finger food for a crowd of 15
October 25, 2016 8:02 AM Subscribe
I've been bringing in something for my grad students to snack on during our weekly evening seminar because it straddles the dinner hour. I'm tired of making hummus and tea sandwiches. Other ideas?
I need to be able to do all the prep the day before, and I need to be able to grab it and run right before class. I have access to a refrigerator to keep things cool, but I don't have a way (or time) to heat things up. I would prefer vegetarian recipes. I have paper plates, but I'm trying to limit using plastic silverware. I'd like all of this to be relatively low cost and low effort. Fresh fruit, veggie plates, hummus (with bread or crackers), and little sandwiches have been on constant offer. I also brought in a pasta salad that was a hit once (but required the silverware). Hit me with your easiest, tastiest, crowd-pleasing finger foods.
I need to be able to do all the prep the day before, and I need to be able to grab it and run right before class. I have access to a refrigerator to keep things cool, but I don't have a way (or time) to heat things up. I would prefer vegetarian recipes. I have paper plates, but I'm trying to limit using plastic silverware. I'd like all of this to be relatively low cost and low effort. Fresh fruit, veggie plates, hummus (with bread or crackers), and little sandwiches have been on constant offer. I also brought in a pasta salad that was a hit once (but required the silverware). Hit me with your easiest, tastiest, crowd-pleasing finger foods.
Deviled eggs are a favorite around my office.
posted by General Malaise at 8:13 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by General Malaise at 8:13 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
A friend of mine always brings caprese salads on skewers. It's a couple of cherry tomatoes, some basil leaves, and some bits of mozzarella cheese on a skewer with a bit of balsamic drizzled over the top. Delicious, easy to make, and on sticks! Who doesn't love food on sticks?
posted by xingcat at 8:19 AM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by xingcat at 8:19 AM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]
Mini frittatas/quiches? I like them room temp rather than cold or hot.
posted by Night_owl at 8:20 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Night_owl at 8:20 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
Lightly pickled button mushrooms
Falafel, maybe topped with something like shredded red peppers
Chunks of fire roasted eggplant on a cracker
Bits of cauliflower soaked in turmeric and vinegar
Slices of carrot boiled briefly in orange juice, served cold topped with sesame seeds
Kale chips (just dry it in a low oven w salt an olive oil, then store them sealed with a paper towel)
posted by hawthorne at 8:35 AM on October 25, 2016
Falafel, maybe topped with something like shredded red peppers
Chunks of fire roasted eggplant on a cracker
Bits of cauliflower soaked in turmeric and vinegar
Slices of carrot boiled briefly in orange juice, served cold topped with sesame seeds
Kale chips (just dry it in a low oven w salt an olive oil, then store them sealed with a paper towel)
posted by hawthorne at 8:35 AM on October 25, 2016
There are lots of hummus alternatives - bean dips, caponata, tapenade, pesto, ricotta/cashew ricotta dips, baba ganoush, muhamara, ajvar - if it's the hummus that you're sick of rather than dip as a concept.
Quinoa or bean salads are easy but do require forks - could you just ask your students to byo silverware if you want to limit plastic waste (though you'd need to have a few forks on hand for people who forget).
Lettuce cups are also a good concept - you can get a head or two of butter lettuce and can provide hoisin tofu, any sort of grain/couscous salad, or whatever else sounds good to you in a big bowl with a spoon for serving.
Summer rolls or sushi rolls also are great finger foods, but both might suffer for being in the fridge for 24 hours. I might test out a small batch on yourself before committing to a classroom-sized rolling effort.
posted by snaw at 8:40 AM on October 25, 2016
Quinoa or bean salads are easy but do require forks - could you just ask your students to byo silverware if you want to limit plastic waste (though you'd need to have a few forks on hand for people who forget).
Lettuce cups are also a good concept - you can get a head or two of butter lettuce and can provide hoisin tofu, any sort of grain/couscous salad, or whatever else sounds good to you in a big bowl with a spoon for serving.
