Sliced tenderloin with wasabi mayo on crostini - Toast the bread rounds the day before, roast and chill the tenderloin the day before, all you do the day of is slice the tenderloin and assemble.

Bruscetta, everything can be made the day before and assembled day of, you can even buy good bruscetta toppings

OLIVE AND FETA BRUSCHETTA TOPPING

1# Mixed Olives, pitted
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Feta Cheese
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mince Olives until texture is how you want it. Place in a mixing bowl. Crumble in a goodly amount of Feta Cheese, add Oregano, Garlic Powder and a good grinding of Pepper. Add Olive Oil and stir until well moistened. Store covered in the refrigerator up to one month. Bring to room temperature before serving.

TOMATO BRUSCHETTA TOPPING

1 14.5ounce can Diced Tomatoes, drained
3 Scallions, white and green parts finely sliced
Juice and Zest of half a Lemon
4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Dried Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
¼ Cup Minced Fennel Bulb - optional
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

Place Tomatoes in a strainer and drain well, shaking off as much of the Juice as possible. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Taste to correct seasonings. Keeps covered in the refrigerator for about two weeks.

CROSTINI

Baguette, sliced ¼” thick
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Place Bread slices on baking sheet and give each a generous brushing of Olive Oil. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes, rotate pan and bake another 15 minutes, check for uniform color.

A variety of olives

MARINATED FRESH MUSHROOMS

1 Pound Fresh Button Mushrooms, stems trimmed
1 Cup Olive Oil
½ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
1 Tablespoon Dried Basil
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the Oil and the Vinegar. Whisk in the remaining ingredients until the Sugar has dissolved. Taste and correct seasonings as necessary. Set Aside.

Bring a large pot of Water to a full rolling boil. Add the trimmed Mushrooms and blanch for two minutes. Remove Mushrooms from water and drain.

While still warm, place the Mushrooms in a large bowl and pour in the Vinaigrette Dressing. Toss to cover, serve at room temperature.

ZUCCHINI TARTS ��" DELICIOUS!

3 Cups Shredded Zucchini
1 Cup Bisquick
1 Small Onion, finely chopped
4 Eggs
½ Cup Vegetable Oil
½ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Teaspoon Marjoram
1 Teaspoon Parsley Flakes
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Mix all ingredients, adding the Zucchini and Onion last. Pour into paper lined muffin tins and bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes

There's a start, I'm sure the good cooks on this site will have lots of ideas for you. Have fun, don't stress out!!

Steve

I remember a thread from last year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Holiday Cooking - Hors d'oeurves

Some scrumptious ideas on a "party" thread Ruthie started below. And creative too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Party ideas

Have you tried the spinach cheese bars as a hot appetizer? I thinks somebody at this forum refers to them as spinach "brownies", but it is a savory appetizer baked in a 9 x 13 pan and then cut into squares when cool. They can be baked ahead and frozen, then just reheat before the party. They are also very good warm so you don't have to worry about them being piping hot when serving.

When I have a baked hot appetizer to serve, I normally wait until everyone arrives and they have a chance to get a cocktail and can nibble on whatever else is out. Just have the pan of appetizers ready to go into the oven, and people enjoy having other new appetizers added to the table.

blizlady, that would be Sherry (sheshebop), she makes the spinach "brownies" and I love 'em.

How many people do you have to serve appetizers to, Dawn?

Little pate choux puffs, tiny cream puffs, can be filled with various fillings including chicken salad, egg, tuna or seafood salad, a thick southwestern chicken kind of filling, whatever you like. I make rye puffs and fill with reuben fillings and they can be done ahead of time easily.

Reuben Puffs

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
Caraway seeds

CORNED BEEF FILLING:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2 packages (2 ounces each) thinly sliced deli corned beef, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons minced chives
2 tablespoons diced onion
1 teaspoon spicy brown or horseradish mustard
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flours, parsley, garlic powder and salt all at once; stir until a smooth balls forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets or make puffs with a pastry bag. Sprinkle with caraway. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or
until golden. Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each puff to allow steam to escape; cool.

In a large bowl, combine the first eight filling ingredients. Split puffs; add filling. Refrigerate.

Yield: 4-1/2 dozen.

I make these cheese thumbprints filled with hot pepper jelly, they are pretty popular. I make my own habanero jelly to fill them with, but anything you like could be used, including salsa. I got the recipe from Carol (Readinglady) and she's never given me a bad recipe!

Savory Cheddar And Jalapeno Jelly Cookies
8 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) finely grated (use smallest holes on grater box) extra-sharp cheddar cheese
6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup jalapeno jelly, apple butter, or chopped chutney

Place cheese ad butter in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add flour and process until mixture forms a soft dough. Gather up dough and divide into two flat disks. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until chilled, about 45 minutes.

