Do You Have A Favorite FINGER FOOD recipe?

[ski_gpsy]

I find FINGER FOODS a challenge. Not being able to serve an appetizer on a plate, or anything more than a cocktail napkin, really limits the hors d'oeuvres choices. And the usual mini quiches and bacon wrapped shrimp have been done to death. Is there anything new in the world of finger foods? Has anyone had a mini morsel that is better than the old standards?

[LacyG]

If you do these on the long narrow "Sardine" French bread they're a 1 or 2 bite finger food.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

-1 pound extra sharp Cracker Barrel cheese (room temp)

-1 sm can CHOPPED ripe olives

-1 lg chopped onion, small dice

-1 sm can tomato sauce

-1 cup vegetable oil (I use Canola)

-Salt & Pepper (I don't salt because the cheese is already salty enough for me)

-1/2 tsp dried oregano

-1/2 tsp garlic powder

-Baguette french bread, sliced (try to find "Sardine" size for appetizer)

Preheat oven to 325.
Soften cheese (microwave on defrost or low)
Put cheese in blender.
Blend in oil & tom sauce.
Add remaining ingredients & blend.
Spread onto French bread slices and place on a baking sheet.
Bake @ 325 for approximately 5 minutes. Watch for bubbly, & bottom toasted but not hard.

[el Mitch]

Stuffed peppadew peppers! http://www.thekitchn.com/afternoon-sn.... Also, gougeres or bite-sized savory biscuits with herbs, cheese, etc.

[alliegator]

I love making crab filled wonton cups!
Spray down a mini-muffin pan and fit won ton wrappers into the cups. Mix crabmeat, finely shredded gouda, slices green onions, just enough mayo to hold it all together, old bay, cracked black pepper, lemon juice and a few drops of hot sauce to taste. Prebake shells at 400 for a few minutes, then fill with mix and bake again until heated through and starting to brown on top.
A crappy pic taken on a crappy camera from the last time I made them (just ignore the bread--I was seving this all with soup):

[ski_gpsy]

A friend just sent me this link to an article titled "25 Best Party Foods Your Guests Will Love". While not all the recipes are "finger foods", most are, and look delectable!

Like the link to Country Living's piece on appetizers that Danionavenue posted, this article has a smorgasbord (pun intended!) of outside-the-box recipes like the Scallop BLT pictured below, along with some clever serving ideas for one bite wonders like Mini Chipwich On Lolipop Stick.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/25-best-p...

[Kitchen Vixxen]

At my dinner parties, lumpia (Filipino egg rolls) are a crowd favorite.

Not sure if this is considered new but I was at a bbq once and had teriyaki glazed bacon wrapped around water chestnuts. They were sweet, salty, crunchy, and so addictive.

[danionavenue]

here a bunch of good looking ones
http://www.countryliving.com/cooking/...

[ski_gpsy]

WOW! Who knew?!?!?!!

I am overwhelmed by all the delicious responses to my original question "Do you have a favorite FINGER FOOD?". Who knew there were so many new and innovative taste treats in the world of FINGER FOODS! Every time someone posts a yummy suggestion I think "I must make this immediately!" (except for the Halloween Finger Food ;)

I LOVE this website and all the amazing creative cooks here. This site is going to make me a cooking Rock Star!

Thank you so much for your input and help. And for your culinary talents. Keep 'em coming!

I'm off to the market!

[mattstolz]

make sure to report back with what you ended up making and how it turned out!

[hannaone]

Ssam Wraps
Just about anything wrapped in leaves like lettuce, perilla, napa cabbage, etc
You can also use very thin sliced asian pears, kimchi, or just about anything that can be wrapped around something else.
http://chingu.prkorea.com/upload/new_board/R11265884583551.jpg
http://www.shinshine.com/.a/6a0120a58af6c6970c0133f2cefbcc970b-350wi
http://www.google.com/search?q=lettuc...

[mcel215]

On Paula Deen's Halloween show yesterday, (she was dressed up as Lucy and Bobby was Little Ricky), she did a dish with small meatball with chopped cranberries and a spiicy dip on the side. They looked delish, even if she and Bobby looked a bit weird.... ;)

[pdxgastro]

Anything soupy or saucy can be served on Asian soup spoons. And if you have to buy them, melamine ones sell for a lot less than porcelain ones.

[lilgi]

I love so many mentioned above including shrimp. My favorites are phyllo triangles either version, feta or spinach mixture. I'd like to try some with a mushroom mixture some time soon. Another favorite, raw vegetable crudite, by far my least favorite is delicious bruschetta which can be a bit messy; in more casual scenarios I don't mind too much.

[eclecticsynergy]

Halloween finger food... Mwahahaha!

http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/08/11/...

[lilgi]

love it!

[perk]

I've mentioned this before....and they're ridiculously simple. But put smoked salmon on salt & pepper kettle chips. Top with some creme fraiche with lemon zest...maybe some chives. A little freshly ground pepper.
And serve. So simple. So good.