Summer rolls or sushi rolls also are great finger foods, but both might suffer for being in the fridge for 24 hours. I might test out a small batch on yourself before committing to a classroom-sized rolling effort.
posted by snaw at 8:40 AM on October 25, 2016
Cheese ball (that's a fancy kind, obviously you could go with American Midwestern Cheese Ball if you like), though for your application I recommend rolling it into a log/logs or mini-balls/half-domes so they come to room temp faster and can be distributed along the table for easy reach. Serve with a selection of crackers, sliced baguette or torn pita or melba toasts, apple or pear slices, mini sweet peppers, cucumber slices etc.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:58 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 8:58 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Guacamole!
posted by saladin at 8:59 AM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by saladin at 8:59 AM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]
Savory muffins (like a cheese/herb muffin), corn bread, room temp/cold pizza, chips and salsa. These are all things I pack in my son's lunch that might translate well to grad students.
posted by rozee at 9:23 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by rozee at 9:23 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Vegan sushi. You need nori sheets, cooked rice (tossed with rice vinegar & sugar), avocado, carrot, cucumber (slice the veggies into thin strips. Make the rolls and slice. They need to be refrigerated until served, but not heated. Serve with bottled soy sauce, wasabi, etc.
You do not need special equipment for this. Here is a good guideline. It is so easy and people think it is fancy.
posted by ainsley at 9:37 AM on October 25, 2016
You do not need special equipment for this. Here is a good guideline. It is so easy and people think it is fancy.
posted by ainsley at 9:37 AM on October 25, 2016
While you don't *have* to have a sushi mat, I just got this silicone baby and it has massively upped my sushi maki, tamagoyaki, and sandwich wrap game.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:51 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 9:51 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Roll-ups are always a hit. They're some combination of tortilla/wrap, creamy spread, and veggies/meat. There are tons and tons of recipes online for different flavors, etc. I can't find the recipe but I liked the sun-dried tomato and basil one I made for a party once.
posted by radioamy at 10:33 AM on October 25, 2016
posted by radioamy at 10:33 AM on October 25, 2016
If I was in class I'd be happy with having permission to bring my own snacks as food needs vary a lot.
posted by typecloud at 10:44 AM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by typecloud at 10:44 AM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]
Bless you.
Trail mix / mixed nuts / sunflower seeds
Crackers and cheese/humus/tapenade/pesto/egg salad/fruit compote/whatever
Bagels and savory cream cheese / cheese / capers
Pickles
tamago-ish egg slices to use in sandwiches / on crackers
posted by momus_window at 12:07 PM on October 25, 2016
Trail mix / mixed nuts / sunflower seeds
Crackers and cheese/humus/tapenade/pesto/egg salad/fruit compote/whatever
Bagels and savory cream cheese / cheese / capers
Pickles
tamago-ish egg slices to use in sandwiches / on crackers
posted by momus_window at 12:07 PM on October 25, 2016
Why are you making homemade finger food for grad students? I am a grad student, and in similar seminars I have always either had a rotation where a different person brings food every week or else PIs purchase store-bought snacks for people. If I had a female PI who was doing that, especially if she was young or early career, I would worry that people would take her less seriously.
posted by sciatrix at 2:02 PM on October 25, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 2:02 PM on October 25, 2016 [6 favorites]
Response by poster: I appreciate the heads up about various food needs and a female academic who brings in homemade food, but I just want to say that I've thought about these things, too, and I'm comfortable with what I'm doing right now and the ways I'm doing it. I have many reasons -- ranging from the pragmatic to the political -- for this arrangement.
Which is to say: these recipe-ideas have been amazing! Thank you so much! I hope you'll keep those coming! But maybe comments about whether or not this is a thing I should do in the first place can wait for another time when that's the question actually, as it were, on the table.
posted by pinkacademic at 4:12 PM on October 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
Which is to say: these recipe-ideas have been amazing! Thank you so much! I hope you'll keep those coming! But maybe comments about whether or not this is a thing I should do in the first place can wait for another time when that's the question actually, as it were, on the table.
posted by pinkacademic at 4:12 PM on October 25, 2016 [5 favorites]
This artichoke dip is a reliable crowd pleaser for me. It is amazing when served hot, but still pretty darn fantastic served cold.
