Cocktail wienies and meatballs have had their time in the spotlight. Spice up your entertaining menu with a more creative approach to appetizers.
Remember – creating something different for your party menu doesn’t have to mean hours spent in the kitchen. You can show off your culinary prowess while making your guests (and their taste buds) happy with simple yet interesting party appetizers.
Kebabs
Skewering the appetizer components offers an easy way to serve the foods and adds an interesting twist to the usual presentation. Use plastic toothpicks or wooden bamboo skewers cut to size for the kebabs. Get creative with the kebab combinations. Chunks of cheese, meat and bread create a skewered sandwich. Create salad on a stick by skewering tomatoes, cucumbers, chunks of lettuce and peppers. Serve salad dressing on the side. Combine cherry tomatoes, basil leaves and mozzarella balls drizzled with olive oil. Dessert kebabs also work well, including chunks of pound cake and fruit with chocolate sauce on the side.
Taco Cups
Create bite-sized tacos or nachos using scoop-style tortilla chips as the base. Fill the cups with refried beans, seasoned taco meat, cheese, salsa, sour cream, green onions and black olives. Place the sour cream in a pastry bag fitted with a star decorating tip used for cake decorating. Use the pastry bag to quickly apply the sour cream neatly in a decorative design. Customize the toppings by substituting shredded chicken for the taco meat or adding guacamole and other toppings.
Chocolate Fountain
It might sound corny, but a chocolate fountain adds an entertaining element to the party food table. The fountain keeps the chocolate melted and flowing throughout the party. Guests entertain themselves by placing various food items into the chocolate fountain flow. Offer several different snacks for the chocolate fountain including large marshmallows, pound cake chunks, strawberries, pineapple, apple chunks, cookies, caramels, brownies, pretzels, cheesecake bites and crispy cereal treat bars. Provide plastic toothpicks or skewers so the guests can easily hold the items under the chocolate.
Perfect Presentation
Creative presentations add a twist to all appetizers, even the standard cheese balls and meat trays. Mold cheese balls into shapes that fit the party occasion. Form footballs for a Super Bowl party or Easter eggs for an Easter party. Use flat-bottomed ice cream cones to serve dry snacks such as nuts and candies. Add tomato roses to appetizer trays, or place the appetizers on a bed of lettuce or herbs.
