Easy Appetizers for Festive Entertaining

Today's busy lifestyles mean that playing host or hostess to guests is sometimes trying. If giving a dinner or party, you don't have to break the bank with a caterer, or spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Instead of fretting over your party or sweating over the small stuff, make sure you have a collection of easy recipes to make and serve.

If your party is themed, it's easy to tailor your appetizer menu to your dinner menu. For something new, try a tapas, or appetizer party or dinner. Offer several different cold and hot items, many of which can be made days in advance. For the sake of simplicity, these recipes are from an appetizer-type dinner that I have served several times.

Cheese - you can provide a traditional cheese tray and accompanying crackers and flatbread, with a showcase of something out of the ordinary. To take your cheese appetizer to another level, consider a warm cheese presentation. Many great artisan cheeses do well as a baked appetizer, such as brie, Camenbert, or Humboldt Fog. Bake the cheese in a small, oven-safe dish at low temperature, approximately 325 degrees. Before serving, dust with bread crumbs, sliced saut?ed mushrooms or strawberry jam.

Meatballs - everyone loves meatballs, and here you can take pre-made frozen meatballs and dress them up to fit your dinner menu or mood. Meatballs can be heated in a crockpot or slow cooking oven. The only thing you have to decide is what sauce to put on them. The choices include brown gravy, teriyaki sauce, sweet and sour sauce, spaghetti sauce, or others. My favorite sauce is a combination of grape jelly and chili sauce, giving both a sweet and tangy flavor.

Bruschetta - these small toast points topped with a variety of ingredients are a bit more time consuming to produce, but you'll wow your guests. Take a loaf of crusty French bread and cut into thin slices. Common toppings include basil, garlic and tomato in olive oil, saut?ed mushrooms, olive tapenade (chopped olives and garlic), artichokes, and even roast beef. Before popping under the broiler (takes only a minute or so), sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. These can be served hot or cold.

Cerviche - if serving a menu from south of the border, consider making and serving a cerviche in addition to the usual chips and salsa or cheese. Cerviche is like salsa with an addition of seafood. Usually the seafood is raw, as marinating in the tomatoes and lime juice is enough to cook the raw seafood. However, if you feel queasy about serving raw fish, parboil the seafood for a minute or two before adding to the rest of the cerviche.

Seafood - of course, it's very festive to serve a cold seafood platter. If you want to venture into serving something a little different, make small, bite sized crab cakes. The actual crab cakes can be made the day before, and kept chilled until party day. When serving crab cakes as an appetizer, make them very small, using a teaspoon to measure them out. Crab cakes can be fried, or for ease, put them on a greased baking sheet and bake for about ten minutes.

Grilled meats and vegetables - the great thing about serving grilled vegetables is that you can do the prep work and cooking a couple of days in advance. Grilled vegetables are great even when cold. Vegetables to consider include, Portobello mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, onions, potatoes, asparagus and Brussels sprouts. Serve grilled vegetables with ranch dressing. The same preparation goes for grilled meats. For appetizer portions, use small wooden skewers. Good meats to use include beef, chicken and pork, but you can also use shrimp. Leave without sauce, or grill with teriyaki or barbecue sauce.
One of my favorite appetizers to make is a crab stuffed mushroom. Take small medium sized button or Crimini mushrooms; remove the stems and wash. If you have a favorite crab cake recipe, use that as your stuffing. Spoon a bit of the stuffing onto your mushrooms. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about ten minutes.

It takes a little forethought, but very little work to offer your guests an amazing an festive appetizer array.



By Joanne Huspek