Help me think about finger foods...

[Aubrey]

We're going to mil's Sat afternoon. She's planning to do fingerfoods this yr instead of a turkey or whatever.

 

*Usually,* I offer to bring something & then get stressed when it doesn't turn out right or I don't have enough time for whatever I volunteered, etc. So this yr, I'd kind-of like to get some things ready *today* & then call & tell her what I'm bringing.

 

Fwiw, she hasn't asked me to bring anything, & the above is the only reason I haven't yet offered. They're a *very* casual family, & we get along great, lol, so anything I show up with from nothing or burned something to fancy whatevers will be fine. :D

 

Ok, I usually make a cranberry jello salad for Christmas that mil loves, so I'm planning to bring that & some gf cookies for dh, so she doesn't have to worry about him having/not having anything. (She was here yesterday when I was mixing those up, so she already knows I'm bringing that.)

 

What I need to know is what else would be helpful. I have a hard time thinking of finger foods other than cookies. :D They're pretty big meat-eaters (2 boys in the family), but that means she'll likely have that covered.

 

There will be about 7 adults, my 4 dc. I could bring some fruit to cut up. The kids & dh would like that...mil would like that. She's sweet about cookies, etc, but I know they don't impress her, lol, & I'd like to be a little impressive. (Of course, we're talking food, so maybe I should just give up now & get a box of crackers!)

 

Oh! There's a sangria I make that I know she likes...I'm not sure how to legally transport that, though...&...hm. Maybe that would be better to save for NYE. :001_huh:

 

I've never done deviled eggs, but I probably could. Not sure they'd get eaten, though. (Except by dh & me!)

 

:bigear: (She's good at this sort of thing & will really have it covered (I'd still bring something, but I think it's good to know the situation), but I want her to know I'm grateful & glad to be there.) :001_smile:

[Nakia]

Aubrey, PLEASE do not eat your children's fingers. I know they are probably breaking all the ornaments and touching all your fresh baked goods, but seriously, they will never learn to write if you eat their fingers!!!!!

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Nakia]

On a more serious note, I think fresh fruit sounds great. And easy!

[Ottakee]

Here is something you can't burn

 

Taco Rollups

8oz cream cheese, softened

1 packet taco seasoning mix

1 can refried beans

 

Mix this together well. Spread on flour tortillas (warm them for about 8 seconds in microwave first) and then sprinkle with shredded mexican or cheddar cheese. Roll up. Chill and then cut into 1 inch pieces. You can serve these plain or with salsa on the side.

 

VERY easy and they always disappear at potlucks, etc.

[lynn]

I found some interesting ideas here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/categories/appetizers-and-snacks/?page=2deas

[Princess Peach]

How about taco dip? Mix a block of cream cheese, some salsa, some sour cream, and some shredded cheese. Top with leftover salsa and shredded cheese. You can also top with diced onions, green peppers and black olives, if you so desire. Serve with tortilla chips.

[Carol in Cal.]

I would go with either chips and dip or cheese chunks and colorful toothpicks.

 

Good dips from scratch:

 

Clam Dip:

8 oz cream cheese

1 can minced clams, drained, NOT RINSED, juice reserved

3 Tablespoons clam juice

1/2 tablespoon Worchestire sauce

Liberal sprinkles of garlic powder--maybe about 1/2 tsp worth or a bit less

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice--bottled is just fine

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

 

Mix thoroughly, served chilled. Especially good with barbeque potato chips, almost equally good with plain or onion Ruffles. Awfully darn good with wheat thins. Recipe can be tripled with no problem.

 

Guacamole:

2 ripe avocados

juice of 2 limes

One half bunch of cilantro, minced

3 chopped tomatillos

3 chopped shallots or 1 finely chopped medium onion

 

Mix in the morning. Add onion at the last minute or the lime juice will take all the bite out of it. Alternatively, add it when you make it and add in some Tobasco sauce to taste as well. I mix this with a stick blender, but a fork works just fine. Great with tortilla chips or with little rolled up mini tortillas if you don't want all that fried stuff. Surprisingly good with pita chips! A real sleeper!

 

Almost a dip:

1 brick of cream cheese--put this on a pretty plate with lots of room around it.

Dollop with jam--my faves are black raspberry, lingonberry, or apricot

Serve with Table Water crackers. You will need a little knife for this as it's too hard to scoop up with the crackers.

 

Easy peasy!

[Margo out of lurking]

CAROL!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU! THIS is the clam dip recipe that I remember as a child. I've faked it for years (adding sour cream and mayo to it). I'm reading your recipe, thinking, really, this might be it--and then I saw that you are in Silicon Valley, where I grew up. And I'm even more sure it's the same one.

