I’m invited to a holiday party on Saturday evening, pot luck, and I want to bring something really killer, finger food of some kind, hot is OK, it can be re-heated at the party, or room temperature. Nothing frozen, it will melt before I get there.
How about it, folks? What’s your go-to party food? Make me a star!
I won a prize with my Millionaire’s Shortbread. Shortbread, caramel and chocolate. What’s not to love?
I used this recipe but tweaked a bit: How to make the perfect millionaire's shortbread | Dessert | The Guardian
I added 2 Tbs of vegetable oil to the chocolate topping, so it wasn’t so hard when re-solidified. I also melted 1/2 cup of white chocolate and drizzled over the dark while still runny, then used a toothpick to marble them together. Pics here.
You can slice them into very small pieces, it’s so rich. And you’ll have all the ugly edge trimmings at home to snack on! You’re not bringing home leftovers…
Twinkies with strychnine?
For those who like green olives, this dip is killer. Make it the day before and it will set up in the fridge. Serve with mini stone wheat thins. It looks humble but it is addictive like crack.
I tried out a new appetizer this Thanksgiving and it disappeared in nothing flat – I think I could have make four times as much and still not have had anything left. It’s so simple, it hardly even has a recipe: pitted dates filled with goat cheese and wrapped in a strip of prosciutto or other smoked ham. Utterly delicious! They hit the sweet spot of salty/sweet/creamy.
Cut thinnish diagonal slices from a good-quality baguette. Spread each slice generously with sweet butter. Lay a white anchovy filet along the length of the slice, silvery skin-side up.
That’s it; no other garnish or seasoning is needed.
Here’s what I make, and it always gets compliments–sometimes I hear people raving about them to one another not knowing I’m the baker :).
They’re a really easy biscuit recipe, they’re pretty forgiving on the cheese/herb/spice front, and they come out both light and flavorful.
Along the same lines - Direct from the 1970’s. And yummy.
Get some pitted dates. Get some slivered almonds. Get some bacon.
Insert slivered almonds into pitted dates. Wrap dates in bacon. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, until desired bacon done-ness is achieved. Pierce with a toothpick.
I looooove these things.
OK, the thread is over, but I’m stuck deciding between these two. One has yummy bacon but requires cooking. The other requires no cooking, but also there’s no yummy bacon. Maybe I’ll do both. I’m allergic to almonds so at least I know I won’t eat all the bacon ones myself.
eta: I copied one of the wrong recipes, sorry for confusion, I meant to copy shantih’s and Noelq’s
Regardless of which way you go, I think I would cook the dates anyway. Even if you serve them at room temperature, cooking them tends to soften them up a little. I’ve never had them with almonds, but goat-cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon are fantastic!
Hummus is a bit cliché nowadays, but I made this Israeli-style hummus for a party a couple of weeks ago and it was soooo good. It’s not too difficult to make, and it is head and shoulders above anything store-bought.
You have my gratitude, this is what I made and it went very quickly. I might try different flavors of soft cheese, and next time I will definitely make more. I only made 21 and anyone who came after the first hour or so was out of luck. Also, pro tip, stock up on pitted dates if you want to save yourself a lot of time and trouble, whenever you see them in the store. When I went (the morning of the party) I couldn’t find any and had to pit my own. I hereby pit pitting dates, it’s a pain.
Thanks for the recipe.
I made some of this today with castelvetranos. It’s delicious. Love the blend of flavors with cream cheese, olives, and pecans. I’m somewhat tempted to repeat this dip using blue cheese stuffed olives next time and see what comes of it. Or, I suppose, I could actually just mix what’s left of the spread with some blue cheese I have in the fridge and report back. Might be a bit of gilding the lily, but I think it’d work fine.
OK, my immediate verdict is a bit of blue cheese is an excellent addition to the olive dip, but I adore blue cheese.