Party Planning Essentials: Finger Foods & Hors D’oeuvres
Nov 29 '05
The Bottom Line Great food in under an hour??? You betcha!
Party planning can be an extremely stressful thing for some people but more often than not it’s the smallest things that you put off until the last minute that are the most taxing of efforts. Instead of going with things that require a lot of prep time, go with things that take less than ten minutes to make and less than an hour to bake. I used to go to great efforts to make shrimp puffs and bisque soups but these were time sucking recipes that weren’t exactly ‘party people’ friendly. These days I go with three of my tried and true favorites - stuffed mushrooms, chicken strips and twice baked potatoes. These are hearty enough to fill people up for a while and more importantly, if you are serving alcohol, keep them from getting a little too into the party mood.
These are recipes that I have made more than a few times and have always had good luck with them. Regardless of your level of cooking skills, these are something that you can whip up in less than an hour and make all those soccer moms green with envy. These are also great things to take to a party if you have to bring a covered dish; to make sure that they are as delicious as possible, ask if there will be access to an oven so you can bake the items on the spot instead of having to try to keep them warm until you arrive.
Stuffed Mushrooms
I am always amazed when people freak out about these; they are so easy and simple to make and are a necessity if you are planning a party and you want a lot of finger foods to keep people munching away.
Ingredients:
large mushrooms
Parmesan or Romano cheese
Mozzarella cheese
seasoned bread crumbs
eggs
large mixing bowl
Start by cleaning the mushrooms and removing the stems; you will want to pluck the complete stem out of it, not just cut it with a knife. To do this just press forward then backward on the stem, if it doesn’t come out completely use a spoon to remove it. Take the stems and dice them, you want them fine but not too fine - if you dice them too finely they’ll break down too much during the baking process. Once the stems are diced add a half cup of seasoned bread crumbs, four to five tablespoons of either of the cheese, about three to four ounces of Mozzarella cheese [grated], one to two eggs depending on the he number of mushrooms. Mix this well until it is completely combined. The consistency you want is flaky, if it doesn’t seem like it is wet enough add another egg. You want this to be loose, not like a cake batter.
Once you have the mix done take your cored mushrooms and place them bottom side up on to a cookie sheet, you can line this with aluminum foil for easier clean up. Working with a tablespoon take a generous dollop of the mix and work it into a ball, press it into the mushroom and you are done. If you are going to have these overstuffed you may want to cut up some extra mushrooms so you don’t run out of filling. Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 20 - 30 minutes - the total baking time depends on the size and number you are baking. You will know that they are done when the tops are nice and brown and the mozzarella cheese has made them hard to the touch. One trick I do is to leave a few of the mushroom caps unfilled; during the baking process they will start to ‘sweat’, when the cap is full of the mushrooms natural juices you know that the mushrooms are done - now all you have to do is get the filling to the right / desired level of crunchiness.
You can bake these before a party then pop them back in the oven to serve them but they do taste best when made fresh and served when they are still warm. You can also do this with a shrimp stuffing as well as with bacon. If you are making huge ones you will want to make sure that you have knives that people can cut them with. Another tip is to allow them to cook off for about five minutes before you serve them, this will keep the filling from popping out of the center as you are removing them. You can play around with the ingredients to get them ‘just right’ for your taste, since there is no way to size mushrooms it’s almost impossible to say exactly how much of each of the ingredients you will need - give it a taste and see if it needs something and don’t be afraid to experiment!
Twice Baked Potatoes
This is something that you can do for a dinner party, finger foods or just when you are sick of regular mashed potatoes. There’s no limit to what you can add to these or how you can serve them but please remember that if you are adding meat to them to make sure that it is completely cooked before serving.
Ingredients
4 - 5 large baking potatoes
4 - 5 ounces of cheddar cheese
milk or cream
butter
bacon, ham or chicken [optional]
mini ramekin bowls or
non stick mini muffin pans
parchment paper or mini cupcake liners.
Wash, peel and dice the potatoes and boil until they are cooked. The smaller you dice them, the quicker they cook. Drain the potatoes completely and stir in the cheddar cheese [you can use any type of cheese you like but cheddar gives it a nice color]. Mash until they are starting to smooth and add a tablespoon of butter; if they seem really stuff, add a little more butter. Start adding in the cheddar cheese and mix until it is melted and smooth. You want these to be tighter than mashed potatoes but if they seem too hard add a little bit of milk or cream. Once the mix is lump free it’s time to add it to the ramekins or mini muffin pan. If you are going to use a muffin pan with cupcake liners be sure to trim them half way down so that they will not catch on fire when you put them in the broiler. You can also use parchment paper for the bottoms of the pan but if it is non stick, chances are you won’t need either of these.
You will want to leave about a quarter of an inch from the top so you can have a space for the toppings. Add bacon, ham, steak, chicken or whatever you like to the top then take a clean fork and press these into the potato mix a little so they bake into it, not just sit on the top. Pop these into the oven at 350 degrees for about ten minutes then into the broiler until the tops are starting to brown. These are best served right from the oven, if you try to reheat them they won’t have a slightly crunchy top to them. If you are taking these to a party consider serving them inside the potato skins; pop the raw potatoes into the microwave for about five minutes [be sire to poke holes in them first to allow steam to escape] then cut them in half and core them out. When you have the potato mix completed, spoon them back into the skins and bake.
Chicken Strips
These are great if you want a little variety for dinner; if you are worried about the amount of oil of grease your family is consuming, pop the fried strips into the oven for about five or six minutes and serve.
Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
seasoned bread crumbs
eggs
all purpose flour
bread crumbs
parmesan or Romano cheese
You will need three bowls for this; larger cereal bowls work great but use what ever you have. Add the flour to one bowl, beaten eggs to the second and the cheese and bread crumb mix to the third.
Cut the chicken breasts in half so that they are thin, do not pound them with a tenderizer. Cut the pieces into long thin strips then dredge in flour; you can season the flour with season all or paprika for an extra kick. Take the strips and put them into the egg mix to coat them completely then into the bread crumb and cheese mix. If you want them super crunchy put them back into the egg mix then back into the bread crumbs. Fry them until they are cooked, if you cut them too thick and they aren’t completely cooked, put them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven for a few minutes. Serve these with a nice thick sauce, melted cheese or as they are. You can follow this procedure to make fried cheese or mushrooms.
So, there’s three easy to make finger food ideas; you can play around with the seasonings until you find a combination that you really like but keep in mind - not everyone is going to go for spicy things. If you are planning on having a ton of people, consider making things a little on the tame side but serving hot dipping sauces or having pepper flakes on the table that they can add to things. These are pretty inexpensive to make and are a lot tastier than the frozen finger foods that you buy at the store. If you are trying these for the first time, make a few test batches a couple days a head of time to get the feel of things, you can pass them off to your family to get some honest feedback!
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
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