 

:D

 

Aubrey, we're having mostly finger foods tomorrow. I'm making tortilla roll ups, green chiles, sliced black olives, and green onions mixed with cream cheese, spread onto tortillas, and then rolled up. When sliced, they look like pinwheels.

 

We're having frozen meatballs tossed in the crockpot, topped with a jar of grape jelly and a jar of chili sauce (mixed together on the stove first to blend completely), and then heated in the crockpot.

 

Fruit salad.

 

Artichoke dip, that cheesy artichoke dip eaten with french bread cubes.

 

Shrimp cocktail--a bag of cooked frozen, deveined/shelled shrimp, defrosted, and served with cocktail sauce.

 

We're having a dessert potluck at church tomorrow night. We're bringing sliced cheese. It's not really a "dessert," but I think it will go over very well, there's only so much sugar you can eat or want to feed your kids...

 

All easy, and easy to transport.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Agree with others. Relax and enjoy the day. But here's a go-to, if you need one. Buy a spiral ham. Buy some cocktail croissants. Buy several types of mustard - stone ground, honey mustard, and a regular brown mustard. Slice the slices off the bone. Put the ham on a little plate. Put the croissants in a pretty basket lined with a cloth napkin. Put mustard in little ramekins, if you like, with a small knife, or just put the mustards alongside. People can make their own little sandwiches.

[Aubrey]

Aubrey, PLEASE do not eat your children's fingers. I know they are probably breaking all the ornaments and touching all your fresh baked goods, but seriously, they will never learn to write if you eat their fingers!!!!!

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

1. We have no breakable ornaments this year--only construction paper ones they made.

 

2. Baked goods? Nobody's brought me any yet! ;)

 

3. Have I told y'all the story about 3yo accidentally biting her finger at dinner? She came to me crying for a kiss, & 2yo came running behind her to see what was wrong. I told him, & he looked at his fingers, scrunched his eyebrows, & took a bite. His eyes popped with pain, he shook his head like a surprised animal, & then bit it *again.* :lol:

[Aubrey]

How about taco dip? Mix a block of cream cheese, some salsa, some sour cream, and some shredded cheese. Top with leftover salsa and shredded cheese. You can also top with diced onions, green peppers and black olives, if you so desire. Serve with tortilla chips.

 

Oooh...she makes something kind-of like this that everybody loves. (And dh makes ours, lol, so it will be easy for me.) I'll have to call & see if she's already done one or if I could help out w/ that.

[Nakia]

1. We have no breakable ornaments this year--only construction paper ones they made.

 

2. Baked goods? Nobody's brought me any yet! ;)

 

3. Have I told y'all the story about 3yo accidentally biting her finger at dinner? She came to me crying for a kiss, & 2yo came running behind her to see what was wrong. I told him, & he looked at his fingers, scrunched his eyebrows, & took a bite. His eyes popped with pain, he shook his head like a surprised animal, & then bit it *again.* :lol:

 

:rofl: Kids are so funny. And we don't have any breakable ornaments either...because the cats and the kids have spent the last week breaking every one we had. :glare:

[Aubrey]

You are bringing cookies and jello and the woman has it covered and loves doing this and loves you anyway no matter what..... Let her have her moment of food glory and just relax forgoodnesssake.

 

I come from a long line of people who love you with food. Believe me, we have a rhythm and outside food can mess up the balance. Bring what you know and don't worry about fancy. Go read all of these BCR threads and be glad you have a mil who loves you and doesn't care what you bring.

 

I am supposed to bring something...I mean...I don't think it would be *really* weird if I didn't, but I usually do. Whatever I bring will probably be fine, but I was hoping to call her (tonight) w/ an offer of something that (she didn't know) I'd already made. If she says no (she never does), I'll keep it here. If she wants me to bring something I didn't fix (rare), I'll have tomorrow to fix that.

 

She's raised 2 boys. I wouldn't say she *likes* doing the kitchen thing, but she's good at it & seems to not mind, but I don't want to take that for granted, kwim? I'm laid back about it, & so is she, but I'd like to think of a couple of *helpful* things so it's not all on her. I think she likes that kind of effort. And if she doesn't, she's REALLY nice about it! :001_smile:

[Aubrey]

CAROL!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU! THIS is the clam dip recipe that I remember as a child. I've faked it for years (adding sour cream and mayo to it). I'm reading your recipe, thinking, really, this might be it--and then I saw that you are in Silicon Valley, where I grew up. And I'm even more sure it's the same one.

