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finger food ideas please


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The women in my family are/were church ladies who have done many 200 person finger food wedding receptions, including mine.  I'll make a list of things that they've done at different times.  We are in the southern US, so come things may be regional classics or quirks but still tasty.  One of my favorite wedding memories was my family in the church kitchen the day before my wedding chatting and putting together the food  

Veggies with dip 

Fruit with dip, or chocolate , either separate types or cut together, served in nice bowls or a melon or canteloupe shell

Fruit skewers (mini on toothipicks or 1/2 skewers), or done as 'pineapple boats' for a different presentation

cheese biscuits or cheese straws

cheese tray, or hard meats, cheese, and crackers

small crustless finger sandwiches - chicken salad, pimento cheese, vegetable (made with mayo or cream cheese - a variation on cucumber sandwiches) - sandwiches hold up fine if made with not-soggy filling, cut, and covered with a damp paper towel 

ham biscuits (my grandmother and her sister par-baked angel biscuits for weeks, so day-of they just popped them in the oven to warm up and inserted pre-cut ham circles)

deviled eggs (we didn't do this at the wedding, but there are parties where I"m required to bring them, so I thought I'd add them to the list)

meatballs or cocktail hot dogs in a savory sauce (can be put in a crock pot in the morning and then served warm)

Edited by Clemsondana
Chocolate goes with fruit, not veggies
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Mom sometimes uses little glasses, maybe the size of shot glasses, to distribute individual portions of dip.  Sometimes the dip is just there in individual portions, and sometimes each serving is a glass with a thin layer of dip in the bottom and tall veggies - bell pepper, carrot, and celery sticks, maybe - standing up in the dip.  

Twice we've used variations on this menu to do birthday tea parties for my daughter - once in preschool, once in elementary.  We did PB and J as one of the sandwich options.  

Edited by Clemsondana
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Raspberries stuffed with mini chocolate chips.  Make no more than 12 hours before serving because they start to fall apart.

 Caprese Skewers with a grape tomato, a basil leaf, a cube of mozzarella, and a balsamic drizzle. Possibly with a cube of lettuce slices at the bottom depending on skewer length.

 

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I've made little choux pastry puffs ahead of time, frozen them, and then thawed and stuffed with chicken salad or other savory filling at the last minute.

1 hour ago, Clemsondana said:

ham biscuits (my grandmother and her sister par-baked angel biscuits for weeks, so day-of they just popped them in the oven to warm up and inserted pre-cut ham circles)

❤️❤️❤️😊

Ham biscuits are an old, traditional, reliable, yummy touchstone around here. I have all kinds of warm feelings thinking of occasions when ham biscuits were served, filled with thin slices of Smithfield ham.

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fruit kabobs 
cheese/crackers
Rollups (mix cream cheese/sour cream (1:1), add a little salsa, shredded cheddar, maybe green onions, sliced olives, maybe shredded chicken, roll up, wrap in saran wrap, chill, slice in 1" pieces to serve - contents can vary with whatever you like)
petit fours
Those little sausage things wrapped in crescent bread dough and baked
small sandwiches (chicken salad/whatever) - either on same croissants or 4 triangles cut from one regular side sandwich - or slider buns
tiny cookies in a variety so I can take one of each!
Macaroons (very popular here right now)
Small cups of nuts (unless there might be an allergy sufferer present)
Agree with small cup with dip and carrot & celery stick sticking up in them

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https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/cheese-straws/  This recipe can also be made by rolling out the dough and using a small sized cookie cutter if you don't have a cookie press (I don't). They are yummy and can be made ahead.

If you have a mini-muffin tin, you can make tiny tarts of any baked pie by dividing up the pie crust recipe and pressing the dough into the cups to make the crust, then putting in the pie filling and baking. I've done this in regular muffin tins often, making French coconut tarts, pecan tarts, etc. (One recipe of crust, and one recipe of pie filling makes 12 regular sized tarts; you'd probably want the mini ones though, because a regular one is a full serving.) These can also be made ahead and frozen.

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Cheese biscuits, the kind that look kind of like peanut butter cookies.  They are great made in advance.

Clam dip ditto.  Serve with wheat thins or barbecue potato chips.

Crustless chicken salad sandwiches on white bread—make the salad and butter the bread in advance.

Cheese balls are always popular albeit a bit dated.  Ditto the classic chafing dish meatballs in the grape jelly/barbecue sauce gravy with toothpicks.

Thick yogurt mixed with shallots and mint is a great dip for pita bread, pita chips, or veggie crudités.

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1 hour ago, Jaybee said:

If you have a mini-muffin tin, you can make tiny tarts of any baked pie by dividing up the pie crust recipe and pressing the dough into the cups to make the crust, then putting in the pie filling and baking. I've done this in regular muffin tins often, making French coconut tarts, pecan tarts, etc. (One recipe of crust, and one recipe of pie filling makes 12 regular sized tarts; you'd probably want the mini ones though, because a regular one is a full serving.) These can also be made ahead and frozen.

Mini bacon/egg tarts, mini strawberry pie tarts and mini cinnamon buns have all been popular here.

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11 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

would love the list

 We wont be doing any dip because of Coronavirus - nothing that people could bite than dip 

What I’ve seen done is little mini plastic cups with a spoonful of dip and a trio of vege sticks arranged in it.  It’s really cute.

Also bocconcini balls with a cherry tomato, basil leaf and a cracker were kind of popular for a while.

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