Ive made these a couple of times this fall and they are VERY well received. A perfect balance of flavors.

Grown Up Ham and Cheese Finger Sandwiches
Prep Time: 30min
Cook Time: 10 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 24 small sandwiches
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
8 slices thin white bread, recommended: Pepperidge Farm
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 small green apples
4 to 6 ounces aged Gouda
1 tablespoon Dijon or whole grain mustard, apple butter or chutney
1/2 bunch watercress
8 thin slices prosciutto
Freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring water, vinegar and brown sugar to a boil. Add the onions and remove from the heat. Cover, and set aside until the onions come to room temperature.
Trim the crusts off the bread and cut the bread into thirds, for 3 rectangles per piece. Lightly brush both sides of the bread pieces with olive oil and lay out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until just crisp and lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Cool.
To assemble: Quarter, core, and very thinly slice the apple, (a mandolin is terrific for this). Very thinly slice the cheese into triangles or shards that will fit nicely on the bread.
Place a dab or smear of mustard on the bread. Place a piece of apple, cheese and 1 or 2 sprigs of watercress on each piece of toasted bread. Wrap a small piece of prosciutto around each stack to make a neat package. Top with a little bit of the pickled onions, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve at room temperature.
Do ahead tips: Toast the bread ahead, and thinly slice the apple, placing them in lemon water to prevent them from turning brown. If you need to assemble the sandwiches ahead, don't add the watercress, and cover them with a very light moistened paper towel.

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A wonderful change from the bready heavy stuffed mushrooms.....
Tuscan Mushrooms
Prep Time:
10 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 to 6 servings
1/2 cup diced jarred roasted red bell peppers
1/2 cup diced pitted green olives
1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano
2 scallions, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium bowl mix together the roasted red bell peppers, olives, cheese, scallions, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet place the mushrooms, cavity side up. Spoon the filling into the cavity of the mushrooms. Bake until the mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the mushrooms to a serving platter, sprinkle with chopped basil, and serve.

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These are elegant and very tasty!

Phyllo Triangles with Lobster Filling
Martha Stewart Entertaining
Makes about 50

1 Steamed Lobster
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 scallions finely chopped
cup white wine or vodka
1 ½ tbsp all purpose flour
¼ cup heavy cream
pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 lb Phyllo
1 lb unsalted butter, melted

Remove meat from lobster and chop. Set aside
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small skillet and sauté the scallions for 2 or 3 min. Add lobster meat and wine or vodka and stir quickly to combine over high heat. Drain the mixture reserving the liquid.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in another skillet. Add the flour and cook slowly without coloring the flour for 5 minutes. Add the reserved liquid and cream and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir the lobster meat back into the cream mixture, add cayenne and season to taste. Cool completely before filling the triangles.

Prepare the triangles as you would sharonÂs Spanikopita. If you need those directions, I can copy them over.

Note - they freeze quite nicely

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Cranberry Brie

8 ounces round brie cheese (about 4 inches in diameter)
½ cup cranberry sauce*
2 tablespoons chopped roasted salted pistachios or hazelnuts or pecans
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh chives

Change to:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With sharp knife, cut circle in top of rind of cheese, leaving 1/4-inch border around top of cheese.
3. Carefully remove center circle and discard.
4. (Do not cut side of rind.) Place cheese on pie plate or other small shallow ovenproof baking dish.
8. Spread cranberry sauce on top of cheese.
9. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is soft but not runny.
10. (Do not overheat.) Sprinkle with nuts and chives.
11. Serve with crackers.

Cranberry Sauce

½ bag whole cranberries
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 cup apple cider
pinch of cloves
1 tbsp candied ginger minced

Put all into small sauce pan and cook over low for 20 min or until all cranberries have popped. If too thick, add additional cider or water.

These all sound delicious - thank you so very much!

Alexa those recipes are soooo elegant! The ham and cheese one reminds me of one party where I made ham and swiss rollups with herb mustard. They were dead easy and a big hit. One could adapt that recipe to use with round flat bread and then slice in pinwheels. I find that is a popular appetizer to take to parties and there are lots of different kind of things you can roll into them. Great now that they have such a selection of COLORS of flatbread!

Oddly enough I have a friend who serves guacamole at her holiday parties and it is alway a hit. I guess it's because it is a special treat with the cost of off season avocados. Again, now there are red and blue and yellow chips so that makes a festive holdiday spread with the green guacamole.

Cranberry Salsa - I've been anxiously awaiting fresh cranberry season!

