Were addicted to kitschy trays and dishes that are definitely not for everyday use.
Since theres no sense in collecting stuff and leaving it in a drawer, and these dishes are perfect for appetizers, we like to throw a drinks party once a year that lets us pull out our collection of dishes and serve nothing but hors doeuvre. Its not too late to plan an impromptu New Years Party!
Mix and match. Pick and choose. Just try to balance the offerings with foods of different textures and flavors. Make sure there are vegetarian options and everything doesnt have cheese in it. Click through for a collection of fun and easy cocktail food ideas weve gathered over the years.
Topping crackers & crostini
Sliced rare beef with truffle oil
Sliced roast beef with horseradish cream and red onion
Caviar and hardboiled egg
A slice of ripe pear with soft goat cheese, drizzled with honey
Pepper jelly & cream cheese
Chopped dried figs mixed with cream cheese and honey
Smoked salmon & tobiko
Curried chicken salad
Thin slice of spice-rubbed pork tenderloin topped with chutney
Thinly sliced ham & crisp apple with melted Gruyere
Oil packed tuna, chopped olives and hard-boiled egg
Caramelized onions with bacon & crumbled blue cheese
Sauted mushrooms and shallots with fresh goat cheese
Smoked salmon, crme friche and cucumber
Fresh chevre and Spanish piquillo peppers
Endive leaves make great portable vehicles for flavor.
10 things to serve in endive leaves:
Crab or shrimp salad
Smoked fish spread
Crme friche and caviar
Chutney mixed with cream cheese
Chopped olives mixed with cream cheese
Bought or homemade Vegetable pt
Guacamole
Egg salad
Chicken salad
Hummus
A smattering of other ideas:
• Slice Manchego cheese into triangles and top with thin slices of quince paste. Serve on a tray strewn with toasted walnuts.
• Cut little pockets into dried figs and stuff with nuggets of blue cheese
• Make frittata and serve it bite-sized
• Get some soft farmers cheese or young Teleme and marinate it in olive oil, fancy salt, pepper and herbs or make a quick Italian salsa verde as a marinade
Cheers!
Anyone out there having a New Year's Eve Party? What are you serving?
may i add my go-to staples:
-pigs in a blanket
-pearl size mozzarella/grape tomato/anchovy/mint on skewers
-minaturized anything: tiny hamburgers, tiny reubens, bite sized crabcakes, mini grilled cheese are favorites
-marcona almonds, roasted with salt & rosemary
-savory ruglach with parmesan & tomato jam
-cherry tomatoes stuffed with mayo & crumbled bacon
my grandmother used to make rumaki on new years eve when i was little. i think i may try making it this year...
I love that tray with the long ears, whatever it is! (A dachshund? A pink pig?)
Also, I agree about endive leaves. I have made this recipe for parmesan and walnut salad in endive leaves many times and always get complements on it:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/13042
PS - the reviewer who suggests cutting the parmesan into matchsticks rather than dicing it was me.
Also: Dates, with the pit removed and a bit of cheese stuffed inside in its place and heated in the oven until the cheese melts, are also great cocktail party food. There are lots of recipes for them (I recall making some from a recipe that were wrapped in serrano ham, for example) but really anything salty that will fit inside them works. An almond, or a piece of crisp bacon, etc. etc.
Oh yeah, dates. Dates are great too. (especially when wrapped in bacon) Thanks for reminding me.
The dish with the ears is a dachshund. A friend who saw ours told us that her grandmother had one that she put saltines in. Before that, we weren't sure what it was for. Business cards? Keys at the key party? Who knew?
Oh, and Abby reminded me about mini biscuits and ham with good mustard.
Kathryn & Luigi's NYE Dinner Party 2006
House cocktail - S'groppino
Appetizers - TBD
First course - Butternut Squash and Carrot soup
Second course - Beef Tenderloin w/Green mustard sauce
Mixed roasted vegetables
Cheese course
Dessert - not sure, maybe individual chocolate mousses
Vino - whatever Luigi brings!!
Those dates stuffed w/blue cheese sound awesome! Will definately try those! Instead of my avocado salad I'm thinking 'bout dicing the avocados real tiny w/red onion grape tomatoes diced the same and season with oregano, salt, lil ground black pepper and olive oil.
Roast beef made the day before sliced extra thin rolled with thin slices of swiss.
Chicken breast sliced w/pineapple - tomatoes and whatever else i can think of. Can anyone give me some advice on cocktails - I was simply going to have red n white wine. I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to making mixed drinks. Will appreciate your help!
stuff a blanched almond in the center of the date with the blue cheese wrap in bacon and heat in a skillet. yum, yum, yum.
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