[jencounter]

YES. This is also very good on Carr's Black Pepper crackers - in fact, I prefer the crackers for presentation since the chips can be oddly shaped and often, a bag of chips has a lot of waste when used for this kind of application because of chip breakage.

[goodhealthgourmet]

IMO you can't beat crostini for versatility because there are endless ways to vary the toppings...but for something a little more interesting, instead of bread/croutons you can use polenta bites - cooked firm & cut into whatever shape you like.

other options:
- homemade vegetable chips (beet, potato, carrot, zucchini, etc. served with dipping sauces. get creative with the chip seasonings too - cinnamon sweet potato, cumin carrots, parm & pepper potato...you get the idea.
- sugarcane shrimp
- mini phyllo or cheese ("frico") cups filled with any number of vegetable, salad or meat preparations
- a variety of sliders
- mini fish tacos
- baked mac & cheese bites
- savory tartlets
- tuna or salmon tartare in mini cones
- soup shots

and of course there's always sushi!

[mattstolz]

my next suggestions were gonna be slider trays and soup shots, along with prosciutto cups baked with deliciousness inside, but ya beat me to them!

love the sugarcane shrimp idea too!

[goodhealthgourmet]

great call on the prosciutto cups. they're delicious filled with goat cheese & figs; or ricotta & spinach; or quail eggs...

[mattstolz]

i'm realizing i'm really a fan of finger foods that are something stuffed into something else. some stuffable things you might not have thought of:

tomatoes
onions
mushrooms
apples
oranges
peppers (the mini bells would be fun)
strawberries
cucumbers
grape leaves
baby squashes
almost all meats
hollowed out crusty breads
potatoes
olives

feel free to add!

[onrushpam]

These are probably all old standards, but always snarfed up...

Medjool dates, pitted and stuffed with a piece of good parm, asiago, etc., wrapped in a piece of bacon then baked in a hot oven until the bacon is crispy. They're good warm or at room temp.

If you live where you can get 'em, blue crab "cocktail claws" or "crab fingers". Toss in fish breader and deep fry. Serve with remoulade sauce.

Very retro, but always a hit... lil' smokies in the currant jelly/mustard sauce.

Beef tenderloin, sliced thin, served with little "dollar" rolls and horseradish sauce.

Ham on mini biscuits with a mustard/mayo mix spread, or honey mustard.

Shrimp. Lots and lots of shrimp!

Steamed or charbroiled oysters.

Pork tenderloin, grilled or roasted with a good rub, sliced thin, with biscuits or rolls and a plum sauce or bbq sauce.

[Phoebe]

I recently found a really good recipe on foodisluv.blogspot.com for Mini Shrimp Cakes. You make them in mini muffin tins. I've made them many times for parties and they always seem to disappear. I've tweaked the recipe a little. I add a few more shrimp to the mixture, and a little less cheese. Extremely simple to make and very tasty!!!

[mattstolz]

soft pretzel bites, fried (or baked) stuffed wonton wrappers, stuffed mushrooms (anything from veg to meat to cheese to bread), jalapeno poppers, garlic bread (or rolls, or knots, or sticks), or anything stuffed into some kind of bread or pastry packet (ive been seeing alot of "pizza pull apart bread" lately... kinda a hybrid between pizza and monkey bread that looks awesome!)

ive also had a lot of luck with chicken lettuce wraps. pretty much i just saute finely chopped chicken breast with soy, chili flakes, some brown sugar, maybe a little hoisin, pepper, ginger, garlic, onion, and chopped water chesnuts, then set on a platter alongside a ton of lettuce cups. almost always the first thing to disappear at a party!

[Euonymous]

They're hardly a new item, but everyone loves deviled eggs. I bring them to group picnics often and there are never any to bring back.

[LaureltQ]

Pesto coated tortellini skewered with a rolled basil leaf, a cherry tomato, and either a bocconcini or a wedge of marinated artichoke heart. They can be made a day ahead of time and are tasty! Small crab cakes, and for our wedding, the caterer made a special reuben tea sandwich for my husband, those were the first of the tea sandwiches to go.

[madonnadelpiatto]

any vegetable, blanched and puree, then briefly saute in olive oil and garlic makes a great bruschetta topping and everybody loves bruschetta. Same for beans like cannellini, borlotti or garbanzo. Cook (or use good quality canned ones) puree, infuse in garlic and olive oil, add a sprinkle of rosemary or sage and spread on toasted crunchy bread

[berkleybabe]

This is pretty retro, but I really like...mix shredded cheddar and mayo with bacon crumbles on white toast -- put under the broiler, it puffs up, then cut into squares. Totally simple and easy to eat, always a hit. You can also add a little horseradish to the cheese mix. And I gotta say, it's classic and retro but I love those crust-off finger sandwiches or open faced finger sandwiches. You can go crazy and add anything and they're a breeze to pass and eat and you don't need finger bowls afterward.

[escondido123]

Asparaugs par-cooked then wrapped in proscuitto, dipped in flour/egg batter and fried in olive oil until crispy. Serve with honey mustard. They can't be fried ahead and they are a lot of work but one friend of mine built a reputation as a great cook on those alone.