I can vouch for Alexa's

Cattknap, if you email me I will send you a copy of my Appetizer Chapter. There are over 80 appetizer recipes.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Blue Cheese Tartlets
====================
Source: Williams-Somona

8 oz tart pastry dough (or frozen puff pastry)
3 oz spinach or Swiss Chard
1 egg
2/3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup freshly grated Emmenthaler Cheese
1/4 teasoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
3 oz Blue Cheese (Roquefort, Gorgonzola,etc.)
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
. If using tart pastry, prepare the dough and refrigerator 30 minutes
before you are eady to roll it out. If using commercial puff pastry
defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Preheat an oven to 425°F. Bring a large saucepan filled with water to
a boil. Plunge the spinach or Swiss Chard into the boiling water and
cook for 30 seconds. Immediately drain in a colander and rinse with
cold water to halt the cooking. Drain again, pressing against the
greens to force out as much water as possible; set aside.

Break the egg into a bowl. Add the cream, Emmenthaler cheese, nutmeg
and salt and pepper to taste and beat with a fork until completely
blended. Coarsley chop the spinach or chard and add it to the bowl;
stir well.

On a lightly floured board, roll the dough out as thinkly as possible.
Sprinkle the Roquefort or other blue cheese evently over the dough.
With a fluted pastry cutter about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, cut out 18
dough rounds. Use the rounds to line 18 individual tartlet pans or
wells in tartlet trays or miniature muffin pans. If using the former,
arrange the lines pans on a large baking sheet. Fill each lined pan
with some of the egg mixture and scatter a few pine nuts on top. Place
the tarlets in the oven and bake until the filling sets and the crust
is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve Warm.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

1 loaf of white bread
1/4 cup melted butter
1 can escargot (36 to 50 size)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 shallots
2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 bay leaf
1 cup whipping cream
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
. preheat oven to 400°
Cut crusts off bread and roll out very thin. cut 2 inch rounds and fit
each round gently into a well buttered 1 1/4 muffin tin.
Brush tops of rounds with melted butter and bake them for 10 minutes or
until edges are golden brown. Remove from tins and cool.
In a medium sauce pan combine wine, chicken stock and shallots, thyme
and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce liquid to 1/3 cup. Stir in
cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Reduce liquid to 1/2 cup. Add escargot.
Remove bayleaf and stir in butter.
Fill each croustade with 1 or 2 escargot and some of the sauce.
Sprinkle with minced parsley.

NOTE: Instead of bread cups, you can also use puff pastry.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Stuffed Endives With Crab Meat
==============================
Filling

Fills about 24 leaves

1 2-oz. can whole pimentos
1 green onion
1 shallot
1/2 lb. cooked crab meat
1 tsp. prepared mustard
2 tsp. lemon juice
2-4 Tbl. mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Paprika
3 Belgian endives
.
Chop 1 pimento (reserve the remainder for another use), the green
onion, and the shallot.
Combine the crab meat, mustard, lemon juice, green onion, shallot,
and 2 Tbl. of the
mayonnaise, adding more if needed. Add the pimento and season to
taste with salt, pepper,
and paprika. To prepare the Belgian endive cut off 1 inch from the
root end; carefully separate
each leaf. Stuff Belgian endive leaves with crab meat filling.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Focaccia topped with warm Goat Cheese
=====================================
1 focaccia, homemade or purchases

1 roasted red pepper, cut into strips and drizzled with olive oil.

1 recipe homemade Tapanade (or purchase all ready made)

Chevre (Goat cheese)
. Cut the Focaccia into bite size squares

Cut the roasted pepper into small strips

Warm the Goat Cheese in the microwave to soften.

Put a dollop of goat cheese on top of each square of focaccia.

On half the focaccia place a few strips of pepper and on the other half
place a small spoon of Tapanade.

Hi Catt! Good to see you here, all settled in your new KY home?
Can't go wrong with those posted above

Here's a few more

Unsandwiches
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 c water
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1/2 tsp hot chili paste
1 lb ground chicken (or turkey or lamb or beef)
1/2 c green peas
1/2 c diced water chestnuts or jicama
2 green onions chopped
24 small leaves belgian endive
In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, water, sesame oil, sugar and cornstarch. Heat olive oil in a wok or large skillet over med high heat. Add garlic, ginger and chili paste and stir fry for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add meat of choice and stirfry until brown. Stir cornstarch mixture into meat and cook for 3 to 4 min or until thick. Add peas, water chestnuts and cook 1 min or until hot. Stir in green onions, cool slightly and spoon onto belgian endive spears.

