Cheese straws? I have made them several inches long and they're fun stood up in a glass or jar. cheese straws – smitten kitchen

This also seems like it could be a hit for kids: Tater Tot Appetizer Cups - The Feathered Nester

Mini baked potatoes: Loaded Mini Baked Potatoes l A Farmgirl's Dabbles (afarmgirlsdabbles.com)

Mini bacon ranch cheeseballs: Mini Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Recipe (honeyandbirch.com)

Great, that kind of thing is perfect! We are retired amd dont get out much, so I dont know what’s popular anymore. Sad for me, as I love entertaining and being entertained!

These came to mind since I thought it was a fun idea…or maybe some version of them.

https://inspiredbycharm.com/charcuterie-cups/

I think these are cute

I can’t seem to link the site but it’s on pinterest -oops not an appetizer!

ETA The site I posted was not where the recipe is. Graduation candy cups

I have some good ones that ARE appetizers but posting from my phone is impossible I’ll try later from computer.

That is a cool site! Thanks!

Have you made the spinach dip in a round rye loaf to serve? Always tasty and fancy looking.

Good idea, I hadn't thought of that.

Lulu, the round loaf (boule) for the dip is nice. It’s been a while but one thing I’ve done is set the loaf inside a ring/wreath of fresh rosemary, then tuck some olives into and around the rosemary. If not a wreath, just some sprigs of rosemary are also nice…with or without the olives.

Well, I have posted most of these before but the young ones in MY family love these, so I will share again. Sorry I am not the best with recipes as far as amounts, most of these type of things are to taste, but I'll try.

Olive Bread Toasties

1 cup mayo

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Fresh Garlic, minced (to taste really, I add a lot cuz we love garlic)

Dried oregano, also to taste, but do not be shy

4 oz can chopped black olives

green pimento stuffed olives, chopped very fine, about the same about as the black, maybe a bit more.

Mix all these together, spread the mixture on slices of baguette and bake until bubbly and crunchy. So good.

Sausage dip

1 pound breakfast sausage

green onions, about a handful chopped

Fresh jalapeno (optional, we love it) diced very small

Green bell pepper, a small one, diced small

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz sour cream

8 oz cheddar, grated

Cook the sausage, green onion, jalapeno and bell pepper with a touch of butter until the sausage is cooked through. melt in the cream cheese, then mix in the sour cream, then melt in the cheddar. Serve this with tortilla chips or toasted baguette slices. I use my mini chopper to chop all the veggies really tiny.

Cheeseburger eggrolls

Ground beef

Bacon

Onions

Cheese of your choice, I use american slices and shredded cheddar

worcheshire sauce

garlic and onion powder

Pepper

Eggroll wrappers

Oil to deep fry

Sauce

mix together (all to taste)

Mayo

Ketchup

Louisiana hot sauce

Garlic powder

Onion powder

pepper

Chop up the bacon and fry until crispy, remove from pan. Add the onions and ground beef to the bacon fat and cook until beef is cooked through, drain. Season with worcheshire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper to taste. Melt in cheeses, stir bacon back in. Roll this mixture (about 2 or 3 tablespoons per) into individual eggroll wrappers, deep fry and drain. These can be made ahead and they reheat nicely in the oven or an air fryer. Serve with the sauce on the side. These go really really fast. They may not technically be an appetizer, I make them for SO for his dinner a lot, but its fun finger food so I thought it would qualify. The sauce is a must. Hopefully there will be no double dippers at the BBQ.

BLT Bites

I'm only including these because you said you didn't mind fussy things

Big cherry tomatoes, tops cut off and scooped out. ( OR I use small roma tomatoes, halved and scooped out.

Bacon, chopped and cooked til crispy

Mayo, enough to bind everything

parmesan cheese shredded

Chopped green onions

Mix everything but the tomatoes together, fill the scooped out mater shell

Will you have access to an outlet? A big seller at my parties was always the kielbasa sliced in a sauce that's a mix of polish mustard and apple jelly. Stays hot in the crock pot and serve with rye bread slices. Delish!

I like to make stromboli or a folded and braided focaccia as an appetizer for picnics. Mine looks like this:

I use a focaccia dough recipe and fill it with pasta sauce, cold cuts (ham, turkey, Italian salami or pepperoni) and cheese, and serve it cold in slices.

I added mushrooms to this one.

Stromboli is a bit easier to make, since you do not have to braid it.

Love stromboli...like a handheld pizza!

@Lars....I'm going to make THAT for dinner! Thanks!