A full-sized quiche can still be finger food when eaten like a pizza. Just keep the filling firm and/or shallow. I like the the Moosewood quiche formula. If you buy pre-made pie crust, this takes almost no prep at all.
Quiche tips:
- To keep the filling firm: pre-cook the veggie sand squeeze as much moisture as you can.
- To keep the crust crispy : pre-bake it and while it's still warm, put a layer of shredded cheese over the bottom of the crust. The cheese will melt and form a moisture barrier. Proceed with filling and baking.
posted by metaseeker at 4:56 PM on October 25, 2016
A full-sized quiche can still be finger food when eaten like a pizza. Just keep the filling firm and/or shallow. I like the the Moosewood quiche formula. If you buy pre-made pie crust, this takes almost no prep at all.
Quiche tips:
- To keep the filling firm: pre-cook the veggie sand squeeze as much moisture as you can.
- To keep the crust crispy : pre-bake it and while it's still warm, put a layer of shredded cheese over the bottom of the crust. The cheese will melt and form a moisture barrier. Proceed with filling and baking.
posted by metaseeker at 4:56 PM on October 25, 2016
Nuts such as Ina Garten's Rosemary Roasted Cashews
Dates stuffed with blue or another kind of cheese, lightly baked, served at room temp
I second devilled eggs - put the filling in a plastic ziploc and do a quick unfancy pipe into the whites between the refrigerator and class to make them easy to transport.
A savory biscuit (like these slice and bake)
posted by RoadScholar at 5:22 PM on October 25, 2016
Dates stuffed with blue or another kind of cheese, lightly baked, served at room temp
I second devilled eggs - put the filling in a plastic ziploc and do a quick unfancy pipe into the whites between the refrigerator and class to make them easy to transport.
A savory biscuit (like these slice and bake)
posted by RoadScholar at 5:22 PM on October 25, 2016
Samosas?
Sometimes I use store-bought puff-pastry instead of filo-dough, and bake them in the oven. It is a bit easier, and still delicious.
posted by mumimor at 2:13 AM on October 26, 2016
Sometimes I use store-bought puff-pastry instead of filo-dough, and bake them in the oven. It is a bit easier, and still delicious.
posted by mumimor at 2:13 AM on October 26, 2016
I don't know if this is a thing that most people like, but cold pizza? Cook a bunch of different pizzas beforehand and cut them in squares or slices or whatever when cool. We always used to have this at birthday parties when I was a kid!
posted by schmoo at 2:37 AM on October 26, 2016
posted by schmoo at 2:37 AM on October 26, 2016
I admire your kindness and thoughtfulness. What a wonderful thing to do for your students.
* I think if you're going to go the dip route, the food processor is your friend here.
* Every year my MIL serves the caprese salad mentioned above on a skewer; it's easy to make and the first to go.
* Seconding the roll-ups
* Are you opposed to dessert-like snacks? You can get mini muffin tins and make little ones.
* Mini breads
* Healthy cookies (they do exist!)
posted by onecircleaday at 1:35 PM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
* I think if you're going to go the dip route, the food processor is your friend here.
* Every year my MIL serves the caprese salad mentioned above on a skewer; it's easy to make and the first to go.
* Seconding the roll-ups
* Are you opposed to dessert-like snacks? You can get mini muffin tins and make little ones.
* Mini breads
* Healthy cookies (they do exist!)
posted by onecircleaday at 1:35 PM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've been making a varient on these, besan ka puda. Basically it's like a chickpea flour pancake. Or you can do the Provençal version --- socca. Either way, all you really do is add your spices/veggies to the chickpea flour, add enough water to make a batter, and then fry them off. You can throw it together in 20 minutes, and they're perfectly good served room temp the next day.
posted by Diablevert at 8:49 PM on October 28, 2016
posted by Diablevert at 8:49 PM on October 28, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:11 AM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]