The following can be eaten with tooth picks:

Small meat balls, slices of sausage and cheese. Last time my son came over, he brought (from a store) one inch cheddar cheese balls that had been rolled on bacon bits, that is certain hearty. And of course you could always have those tiny sandwiches and make them with ham or chicken salad. And then there are always home made chicken nuggets with white meat chicken.

A more upscale gathering could have lobster or crab canapes, spinach and feta, etc.

If you have facility for heating up the dish, Frank's hot wing dip is really good. There are a lot of versions, but this is one. I usually cook and shred my own chicken rather than use the canned one.

You can also do an antipasto platter regardless of what's available in your small town. Get some deli meats like salami and ham if not prosciutto, some cheeses like smoked gouda and jarlsburg and mozarella balls (bocconcini) ... provolone is delish but gets smelly, add a small dish of pitted kalamata olives, mixed nuts, some celery sticks, maybe little pickles (cornichon) or pickled vegetables (giardiniera) and then add crackers, bread sticks, baguette slices. It becomes a meal in one and yet there's something for everyone regardless of diet.

Fattening but yummy. Uses rectangle club type crackers, bacon and grated parmesean cheese. Break crackers into the rectangle shapes, wrap from end to end with a half slice of bacon. Spread on a jelly roll pan and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake in 250 degree oven until bacon is crisp. They cook slow so you have time to get dressed. They are good slightly warm or at room temperature.

Chicken drummettes with a Thai peanut sauce (or any sauce), sloppy joe sliders, cheesy twice baked potato halves with crumbled bacon, crunchy roasted crostini with a jazzed up salsa topping served on the side. Black bean salsa is good with crostini.

Very popular, and can be eaten with toothpicks--you would need to heat them:

BOURBON FRANKS

1 bottle (14 ounce) catsup
1 cup bourbon
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 packages (8 ounces each) miniature cocktail frankfurters, or 2 packages (16 ounces each) frankfurters, cut into 1-inch chunks OR (better yet): 2 pounds Polish Sausage, cut in 1-inch slices

In large saucepan, mix all ingredients except frankfurters. Cover and simmer at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (Can be made ahead to this point. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Reheat sauce until hot.)
Add frankfurters and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Spoon into chafing dish.

Another easy and good one:

Sausage Balls

3 cups Bisquick

1 pound hot pork sausage

10 oz. Sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Mix together. Roll in bite-sized balls. Bake 15 minutes at 350 on cookie sheets with sides. Can be frozen and reheated. (Makes 50-60 balls.)

They have been named Oh Holy Balls by people who ate them and loved them. I use a casserole bowl or dish that has a lid but you can cover it with foil or wrap. In your microwave safe dish add one bag of frozen meatballs Italian or home style either one works. Dump over them an entire jar of Ragu Double Cheddar sauce, this is an orange cheese sauce not a tomato pasta sauce, it's their cheese creations line. If you can't find it you can use cheese whiz but it is better with the Ragu. Mix it up. Then pour on top an entire bag of grated Colby jack cheese I believe that regular size bag is 8 oz. Mix it up just a little. Put it in the microwave and heat till the cheese sauce is really bubbling. I do it with the meatballs frozen but you can allow them to thaw it won't take as long to cook. Check to make sure that the meatballs are warm throughout. Serve with toothpicks but usually they want them on a little plate. I get asked for these often.

These are nice http://allrecipes.com/recipe/216756/baked-ham-and-cheese-party-sandwiches/

Feeding hungry men...? Think simple. Pigs in a blanket, lil' Smokies in BBQ sauce, meatballs .... giant green stuffed olives....or black olives on the side....

Another fast and easy. Get some smoked sausage like hillshire farms or whatever brand you have in your area. Slice it in to small coin size bite-sized pieces. Heat it in the microwave for a couple of minutes just to get the excess fat melted, drain it, add your favorite BBQ sauce, we prefer sweet baby Ray's, enough to cover them well and stir it up. Put back in the microwave and heat until the sauce is bubbling mix it up and serve with toothpick. I have also used sweet and sour sauce instead of the BBQ sauce or a mix of both depending on what I had available. It will all be good.

