Easy Holiday Appetizers

So you going to throw a holiday party and you need a few easy appetizers. No problem, here’s a few good ones to get you started.

EASY RECIPE

                                        1. Monica’s fabulous fruit platter.

Ingredients:

1 pineapple

fresh strawberries

fresh blackberries

fresh raspberries

Preparation:

Step 1: At the base of the  pineapple crown cut straight across the crown (plume of leaves) taking about a half inch of pineapple so the leaves stay together.  Reserve the crown for use as the center of fruit tray

Step 2: Cut pineapple in half lengthwise.

Step 3: Half each half lengthwise to create four equal pineapple sections.

Step 4: Slice down the center on an angle to remove the core (this results in a long triangular piece for each quarter being removed)

Step 5: Use a medium sized knife to knife to fillet cut around the shell and free the fruit in one piece.

Step 6: Put the piece back in the shell and slice lengthwise down each quarter (taking care not to slice the shell) and then slice crosswise to create bite sized pieces of fruit sitting freely on top of the shell.

Step 7: Place the crown on a large platter, and then position the pineapple quarters like spokes.

Step 8:  Fill the voids between quarters with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

And that’s all there is to stealing the show with your easy but beautiful fruit dish platter.

                                 2. Brie and bacon mini sandwich appetizer.

Oh yeh, there’s also fire roasted red peppers and hard boiled egg.  What’s not to like!

Ingredients:

2 French baguettes – sliced.

10 slices thick cut butcher style bacon (as the cook you can eat any extras).

5 hard boiled eggs.

2 – 8 oz jars of fire roasted red peppers.

8 oz brie cheese (preferably slicing style which is formed like a stick of butter)

Olive Oil and balsamic vinegar.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Hard boil the eggs.

Fry the bacon, and when fully cooked, but still soft, remove them and slice them into 1 inch pieces (one for each slice of bread).

Slice the fire roasted red pepper into 1 inch pieces (one for each slice of bread).

Shell the eggs and slice them into nice slender rounds.

Slice the baguettes into thin slices (no more than 1/2 inch thick)

Mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a ratio of two oil to one vinegar.  Then brush the mixture onto the sliced bread.

Slice the brie into 1/4 inch or so thick slices.

Place one slice of brie on each bread, and then add the bacon, red pepper, and top with egg slice.  Add a little salt and pepper.

                                                   3. Guacamole stuffed eggs.

Ingredients:

12 eggs

store bought guacamole

Sriracha chili sauce

Preparation:

Fill a large pot with  enough water to cover eggs.

Bring water to boil on medium high heat and then reduce heat to strong simmer.

After 8 minutes poor hot water from pot and add cool faucet water to eggs in pot until water stays cool.

Remove shells from eggs.

Slice eggs in half, remove and discard yolk.

Spoon prepared guacamole into the cavity of each egg half (foodista has a great guacamole recipe but I’m all about easy).

Put a small dot of Sriracha sauce on each egg, cover and refrigerate.

                                          4.  The mini turkey dinner appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread

Fresh or packaged turkey slices

Dressing (stove top works just fine if you don’t have left overs)

Fresh cranberries

Mayonnaise

Worcestershire

Preparation:

If you do not have left over dressing, prepare stove top dressing per box.

Slice French bread making about 19 slices or so.

Spread small amount of Mayonnaise on each bread slice.

Add turkey slice to each bread slice.

Drizzle a little Worcestershire sauce on meat.

Add a small spoon of dressing.

Top with one cranberry each, affixed with tooth pick.

Cover with wrap and refrigerate.

AND STUFF

Easy Recipes and Stuff  has posted 205 recipes over the last four years, and attended 3 IFBC blogger conventions to enhance our blogging skills..  It has been, and is, great fun to give these easy recipes away for free.  But guys, my day job is writing, and I would really appreciate if you would buy a copy or two of my action novels.

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The nonstop action in VEYRON  takes Jack, Amber, Chuck, and new character Juval from the deserts of Arizona to those near the Red Sea, and then the final showdown in Montana.  If you like to read action novels while relaxing at the lake or beach this book is for you.

Good Eating and Table Talk,

Roger