I usually make my stromboli with store-bought pizza dough.

My mom made pizza dough when I was a kid. My friends thought she was a genius. 😂She used a square cookie sheet, just like the school cafeteria did.

3 ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour, 1.5 tsp quick rise yeast, 1.25 cups water. Viola❣️

For the stromboli I added salt, 3 Tbl butter & an egg. For a softer dough. It was good.

very simple and always gone. Pickle or green onions with cream cheese wrapped in ham or turkey slices. Cut into bite size pieces. We call them PIG TAILS. Or Pickle roll ups.

You could always do something interesting with cicadas. No one would ever forget the party...

Fresh Spring Rolls are always a hit. If you want extra fancy, artfully arrange the ingredients so the design shows through the rice paper wrappers. I usually do 3 kinds, vegetarian, chicken, and shrimp or scallop.

Spring Rolls

Rolls:

1 lb. cooked shrimp, chicken, or scallops, diced 1/8”

1 cup lettuce shredded then chopped fine

1 cup of bean sprouts, diced

¼ cup fresh cilantro minced fine

1 cup cooked rice noodles, chopped

1 cup carrots shredded then chopped fine

¼ cup scallions green and white part, minced fine

30 8” rice paper wrappers (Do not use egg roll/wonton wrappers)

Large bowl of hot water for softening rice papers.

Note: Depending on how fast you work, the water may need to

be changed several times to maintain temperature.

Mix first 7 ingredients together for filling. Prepare work surface for rolling spring rolls. I cover the counter with 2 layers of paper towels. Place one rice paper in the hot water. Keep remaining papers in plastic bag or they will stick together. As soon as the rice paper is soft about 30 seconds, remove from water and lay flat on paper towels. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of the rice papers. Fold end of rice paper over filling and pull tight to form log, roll slightly to hold then fold in sides and finish rolling tight. Place rolls seam side down on serving platter. Repeat. Makes 30.

Sauce:

1 cup creamy peanut butter or (if you are worried about peanut allergies use sun butter)

½ cup hot water

2 tbs. pickled ginger, minced fine

¼ cup lite soy sauce

1 tbs. wasabi paste

1-2 tbs. agave or honey

1 tsp. garlic minced very fine

Whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce and hot water until smooth. Stir in ginger, wasabi paste and garlic and mix well. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving for flavors to blend. Stir well before serving.

I’ve done these a couple times that were fun.

https://www.cuisineathome.com/recipes/appetizers-snacks/mexican-parfaits-with-crispy-tortilla-strips/

And these…

Mexican Tartlets

3/4 lb. mild and/or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large clove garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup salsa (not chunky style)
1 4-oz. can diced green chiles, drained
1/2 cup shredded Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Olive oil
24 purchased wonton wrappers
Sour cream
Finely chopped green onion
Sliced olives
Shredded cheese
Chopped cilantro

Cook sausage in heavy skillet until no longer pink, breaking up with fork. Add garlic and saute for 2 or 3 more minutes. Drain off fat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add salsa, cheeses, and chiles to skillet; simmer until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Cool completely.

Preheat oven to 375. Brush mini-muffin pan with olive oil. Press a wonton wrapper into each muffin cup (wrappers will extend beyond tops of cups). Fill each wonton wrapper with a generous tablespoon of the sausage mixture. Bake until wrapper edges begin to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Maintain oven temp.

Transfer pastries from muffin tin to cookie sheet. Bake until bottoms are crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to platter. Top with dollop of sour cream, chopped green onion, cilantro, cheese and/or sliced olives.

I really like the Mexican Tartlet idea., and I have some other great ideas now, Thanks to everyone!

the glazed nuts recipe would be great ... but you would have to double or triple the recipe if'n you have a crowd ... just one of several appetisers of course

2 Tablespoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups pecan halves (the larger the better)

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium microwave safe mixing bowl, combine the honey, chipotle powder, and ground cinnamon. Warm through. (You can also do this on the stove over low heat.)

Stir nuts into warmed honey mixture. Still well to coat. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spread honey-coated nuts in a single layer. Bake until toasted and fragrant, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and salt in a small bowl.

Remove pecans from oven and allow to cool only slightly (no more than a minute or two -- you want them to still be sticky.)

Dump the hot nuts into a medium sized mixing bowl and add the sugar/salt mix tossing to combine. Spread nuts on cold waxed or parchment paper and let dry. It's best if they don't touch each other.

Serve, or store covered until ready to eat.

I see this popped back, and I was hoping for an update? How'd it go?