Position two racks in center and top third of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone pads. Place the jelly in a small plastic bag and force it into one corner. Snip off the corner of the bag to make a small hole. Set bag aside.

Using 1 tsp of dough for each, roll the dough into small balls. Place the balls 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Using the end of a wooden spoon or a 1/2-inch wide dowel, poke an indentation in each cookie. Pipe the jelly from bag into the indentation.

Return to the oven and bake, switching the position of the sheets from top to bottom, halfway through baking, until the tops are lightly browned, about 10 minutes (the cookies will continue to crisp as they cool). Transfer to a wire cake racks and cool completely. Can be prepared 2 days in advance in stored in air tight containers at room temperature.

OK, first I use a spoon, not a bag, for the jelly, I made a big mess with that ziplock bag thing. Second I bake them one pan at a time, I don't do the remove/switch thing, it's easier for me to do one pan at a time. Third, this dough is very similar to another one posted here by Weed, so you could wrap it around an olive or pecan, etc., and make a whole difrferent kind of appetizer. I doubt I'd take the time to wrap the dough, I'd probably plunk an olive in the middle of the "cookie" and call it good, LOL.

If you don't do something like the puffed sandwiches, Ann T's Gougiere would be lovely, I think. An antipasta plate could be nice and could be entirely assembled ahead of time and I've had Caprese-on-a-stick, which was basically a cherry tomato, a chunk of marinated mozzarella, an olive and a leaf of basil, all skewered for serving.

Meatballs would stay hot in a crockpot or small Nesco roaster without any last minute prep at all, as would chicken wings, although those could be messy unless they are boneless.

Do you need something sweet, or just savory stuff?

Annie

Thanks everyone for the thoughful and helpful responses! You guys have me thinking and have provided some new things to try. I want to change the whole menu this year!

Steve - good ideas! Those mushrooms look especially different and good

Denise - Thanks for that link! So many good recipes! That helps a lot!!
Angelaid - Good ideas on that site.

Annie - More good recipes! In answer to your question, we usually have about 20 people.

Blizlady - I have made those spinach brownies and people love them. I actually was considering that for this year. I like that they can be made ahead and reheated or served at room temp.

Thanks again everyone. I'm so glad I posted here!

Dawn

I recently was looking for Clams Casino recipe to serve on Thanksgiving and received these responses. So far I've tried Alexa and Jim's suggestions as well as a variation of Lou.

I think these make a great appetizer. I have some more I'll post shortly. We love appetizers!

Sue

Here's my recipe for Shu Mai. It is not a traditional shu mai recipe, but rather combines the filling of a streamed dumpling with a shu mai presentation (open faced dumpling).

Note to Sharon (Chase): I am finally posting this after years of keeping it close to the vest. Aren't I a big girl!!??

Sue’s SHU MAI

Dipping Sauce
1/4 Cup soy sauce, low sodium
1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Seasoned rice vinegar,
Kikkoman is good
2 Large Garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Ginger, minced

Wonton Filling
2 Packages won-ton wrappers
1 pound pork loin, ground
1 pound chicken breast, ground
10 green onions, chopped fine
4 Tablespoons Cornstarch
4 Tablespoons Soy sauce, low sodium
4 Tablespoons sesame oil
5 Cups Napa lettuce, chopped fine
6 cloves garlic, minced

Veal can be used in place of chicken.
Make sure to serve with the dipping
Sauce as it enhances the flavor of the
dumplings.

Serve with dipping sauce

For dipping sauce, mix all ingredients and
refrigerate (Can make up to 3 days prior to
serving)

For dumplings
If wontons skins are frozen, defrost them on the
counter for 30 minutes (don't unseal the package
yet).

Remove wrapper and cover wontons with a
damp towel (this prevents them from drying out).

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine
meat, green onions, cornstarch, soy sauce,
sesame oil, and Napa lettuce

Working one at a time, gently peel off a wonton
wrapper (cover the rest with a damp towel to
prevent them from drying out), and place in the
palm of your hand

Fill with 1.5 to 2 T of filling forming a tight cup
with your fingers.

Gently tap the wonton on the table to flatten
bottom.

Place on a jelly roll pan

When all wontons are stuffed, freeze,
uncovered, on a cookie sheet for 8 hours or
overnight.
(This prevents them from sticking together).

Remove from pan and store in plastic bags and
freeze until ready to use, but no longer than 1.5
months.

When ready to cook, line a baboo steamer, or
any other type of steamer, with white paper
towel.

Bring water to boil and steam dumplings over
high heat, covered, for 12-15 minutes, or until
cooked through.

Serve with dipping sauce.

I can't believe all these ideas and nobody mentioned Velveeta on a Ritz? OK, so maybe there's a reason! :D

I'm a little punchy today... Can you tell?