The Top Five Appetizers For a Holiday Party

Food/Cooking - Types of Food

By: ponchomeg 21-Nov-2010

Browsing Food/Cooking Lists

Introduction:

When the holidays come around, holiday parties are sure to be abundant. Make sure YOUR holiday party turns out great with these top five appetizers for a holiday party.

Fresh Foods

Fresh vegetables, fruits, and nuts are great to put out together at a holiday party. Just make sure everything is washed, cut, and presented well and have a few different dips for people as well.

Shrimp Cocktail

Get some pre-cooked frozen shrimp, thaw them and rinse them well, and put them with some cocktail sauce (homemade is best) on a tray. Even better? Take some cocktail glasses, line the rim with shrimp and put the cocktail sauce in the center.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This is a great warm appetizer to have for your guests. All you need to make it is a big tub of cream cheese, a smaller tub of sour cream, butter, garlic, spinach, two jars of artichokes (pre-seasoned), 2 bags of Italian Cheese (there's a great one that has 4 cheeses in one), salt, pepper, a big mixing bowl, a frying pan, a glass baking dish, a spatula, a spoon, and an oven. Just preheat the oven to 350 degrees, mix the cream cream cheese, sour cream, 1 bag of the cheese, and the salt and pepper in the bowl as best you can with the spoon. In the frying pan, heat up and melt a couple of tablespoons of butter. Add garlic (to taste), tons of spinach (it will shrink!), and then the artichokes and just lightly cook. (Less than 5 minutes) Move things around the the spatula from time to time and when it's done, remove it from heat and spoon everything from the pan into the bowl with the cream cheese mixture in it. Stir it all together. (Add a little of the cheese from the second bag as well.) Dump the mixture into the glass baking dish, make it flat and level, top with the rest of the cheese in the second bag, (maybe a little more salt and pepper) and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving, and then serve with tortilla chips, chunks of bread, bagel chips, etc.

Ham Rolls

These are a big hit at my family's holiday celebrations, and they are cheap and easy to make. All you need is the pre-packaged lunch meat (ham) that comes in a kind of square shape, cream cheese, milk, garlic salt, toothpicks, and green olives. Make the cream cheese filling by putting the cream cheese, a little milk, and garlic salt (to taste) in the blender and making it a creamy mix. Then, simply spoon some of the mix onto a piece of the ham, roll it up, stick an olive on a toothpick, and stick the toothpick through the ham roll. That's it! Repeat until you use up all your supplies.

Chocolate

Chocolate is NOT just for dessert. Chocolate helps to trigger happiness in our brains, so it only makes sense to start the party with some chocolate. I like having Hershey's kisses in decorative glass bowls, chocolate covered cherries, chocolate covered raisins, and chocolate covered nuts, but you can choose whatever you would like. Just make sure you present it well. Don't just throw a bag of candy on the living room table. Some people have chocolate fountains with fruits, pretzels, and cookies to use with them. That's always cool too.

Final Thoughts

Other great appetizers include cheese and cracker trays, pate, meatballs, hummus and pita bread, a variety of chips, dips, and/or salsas, smoked fish, pumpkin seeds, and bread.

Give this list a high five!

Comments

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clewand550 1/21/2012
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Good job on this list.
AngelaTague 11/21/2010
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Yum! I am so glad you included chocolate on this list!
BonnieDossKnight 11/21/2010
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All good stuff, most healthy stuff and chocolate always at top of list. Ingenious idea.
ponchomeg 11/21/2010
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Thanks for the comments. I feel ya on the spinach dip, except I would totally be willing to make it for myself if I could only afford to get the ingredients! haha As soon as I get some cash, I'm making it! :) You can have some if you're in the area. ;)
PupFashionista 11/21/2010
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I've been craving spinach dip the last 24 hours. I keep trying to con people into making some for me as a trial run to Thanksgiving dinner but so far have no takers.
goodselfme 11/21/2010
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I like your Holiday appetizers list. Will make some soon.