wheel of Maytag Blue and a half wheel of Maytag White Cheddar....and I will also bring squash soup and there will be veggies and dip and perhaps something else.
Linda C

I'm just having the old cream cheese with jalapeno jelly & Wheat Thins & Triscuits. Appetizers are kind of difficult because I know how much we're going to eat an hour later.

I don't think we are having any, just a beer or glass of wine - which is fine with me.

Teresa

I'm keeping it basic (cheese/crackers/raw veggies) because DH's family is not real adventurous. IâÂÂm also making an easy dip that everyone seems to LOVE. The proportions are to your taste:

Smoke Salmon Spread

Package of hot smoke salmon (the dry kind) flaked
Cream cheese
Fresh chopped dill
Capers
Lemon juice

Serve with crackers. ItâÂÂs good because it stretches the salmon for a crowd.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christine

Like to keep starters simple, too. Having a variety of olives (green, black, Kalamata) and marinated mushrooms. That's it.

I like to have a few munchies, seems like the guys and the kiddos hang out in the kitchen and this keeps them satisfied. A veggie tray, olives and homemade pickles (Chase's dills), and a meat and cheese platter.

Stacie

Took these to my sister's and what a hit they were! Should have prepared double. They are satifying without being too filling.

1 can whole water chestnuts cut in half
meaty bacon strips cut to overlap chestnut pieces

Place seam side down on toaster oven pan (toothpicks inserted after) and toast until bacon is sizzling.

Not big on apps here. We used to do all kinds of things when my younger siblings were teens and middle school age. Then it was out for a game of football or if there was snow, sledding or skating. These days we do a veggie tray with some olives and my refrigerator dills. No football for the siblings but maybe the 31 nieces/nephews and 8 great nieces/nephews will play some sort of game outside. My niece called the other nite and said my 3 yr old GN Hudson has a request for Thanksgiving. She put him on the phone and he said "butter." That translates to a jar of my bread n butter pickles.

We have quit appetisers here. I killed everyone's appetite too often. My sister and I work too hard to make a great meal to have that happen.

But we will be heading up to DDs to have lasagne on Monday so that our other coastal son can see one aunt and uncle who will be with her family on Thanksgiving. So I am making up a simple tray of crudities with sour cream ranch dressing, which is a sneaky way to get her 3 year old to eat some veggies! Luckily, he does not go for the dressing, so less mess.

My sister always hosted and did everyones favorites which are old old standby's - but the crowd was much bigger then and not all these anymore
scallons wrapped with cream cheese and ham or dried cornbeaf
smoked oysters, olive type plate
cooked artichoke dip with triscuits
raw veggies and dip
sometimes meatballs

When I was a kid Mom always had us make the celery stuffed with cream cheese and some with peanut butter. She also did what we do and instead of appetizer we have a light lunch of turkey Stracciatella/egg drop soup. It fills you up for the moment but doesn't bother your appetite for the meal.

Thanksgiving appetizers to me, are a great time to showcase seafood and cheese, two ingredients not found in the traditional Thanksgiving meal, which is what we more or less have.
So, in my imaginary fantasy food world, I server oysters on the half shell and some great cheeses. In my real world, I am the only one who will eat oysters and " mighty strong tasting" cheese, so I serve marinated cold shrimp and hot crab dip, which goes over pretty well.

I always make a cheese ball for David, he loves the one made with cream cheese, chipped beef, green onions, etc. (shrug) I also put out a plate of olives and pickles, which few people eat.

Because both of my girls have other meals to deal with on Thanksgiving, I try to downscale my cooking a bit. Ashley will have dinner with Kevin's parents as well as here, and Amanda and Dave are going to his folks for brunch at noon, then we'll eat a "supper" later.

I don't bother to eat the appetizers either, I prefer to wait for the meal itself.

Annie

We had an early Thanksgiving because of a family member leaving for service in the Armed Forces.

This is what I brought...lower left--(Ritz crackers), cranberry, green onion and cream cheese pinwheels, prosciutto wrapped stuff dates (stuffed with Asiago), radishes (which no one ate, but hey, I only put them there for color). Bottom right is stuffed pepperdews (sweet cherry peppers), a couple of Asiago stuffed dates, and cucumber chili salad with chopped peanuts in the Chinese porcelain spoons. Center area left-to-right is sun-dried tomato spread, mixed olives with orange & lemon zest, and chocolate covered candy coated sunflower seeds. Up at the top, a veggie & dip plate and a bowl of peanuts and dried cranberries that our hostess had, and the mini creampuffs--some plin and some with Nutella.

For this coming Thursday, Thanksgiving, I'll be serving mixed olives with lemon & orange zest, crab salad in those little porcelain spoons, cream puffs with powdered sugar (& maybe Nutella) on top, a shrimp dip/spread, and a recipe I've been wanting to try called Bagna Cauda Dip. My backup recipes-to-try are a White Cheddar and Raspberry Spread, and a Roasted Peppers Ranch Dip.

Beautiful spread, sooz! But I'd grab those pepperdews all for myself and be searching the kitchen for more! Ha! Love those things! I like the salad in the porcelain spoons too, but my spoons like that are melamine because I bought them when my boys were little boys.

Teresa

We spend Thanksgiving with friends. It's a lovely day in a beautiful setting. I'll try to remember to take pics. The table decorations themselves are amazing.

There's 10 of us for Thanksgiving this year, with more than 10 sides, not a trivial accomplishment. While there's lots of food, we try to limit the servings to tasting-type size.

For instance, the butternut squash soup is served in espresso cups...less than 1/2 cup serving size. Anyway, I digress.

I am personally responsible for 3 things this year: Shrimp cocktail and clams casino (appetizers) and butternut squash soup (1st course).

The menu, which three of us collaborate on via phone, text, email, and Google docs:

Clams Casino (adapted from recipe given by my CF buddies)
Pancetta crisps with goat cheese and figs (Bon Appetite 11/10)
Puff pastry rounds with Fuyu persimmon slice (quickly carmelized under the broiler)- draped with Prosciutto (Martha S)
Shrimp cocktail

1st Course: Butternut squash soup in espresso cups
2nd course: Baby Arugula salad

Main: Fried turkey and one roasted turkey (maybe next year we'll make one turkey per person)
Gravy (my specialty)as Erma Bombeck said-we treat this as a beverage
Mrs. C's stuffing (I've posted this recipe - yum)
Mushroom Farro risotto or Barley stuffing
Carrots with shallots, sage, and thyme (Gourmet 11/09)
Cukes with cream (our friend-95 year old Babci-makes this amazing Polish side)
Sauteed onions with mushrooms
Whipped sweet potatoes (Cooks Illustrated)
Cranberry compote (a friend delivers this each year...it is amazing)
Mashed potatoes
Spinach Pie
Broccoli sauteed with garlic
Canned cranberry sauce (one guest MUST have it every year)

Gobble Gobble.

Sue

We always eat around one, so no appetizers for us. We do have some sweet rolls and quick breads out in the morning. The kids usually eat cereal when they get up.

However, this year we are having dinner around five or so. Not an easy task to pull off.... LOL Justin is flying in from Hawaii to surprise everyone. I'm the only one that knows. A friend is bringing him from the airport around three. I'll put out some cheese, crackers, spiced nuts, and chex mix for people to nibble on. I'm doing a breakfast casserole for breakfast/brunch.

David

I'm making another Cornacopia to hold the Appetizers but don't know what to fill it with yet.
Probably Shrimp, Scallops wrapped with Bacon, different Cheeses,Ham pieces, etc.
Lou