Here's one for ya - FETA ARTICHOKE BITES 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 large garlic clove, minced 6.5 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts 1 cup seeded, diced tomato (about 1 large) 1/3/ cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced 1 tsp. Dried oregano 4 oz. Crumbled feta cheese 5 English muffins, split In a small bowl, blend butter and garlic; set aside. Drain artichoke hearts, reserving 1 Tblsp. Marinade. Chop artichokes and set aside. In medium bowl, combine chopped artichokes, tomato, 3 Tblsp. Parmesan cheese, green onions, oregano, and reserved marinade. Gently stir in feta cheese, set aside. Lightly toast English muffin halves; spread with garlic butter. Spoon artichoke mixture onto muffin halves, dividing evenly. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. To serve, cut each muffin in half. Note: Garlic butter may be made several hours ahead, or as long as overnight. Store in refrigerator tightly covered. Makes 10 appetizer servings.

Whoa, Suero, that eggplant app sounds amazing! I have to be honest and admit that is something I am more likely to make for lunch instead of a party...more for me :-) I love apples and pears, garyfx! I'm trying to put together a menu that doesn't require a fork... Any recipes involving those fruits to share? I've also thought about using a tart pear paste with the Brie instead of fig. Holly Kay and Bumble---- like the idea of asparagus in phylo. What length of asparagus spear? Any sauce or purée or anything else in the phylo aside from Parmesan? Is it dry? Mtnrdredux: we make champagne cocktails often, usually just making them up as we go along. (When my mother tells me she's bringing a new recipe to try when she comes down to spend the weekend she's almost always referring to a new drink, preferably with champagne or grey goose :-). We have that particular cocktail at holiday parties because it has a festive look from the green lime and red cranberry and a gorgeous color from the pomegranate juice. Also it's easy to make a non alcoholic mock-tail that looks just the same. They can be made one at a time two parts champagne to one part p juice, squeeze of lime and a frozen cherry-- or if I've had time, a couple of them strung on a holiday toothpick. Or you can mix up a batch like punch and drop in the lime and cranberry as the glasses are filled. You can use prosecco for similar results and if we have lots of people I do. But we buy champagne by the case and usually use that.

Hi everyone -- Just thought I'd post an update and a thank you! Reception went off with nary a hitch on Saturday. Final menu consisted of: Veggie and fruit trays Shrimp Cocktail Sweet n' Sour Meatballs Mini Egg Rolls Small Turkey/Ham Wraps Sausage and Cheese Biscuits Burgundy Mushrooms Deviled Eggs Assorted Cheeses and Crackers Brie with Fig Compote Topping Tortilla Chips and Cowboy Caviar Potato Chips Pickles and Olives Coffee, Punch, Iced Tea and Water The 85 people that she confirmed actually ended up being more like 65-70. So, we had a fair amount of food left over. I made an ice bowl to display the shrimp -- it turned out beautifully. I was so proud! LOL I agree with Linda that Brie can get rubbery if left out too long, but past experience has shown me that it usually doesn't last long enough to get cold. And, true to form, people just gobbled it down. Could have made a lot more eggs -- those went quickly as well. I'm not an egg person myself, so I forget how much people love them at parties. People were definitely hungry and went through the line several times -- no one was shy, thank goodness. I did use the small plates, and some people used two at a time, so I'm glad I planned for extra food. Everything else was good and our one minor fiasco was that I burned the egg rolls when heating them up. Not sure if it was the strange oven I was using (should have brought my own oven thermometer) or that they'd thawed out slightly so cooked more quickly, or a combination of both. So, about half of them did burn and I didn't put them out, but we did okay anyway. So, all in all a successful event and I received loads and loads of compliments which was nice for the ego. ;) I stayed at budget, which she actually upped to $600. I think I came in around $550, but still finishing up the totals and taking a few things back to the store that weren't used. Took me all day to recover on Sunday, though. I'm getting too old for this stuff! LOL A big thank you to everyone -- your tips and advice were incredibly helpful. Thanks so much!

I actually know many caterers who order and restaurants also these are not your Costco/BJ appetizers. If you are a caterer im sure who has a large staff with pastry chef etc im sure then you'd do from start to finish but smaller scale caterers do do this its very common. As I stated before I make 95% but do use this company and others (I cant reveal or my head will go on a chopping block by fellow caterers) for fillers that are great quality...is it a trade secret??? I guess, of course no one in the industry walks around going "Hey what appetizer company do you use?"..As a matter of fact the company Sweet Street distributes tons of cakes and pastrys to many many restaurants all over America. Ill bet you have gone to many a large party where the caterer has done this and you were not aware,Ive seen it with my own eyes. I myself handle small party's start to finish but when i book a 100 plus party i surely do not make every appetizer from scratch....the main courses are always made by me. Surprised you all were surprised.