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ROQUEFORT-STUFFED SHRIMP
24 jumbo shrimp
3 ounces cream cheese
1 ounce Roquefort or Danish blue cheese
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-type mustard
1 teaspoon finely chopped scallion
1 cup finely chopped parsley
Cook shrimp in salted water, then drain, shell and devein. Split the shrimp down the spine about halfway through. Chill.
Blend the cream cheese, Roquefort, mustard and scallion. Using a knife or small spatula, stuff the cheese mixture into the split backs of the shrimp. Roll the cheese side of the shrimp in chopped parsley and serve chilled.

Dates with Goat Chees Wrapped in Proscuitto
1/3 cup soft herbed goat cheese
16 medjool dates pitted
16 large basil leaves
mint leaves
4 wide thin slices proscuitto di parma cut into 4 long strips
16 toothpicks soaked in water 10 minutes

Pit the dates. Heat broiler to low. fill dates with goat cheese. (I used a chicken injector). Wrap with basil leaf then with proscuitto. I also wrapped some with mint leaves because I was a bit short of basil. Secure with toothpick. Broil until cheese bubbles or until proscuitto is crisp.
Here's the second one:

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Brie Toast with Chardonnay Soaked Golden Rasins

1- 1/2 cups water
1 cup Chardonnay
1/4 cup + 2 T sugar
1 vanilla bean split in half vertically
1 cup golden rasins
12 oz Fromager d' Affinois chees slices into 24 pieces
24 slices baguette cut 1/2 inch thick
4 T unsalted butter, melted

In med sauce pan combine water, wine and sugar. Bring to a simmer until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the liquid and add the remaining bean. Add the rasins. Let steep uncovered for at least one hour at room temperature. Refrigerate overnight.
Drain rasins, RESERVING THE LIQUID. Discard vanilla bean. Put liquid back in pan and boil about 10 minutes or until reduced to about 1/3 cup. Will be deep golden in color. Watch carefully so it does not burn. If it starts to foam remove immediately from heat. Syrup thickens as it cools. Cool completely
Preheat oven to 400F. Brush butter onto both sides of bread. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely.
To assemble put a slice of cheese on each toast. Sprinkle with rasins. Drizzle with syrup just before serving.
Syrup and rasins keep up to two weeks in refrigerator.
Source: Splendid Table

STUFFED MUSHROOMS ALFREDO from Beacon-Journal

18 large mushrooms, about 2 inches across, stems removed and reserved for another use
Olive oil
1 ½ cups finely shredded rotisserie chicken without skin
2/3 cup refrigerated Alfredo sauce (not reduced-fat sauce)
½ cup packaged seasoned dry Italian bread crumbs
¼ cup finely chopped onion (about ½ small onion)
2 tbsp. finely chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1 tsp. minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush or drizzle mushrooms (inside and out) with oil. Place hollow side up on baking sheet with sides or in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Mix chicken, Alfredo sauce, bread crumbs, onion, parsley and garlic together in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in egg. Mound about 1 rounded tablespoon of chicken mixture in each cap,
pressing down firmly and forming dome in center. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake until filling is firm and heated through, 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 18 mushrooms.

Shelley

Here are a few of my favorites:

Curried Chutney Cheese Spread

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 t. curry powder
1/4 t. salt
3 TB sherry
1/2 cup chutney (any) chopped if pieces are large
2 green onions, finely chopped

Combine first 5 ingredients, mix well. Spread in a shallow serving dish. Top with chutney and green onions. Serve with Bemmer Wafers or other plain crackers.

Blur Cheese-Walnut Shortbread

1 cup butter, softened
4 oz. crumbled blue cheese
4 oz. shredded white cheddar cheese
1 cup toasted walnuts
3 TB dried chives
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 t. ground red pepper (cayenne)

Beat butter and cheese at medium speed in electric mixer until blended. Add in the walnuts, then the red pepper, and the dried chives.

Gradually stir in the flour with a spoon (mixture will be crumbly); stir until smooth and well blended, 2-3 minutes.

Shape and divide dough into 6 equal portions, shaping each portion into a ball. Flatten each ball on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat into a 6-inch circle. Stack dough circles on wax paper with wax paper between each dough circle. Wrap well and chill 8 hours.

Press edges of each chilled circle with the tines of a fork and prick the tops, forming a decorative pattern in the dough. Cut each circle into 8 wedges and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store air tight when cooled.

Spiced Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1 4oz. jar roasted red peppers
3 TB lemon juice
1 1/2 TB tahini or peanut butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. salt
1 TB chopped fresh parsley

In a blender or food processor, puree the chickpeas, red peppers, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt. Process using long pulses until the mixture is fairly smooth and slightly fluffy. Scrap sides of bowl between pulses. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead.) Return to room temp before serving.

Sprinkle with the parsley just before serving. Serve with pita chips, crackers, bagel chips, or fresh veggie dippers.