseradish Cheddar.

Nothing like Hunt's man And a Nice Aged Great Hill Blue Cheese. Oh MG.... Great Hill beats Maytag Blu by a lightyear.

Although I like the "dependability" of Maytag Bleu. But... try Great Hill Bleu. Made right here in Massachusetts Marion, Mass. to be exact.

As a Chef, The Great Hill is Unbeievable.