If you are having wine/cocktails before dinner, apps are a MUST.

Also, trust your guests to not stuff themselves. The notion that "sorry, I'd serve you food with alcohol but I don't think you'd regulate yourself and I want you to eat heartily at dinner" is a bit offensive.

Buy some nuts, hummus with crudite. Just a couple light things to nibble on while they are consuming alcohol before dinner is not just hospitable, it's prudent.

Vegies with dip are a great idea. I recently did bagel crisps spread with hummus and added a slice of cucumber on top. People seemed to really like it. I never do high-fat filling appetizers. I don't want peoples palate cluttered with flavours before eating the main meal.

Oh - good ideas, thank you!

I'm trying to avoid the heavier items (stated in my OP above). Maybe
my heading of this post was misleading, but I never intended to serve nothing with alcohol. Perhaps that didn't come across in my original post.

I certainly don't want to offend anyone. My side of the family always has apps - which was a foreign concept to my husband. In twenty five years of holidays with the in-laws, apps were never served.

Just looking for a few simple noshes -- seems I've come to the right place :-)

Oh, gotcha. Light stuff like rosemary nuts (so easy!), frittata with seasonal veg, proscuitto-wrapped asparagus spears (roasted or not), stuffed dates.

I would try to pair the apps to enhance the wine and I think the above does that.

I'm with you on heavy apps being overwhelming before a big dinner.

Do you think they'd like kale chips? I adore the homemade kind (can't vouch for the store bought). I use the red curly kale. Dinosaur kale is too thick. Just cut out the heavy stems, cut into 1-2" odd shaped pieces, with some ruffle on each piece. Line a baking sheet with parchment, pile the kale in the middle, drizzle with a little lite olive oil, salt and pepper, toss around to distribute and repeat the drizzle. Spread around so there's one layer, overlapping some is fine, but not fully on top of one another. Bake at 240° F. for 20 min. Use tongs to quickly kind of flip them. It doesn't have to be perfect. The main purpose is to let out the moisture. Bake for another 20 minutes. Cool and store in air-tight containers. Uncover right as company is arriving.

They're light, mostly air, really, crunchy, tasty, and really nothing at all. You can make them days ahead of time, especially if it's not too humid.

For soaking up booze, however, dairy and bread/starch are stalwarts. Chips and yoghurt dip. Cheese and crackers. Make it a little boring and they won't over do it. :)

Proscuitto or similar cured meat -wrapped grissini.

Quick Parmesan bread sticks using Pillsbury dough.

Light and easy items are what we most commonly see and do. Hosts don't want to exhaust appetites before dinner.

Cut up raw veggies, maybe a dip, hummus, mixed olives, chips and salsa, etc, are easy to set out and seem to be enjoyed and enough. We rarely see hot or prepared appetizers, many seem to reserve the effort for holiday gatherings.

One of the nicest, lightest appetizers I ever encountered at a dinner party was a small plate of rice crackers, thin slices of pepperjack cheese and a big bunch of pretty red grapes. It was small enough that no one pigged out and ruined their dinner but enough to enjoy with a glass of wine or beer

In my family hors d'oeuvres were called "blotters." BTW your menu seems way too carb-loaded. You'd never see anything like it in my neck of the woods (NYC)...

Hahaha, that's so funny, kitasei....no high carb menus in NYC, I mean.

Rice crackers are such a nice change. Make a quick homemade tzatziki dressing/sauce for carrots, broccoli, cucumber, zucchini, and green onions.

The OP is serving comfort food - why is it that comfort food is always high in carbs? I had a very stressful day on Wednesday and spent Thursday eating carbs and dark chocolate. It made me feel so much better. :)

My diet was healthier today and included hummus on rye crisp with sliced cucumber.

I like to serve things like spiced nuts, olives and parmesan crisps as nibbles before dinner. All can be made ahead and then put into bowls right before guests arrive.

Your menu sounds fabulous, Maura. May I come? Please?

I would have a very short happy hour before your great pot pies etc. Maybe announce that we are almost ready to find a good place to sit. Can I get a drink for u before we settle in?

I would put out a cheese board. Along with a few different cheeses and some bread or crackers you put a few grapes, strawberries along with it. Simple and yet elegant. You might google sample pics of a cheese board or go to Ina Garten's recipes and she makes pretty ones!

Almonds would be great on a cheese board also. I tried to post a picture and could not for some reason.

MORE cheese? MORE dairy?

Agreed, with a cheese heavy dinner, cheese as an appetizer won't work that well. Veggies and hummus? Olives? Sounds good right there.

Sounds like a good mix for the appetizers. Have fun!

Sounds good! A combination of substantial to slow down the alcohol and light not to ruin dinner. :) Now that that's settled, I hope you take time to enjoy the party!

I love stuffed mushrooms.