The Secret to Entertaining Success - Make Ahead Appetizers for your Party

Friends are always asking what the secret is to my relaxed attitude towards the food preparation for my cocktail parties, and my answer is repeatedly the same - ALWAYS look for make ahead appetizers for your party! Wherever possible, do your prep work the day before your soiree and keep it simple. Quick easy appetizers can be just as delicious as the appetizers you slave over for hours and it takes the same amount of time to eat them whether you've spent hours or minutes on the preparation.

But even make ahead appetizers for your party will require some work on your end. Do a bit of research to find recipes for easy party appetizers, and keep to the theme of your party whether it be Summer fun or Christmas cheer. Where possible, assemble your ingredients a day ahead and do the final assembly just before your guests arrive. For example, vegetables for a veggie tray can be cut up the day prior to your party and left soaking in water in the fridge until you are ready to plate. This frees up your time on party day to socialize together with your friends in the backyard instead of alone with your appetizers in the kitchen. After all, a party is supposed to be fun for everyone (that includes you!!).

For some suggestons to get you started, check out the recipes for great time-saving make ahead appetizers for your party on our website at http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/.
For more great recipes, Chef's tips and tools visit http://www.amateur-chef.com/

Thanksgiving Appetizers - Gruyere-Walnut Crisps

With Thanksgiving just around the corner as the official start to the holiday entertaining season, now is the time to dust off those cookbooks and get creative with some new ideas for Thanksgiving appetizers.

But with all the time and effort that goes into serving a big Thanksgiving dinner, who has time for appetizers? That is where make ahead appetizers can save the day, not to mention a whole lot of time!!

These delicious but easy to make appetizers using only 5 ingredients certainly do the trick. The dough for the Gruyere-Walnut Crisps can be made up to 2 days ahead and baked early on party day.

Gruyere-Walnut Crisps

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces finely grated Gruyere cheese
1 tsp salt
2 cups plus 2 tblsp all purpose flour
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Using electric mixer, beat butter in medium bowl until smooth. Beat in cheese and salt. Add flour and walnuts; beat just until dough comes together, adding water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Divide in half. Roll each half into 14-inch log. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 4 hours. At this point, dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut logs crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Arrange on prepared sheets, spacing 1/2 inch apart.

Bake crisps until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely.

Variation: For attractive presentation, before slicing the dough, brush the logs with lightly beaten egg white then roll in poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or caraway seeds. Slice; bake as directed.

Recipe courtesy Bon Appetit magazine.

For more great appetizer ideas visit www.appetizersunlimited.com.
For more great recipes, Chef's tips and tools visit www.amateur-chef.net

Stuffed Mushroom Appetizers

One of the easiest finger appetizers in our repertoire is this sinfully easy appetizer recipe for Stuffed Mushroom Caps.

When choosing your mushrooms look for ones that are uniform in size and free of blemishes. We use either white or crimini mushrooms in our mushroom appetizer recipe, but brown or portobello mushrooms work equally as well.


Mom's Stuffed Mushrooms

15-20 large white or crimini mushrooms
1 large onion,chopped
butter
flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4-1/2 cup cream
Parmesan cheese

Remove stems from mushrooms and scoop out the insides. Chop stems and combine with onion. Saute in butter and bind with flour. Add enough cream and garlic powder to make a thick paste. Stuff caps with mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Put under broiler for a minute or two, or bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

For more great appetizer ideas visit http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/

Cold Appetizers - Cold Spring Rolls

When planning the party appetizers for a large group it is always best to make sure you have a variety of both hot and cold appetizers. Whereas the final preparations for hot appetizers must be completed just before serving, cold appetizers are great make ahead appetizers, thereby freeing up your time on party day.

While searching through our library of recipes for versatile cold appetizer recipes, we came across this wonderful old favorite - regardless of what the theme is for your upcoming party, these Cold Spring Rolls are perfect party food appetizers for any number of people and are surprisingly easy to make!

Cold Spring Rolls
Increase porportions according to the number of guests.

8 small rice wraps (can be found in Asian food stores or most grocery stores)
2 oz cellophane noodles
8 Boston lettuce leaves
1 large carrot, shredded
1 red pepper, julienne
6 0z bean sprouts
8 fresh mint leaves
8 fresh basil leaves

1. Put cellophane noodles in a medium sized bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 10 minutes and drain. Use scissors to cut the noodles into shorter lengths.
2. Fill another bowl with warm water and place a clean tea towel on your work surface. For each roll, dip a rice paper wrap in the warm water for 10-20 seconds or until softened. Place your wrap on the tea towel and brush off any excess water.
3. For each roll, arrange cellophane noodles, lettuce, carrot, red pepper, bean sprouts, mint and basil 1-inch from the bottom of the rice wrap. Fold the bottom inch overthe ingredients. Fold in left and right sides of the wrap, then roll to create a cylinder. Repeat with the remaining wraps.
4. Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup fish sauce
2 tsp superfine sugar
1 tblsp rice vinegar
2 red Thai chillies, seeded and chopped
2 green Thai chillies, seeded and chopped

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together. Stir together until the sugar has dissolved.
Serve with Cold Spring Rolls.

For more great appetizer ideas, visit http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/