Help me anyone

I'm holding a farewell reception in April. I just want to serve appetizers and a few desserts. I would prefer easy things to make that can be prepared beforehand but not necessary. I need some ideas. What is easy and makes a spread look really good. Anyone have any favorites?

[Vanquisher]

Sure, I know lots! I do this kind of thing all the time.

Here are some favorites:

Shrimp and Crab Fondue

6 oz. crab meat
6 oz. bite size shrimp (a little extra doesn't hurt)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups Pamesan (or I use a Parmesan, Asiago, Romano mixture)
1 cup sour cream
4 cloves minced garlic
2 green onions, sliced
dash of Old Bay seasoning (or whatever fish seasoning you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Mix all ingreadients in a bowl. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. You can also microwave it until nice and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips or toasted bread for dipping.

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove crushed garlic
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup diced onion
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F).
In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt, almonds and onion.
Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown.


Fruit and veggie trays. You can also do a meat and cheese tray with rolls or croissants to make sandwhiches.

I have more. Let me know.

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

That sounds wonderful.

[Vanquisher]

I have to admit to it not being my recipe, but it is really, really yummy. You can find it on allrecipes.com - a great recipe resource.

[SueC]

A friend of mine has a signature hors'douvers (sp?) that she always bring that is a snap to prepare and has a very nice presentation.
You buy a little tiny loaf of break (I think it is usually rye and it can be found in the deli section--it is like 3"X3" or something like that).
Mix a packet of ranch dressing with plain cream cheese and spread it in the slices of bread. Slice cucumber thinly and put a slice on each one. If you want to make it look a little fancier, you can run a fork along the outside of the skin of the cucumber.
I made bacon wrapped water chestnuts for a party recently and it was a huge hit, especially with the guys. There are tons of versions of this recipe on allrecipes.com, but it basically consists of wrapping half of a slice of bacon around a water chestnut, securing it with a toothpick, cooking for 15 minutes or so in a very hot oven (or until the bacon is starting to look a little crisp), then puring some sort of concotion like barbecue sauce over each one and putting in the oven for a little longer. These are really easy and are very yummy!

[DCJenn]

I don't know what your resources are in Denmark, but the quickest and easiest appetizer I have ever done is:

1 packet of WonTon wrappers. Divide it in half. With the first bunch, take a pizza cutter and cut them diagonally so that you have triangles. Preheat the oven to the package instructions. Sprinkle a little cheddar cheese and paprika on the top of each triangle, and pop in the oven. Keep an eye on them as they don't take too long at all.

On the other half, use the pizza cutter and cut the wraps into strips. (usually makes about four 1-inch strips. On these, sprinkle parmesan cheese and a little italian seasoning. Again, pop in to the oven.

When I did it, I used every baking sheet I had and made them all production line style. One came out, one went in and I worked on the third. They can be made ahead, too.

Jenn

[Sheherezade]

Here are my super easy hor d'oeurves.

Prosciutto/Cheese wraps

Buy a box of those crunchy long thin bread sticks, a tub of boursin cheese spread (soft garlic herb cheese) and some prosciutto.
Spread a bit of the boursin cheese on the end of each breadstick and wrap with a bit of prosciutto. Arrange in a fan on a platter.

Baked Brie with Pesto

Buy a wheel of brie, prepared pesto, pine nuts and Phyllo dough/puff pastry from the freezer section. Cut the wheel in half longwise (make two thinner wheels). Fill with a layer of pesto and a layer of pine nuts. Wrap in thawed pastry dough. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Serve with sliced french bread or crackers.

All these recipes are making me hungry!!!!! I might just have to have a party myself . Have fun at you event!

Everyone's recipes are making me hungry. There are incredible recipes above. I can attest to the power of prosciutto (in any recipe), the bacon wrapped water chestnuts, and any cheese en croute recipe.

So, I'll just give two suggestions.

The first is a simple artichoke dip that is great served on crackers, bread, or toast. We've taken this to many events and there has never been a time when people didn't devour every last bit of it and comment on it. It's all so embarrassing because it's soooooo easy to make.

Artichoke Dip

Preheat the oven to 350.

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (prepared is great)
1 can architoke hearts, drain and save liquid, dice hearts
2 TBS. of reserved artichoke liquid
1 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. minced garlic

Combine all ingredients and bake (uncovered) in a casserole dish for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
You could make the mixture the day before the party (without baking it) and refrigerate it over night, and then bake it and pull it out while the guests are there or shortly before they arrive. Or you could actually bake it the day before, then refrigerate and reheat in the microwave the day of the party. I would probably recommend the former.

Arichoke-Prosciutto Gratin -- this is from Epicurious.com and was originally from Bon Appetit Magazine.

This is much more work than the easy artichoke recipe above but I loved this when I made it. Be forewarned it is very rich. Just a few bites per person will do. With a nice red wine, ummmnnn, now you're talking. But it may be too much trouble to handle with a big party.


ARTICHOKE-PROSCIUTTO GRATIN

Serve this with crusty bread to soak up some of the creamy cooking juices.

2 14-ounce cans artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts (about 2 ounces), toasted
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
Pat quartered artichoke hearts dry with paper towels. Cut each prosciutto slice crosswise in half. Wrap each artichoke heart quarter in halved prosciutto slice. Place wrapped artichoke hearts in single layer in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Pour cream over. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola, pine nuts, Parmesan, and sage. Bake until gratin is bubbling and sauce thickens, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.



Makes12 first-course servings.
Bon Appétit
October 2002
R.S.V.P.

You guys are making me so hungry!

Here is my artichoke dip recipe, also embarassingly easy.

1 can diced artichoke hearts in water, drained (or quarters and dice yourself)
1c. grated parmesan cheese
1 c. mayo
1 4-oz can diced green chiles.

Mix all ingredients together, bake at 350 for 20 minutes.


Kevin -- I'll have to try it with the cream cheese. The dill and garlic sound yummy.

mmmmm those are all so yummy. Thanks everyone!

[Meenah]

One of my friends has a standard that I now use. Take a large platter, three pieces of cheese , a triangle, a round and a rectangle. Between the cheese place fresh berries or grapes. Serve with crackers. Always a hit.
Luanne

All these recipes sound fantastic-- I'm going to have to try some for my party next month!

Mmmmm prosciutto...

Jumbo Shrimp Wrapped with Arugula and Prosciutto
18 cooked jumbo shrimp, defrosted
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Coarse salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, eyeball it
2 cups trimmed arugula leaves
9 slices imported prosciutto, 1/3 pound
18 grape tomatoes
18 party picks, 3 or 4 inches long

Place shrimp in shallow dish and add lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil. Toss shrimp to coat evenly with dressing. Arrange the arugula in piles of 2 or 3 leaves, working with 6 piles at a time. Pile up 3 slices of prosciutto and cut in half across. To assemble the shrimp, place 1 shrimp on each pile of 2 or 3 arugula leaves then wrap the leaves up with the shrimp using the prosciutto. Assemble 6 pieces at a time, like an assembly line. Nest a grape tomato into the curve of the prosciutto wrapped shrimp and secure into place with a party pick.

Arrange the shrimp appetizers on a platter and don't forget to put out a small empty bowl near the shrimp platter to collect the tails of shrimp and party picks, once guests finish the appetizers.

from Rachael Ray's 30 min. meals http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes ... 54,00.html
(you can search for a lot of other appetizers here)