This is always been a hit with everyone who has had it at our house. Slice a baguette and lightly toast the slices on both sides in the oven. Meanwhile melt together equal parts of butter, blue cheese and chopped pecans. Put a small spoonful on each slice and pop them back in the oven until the cheese is all melted and bubbly. They are best served warm but they are even good when they have cooled off. I'm not sure if you have an oven available to you at this party, though.

If my husband is there he will eat all the deviled eggs! Seriously he loves them. We tried buying the ones at the grocery deli and they were disgusting he would not eat them.

I make them pretty often for potlucks and seriously, you can barely get them onto the plate and they are gone. I make 3-4 doz sometimes and never have one left. Doesn't seem to matter the size of the crowd, lol!

I make roasted pork tenderloin and carmelized onion sliders for tailgates. Delicious and hearty. Just use your favorite marinated pork tenderloin recipe, brown and then roast in the oven about 30 min until done (I use the Hormel tenderloins for this). Meanwhile carmelize the onions. I use the Hawaiian butter rolls. Cut each in half and place a slice of tenderloin, onions and some mustard of your choice on each (I like a mild champagne mustard). Can wrap all in foil and reheat when ready to serve or serve cold.

My daughter makes bacon wrapped little smokies. They are very, very good.

1 lb. bacon

14 oz. pkg. little smokies

1 c. brown sugar

(daughter also uses a stick of butter, pours over the smokies before the brown sugar step)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet or jelly roll pan with tin foil. 2 Using kitchen scissors cut your bacon into thirds. There’s no need to cut each individual piece; cut the whole slab at one time. 3 Wrap 1/3 of each bacon slice around a smokie and secure it with a toothpick. After you have wrapped all of the smokies, place them on the baking sheet and sprinkle brown sugar on top of each smokie. 4 Bake sausages for 40-45 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and the brown sugar has melted.

ETA: Daughter usually doubles the recipe. 2 lbs. bacon and 2 pkgs. little smokies

I make these a lot. Also very good.

1 jar chili sauce

1 can jellied cranberry sauce

1 bag frozen Italian meatballs (1" size)

Bake meatballs in oven til heated and browned. Meanwhile, combine in saucepan chili sauce and cranberry sauce. Stir til completely mixed and heated through.

Add cooked meatballs to sauce. Yum!

Your "Nothing that involves dishes/utensils to eat..." comment has me curious. You're not going to have any paper plates or anything? Unless you want people just standing over the food chowing down they're going to need at least a plate to put it on for most of these suggestions. Some could use some plastic forks too. Even a little sandwich could be messy without something although a napkin could work for some. What's the problem with a snack sized paper plate?

Many of the suggestions I would give have been made, the other is essentially a good sandwich. Get some good hoagie rolls and make a meat and cheese sandwich. Be sure to put more than a slice of Buddig meat on them. Feed them boys! I'd put some coleslaw on the top too. I wouldn't mess with too many veggie toppings, especially if plates are prohibited.

Other variations would be a wrap or rollup. Can use lefse or tortillas but in MN at this time of year some Swedish Sausage in lefse would likely be popular.

Pulled pork sandwiches, mini burgers or not-too-sloppy joes would go over well too. For the "joes" they're a lot neater if served on hot dog buns or in a wrap of sorts (burrito style).

There was a recipe or collection of slider recipes that make sliders with any number of ingredients slicing the whole package of slider or King's Hawaiian buns in half and removing the top, dressing the whole thing and then after replacing the top and baking for 20 minutes, slicing into individual sliders. Looked yummy and like a big time saver.

Here's the link that I mean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRU7d0WjC3A

Mix 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese with 1 cup mayo, 1/2 cup chopped black olives,1/2 cup chopped green olives,1 or 2 cloves of minced fresh garlic, some dried oregano and black pepper. Let it sit overnight in the fridge if you can. Then spread the mixture onto sliced of baguette(you can put quite a lot on each) and bake at 400 until the topping is bubbly and the bread is crispy. Serve it warm.

I make this all the time. It is savory,hearty and very popular.