 

We're in Tx. We don't know what clams are. Eeeeeeeeeek.

 

Aubrey, we're having mostly finger foods tomorrow. I'm making tortilla roll ups, green chiles, sliced black olives, and green onions mixed with cream cheese, spread onto tortillas, and then rolled up. When sliced, they look like pinwheels.

 

You know, we do finger foods Christmas Eve...duh...I can use some of those ideas. I guess we tend toward Mexican, because that's what reminded me. :D

 

We're having frozen meatballs tossed in the crockpot, topped with a jar of grape jelly and a jar of chili sauce (mixed together on the stove first to blend completely), and then heated in the crockpot.

 

Grape Jelly? :svengo:

 

Fruit salad.

 

*smacks head* That's a Christmas *necessity* at my house, & although my ils like it when I make it, they don't think of it often. So that's a really good idea! :001_smile:

 

Artichoke dip, that cheesy artichoke dip eaten with french bread cubes.

 

Shrimp cocktail--a bag of cooked frozen, deveined/shelled shrimp, defrosted, and served with cocktail sauce.

 

Ok, they do eat those things here, & I'm half tempted to show up w/ them, because it would be SO out of character for my boring food tastes, I think everybody would laugh all day. :lol:

 

We're having a dessert potluck at church tomorrow night. We're bringing sliced cheese. It's not really a "dessert," but I think it will go over very well, there's only so much sugar you can eat or want to feed your kids...

 

All easy, and easy to transport.

 

Yeah, I *way* don't want to show up w/ all sugar. Mil tends to think things when that happens, lol. (And I'm not anywhere near skinny these days, so I'd rather not highlight the fact!)

[Aubrey]

Agree with others. Relax and enjoy the day. But here's a go-to, if you need one. Buy a spiral ham. Buy some cocktail croissants. Buy several types of mustard - stone ground, honey mustard, and a regular brown mustard. Slice the slices off the bone. Put the ham on a little plate. Put the croissants in a pretty basket lined with a cloth napkin. Put mustard in little ramekins, if you like, with a small knife, or just put the mustards alongside. People can make their own little sandwiches.

 

This is the kind of thing I think I'm trying to think of--they were worried bil would be disappointed w/out a ham, & it might be nice to surprise them w/ the good food & no work.

 

(But I've never cooked a ham!)

[Nakia]

This is the kind of thing I think I'm trying to think of--they were worried bil would be disappointed w/out a ham, & it might be nice to surprise them w/ the good food & no work.

 

(But I've never cooked a ham!)

 

You can buy a ham already cooked that you just heat and serve, or so my best friend tells me. I do not like ham, so I have never made one either.

[Carol in Cal.]

CAROL!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU! THIS is the clam dip recipe that I remember as a child. I've faked it for years (adding sour cream and mayo to it). I'm reading your recipe, thinking, really, this might be it--and then I saw that you are in Silicon Valley, where I grew up. And I'm even more sure it's the same one.

 

 

 

Well, it's an old family fave, so maybe it IS the same one! And seriously, either way, it's just SO GOOD.

 

 

(I have been known to eat it for dinner. Blush)

 

 

So that you know, my version is a modified one. The original has a bigger can of minced clams--the size has been dropping over the years--they used to hold 7 1/2 oz and now I think they are down to only 6. The original called for rubbing a clove of garlic all over the inside of the bowl you mix it in, and I sub the garlic powder because I like it a little stronger. And I think that the original may have called for only a dash of white pepper. So if yours doesn't seem 'just like yesterday' you might want to undo my modifications and try it again. Glad you like this!

[Margo out of lurking]

(But I've never cooked a ham!)

 

Ham at the store is already cooked. (Well, possibly not all, but I've never seen one not cooked.)

 

My easiest Christmas dinner secret--spiral ham. It's already cut and cooked. I cut off some, heat it in the microwave and serve, along with all the dishes I actually spent time and effort on. There's none of that drying-the-ham-out-in-the-oven stuff for me.

[LisaKinVA]

Costco sells some VERY yummy potstickers... gotta love heat and take (the dipping sauce is in there too).

 

I have made "chickaritos" as a finger food... requires a bit more time to prepare, but serves well with a taco dip, plain sour cream, guac or salsa (it's shredded chicken, green chilies, onions, etc. wrapped in egg roll wrappers, spray or brush with a little veg. oil, bake and turn 1/2 way through... very good).

 

Most of our finger foods for NYD come from Costco, though. I make the little franks & bbq sauce, fruit dip, onion dip, etc. -- but for the most part, heat and eat. It's DH day to cook.:001_smile: