Set Your Party’s Mood Right With Appetizers
These little bits of meat and bread play a big role in entertaining guests. Many get intimidated by appetizers and resort to serving the microwavable kind. After all merely saying hors d'oeuvre is hard enough. This is unfortunate because the right kind of appetizer can make a party fun and memorable for guests and hosts alike.
If your party has a theme, you have to stick with it. Whether Italian, Asian, or Southwestern, different themes call for different kinds of appetizers. Then start scouring the Internet or your own cookbook collection in search for recipes reflecting these cuisines.
However, there are appetizers that do not belong to a certain theme and would go well with any. Crab Rangoon - fried crab meat filling wrapped in wonton - is one appetizer that would go well with Asian, as well as other cuisines. Making the filling for this appetizer is the easiest part, just combine crab meat with cream cheese and add minced garlic and onion. Splash on some soy sauce and you're done.
Crab Rangoon- A Classic Appetizer
The real trick to Crab Rangoon, however, is learning how to wrap up the wonton, a Chinese style dough wrapper that resembles the phyllo dough used to make Greek dishes such as baklava and spinach pie. Wonton usually comes in diamond shapes that are folded in half to create triangles, like a mini turnover. To create one Crab Rangoon, you need to put a heaping tablespoon of the creamed crab into the middle and spread it out. Then you have to moisten the edges of the wonton with water using a fingertip, fold it together and seal the edges, remoistening if necessary. These little triangles should be kept in a damp paper towel until it's time to deep-fry them. The result is mouth-watering deliciousness!
Something Simpler...
This is an Italian staple. Bruschetta is French bread slices topped with salsa. To make the topping, mix chopped tomatoes and basil with garlic and flavor with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Let this mixture stand for 30 minutes. Lightly toast the bread on both sides and then top generously with the mixture you prepared earlier. Serve immediately to retain warmth and freshness but before you do, grate some parmesan cheese on top to give it that extra kick.
You can also serve exotic cheeses like Camembert and varieties of Brie along with crackers. For a healthier offering, serve crudits - sliced vegetables with dip, usually salad dressings or vinaigrette. But sometimes, even these get tired and that is the time to experiment.
Sweet and sour meatballs, are made by combining ground beef with milk, salt, egg, breadcrumbs, and onions. Add Worcestershire sauce to make your guests wonder at the unique taste. Roll bite-sized balls and brown them in a skillet. After draining them of fat and letting them sit to cool a bit, prepare a sauce of brown sugar, cornstarch, pineapple, vinegar and soy sauce on the same skillet you used to fry the meatballs - this is the secret to intense flavor. When the sauce has thickened, add back the cooked meatballs. Put in chopped green peppers and you're done. The contrast of sweet and sour will thrill even the most discerning of palates.
Looking for ways to spice up your next party? Complete recipes for these and lots other adventurous appetizers can be found in cookbooks as well as over the internet. Go ahead; they are worth indulging in!
Michelle is a season author on home cooking. She just loves sharing her ideas and tips on making crock pot recipes or crock pot beef recipes.
Tags: appetizers, food Appetizers, Food Recipes, party Appetizers
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