Midday Snack

June 16, 2006 5:22 AM

FingerFoodFilter: Looking for recipes for group of around 10 for an afternoon snack. Ideally this item would be something a bit more substantial than typical Hors d'oeuvres, but not a full meal.

Last time the group met I made smoked turkey wraps (spiced up cream cheese spread on tortillas with turkey, pepper jack cheese, green chiles and black olives). The wraps were chilled and then sliced up into single servings. These were a big hit, but I don't want to do the same thing again.

posted by Otis to food & drink (17 comments total)

Smoked mackerel mixed with yogurt makes a really nice kind of light smoked mackerel salad (you can use mayonaise, but yogurt is better). You can make sandwiches, or serve with fresh cut baguette.
posted by jb at 5:39 AM on June 16, 2006

Falafel?
posted by methylsalicylate at 5:44 AM on June 16, 2006

You can't go wrong with classic tea sandwiches. This site seems to have some interesting ideas.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:03 AM on June 16, 2006

If you can serve something hot try this.

1 pound sausage
8 oz cream cheese
1 can Rotelle Italion style tomatoes (make sure to get the Italian bold/zesty flavor)

Brown and drain sausage, return to pan on stove. Add cream cheese. Drain the Rotelle and add tomatoes. Heat until hot and bubbling. Serve over crackers/Fritos Scoops/whatever.

When I make this, everyone stands around like pigs at a trough gobbling until its gone. Doubles well for larger groups.
posted by BigVACub at 6:20 AM on June 16, 2006

spicy, easy, fattening - buy some sweet-hot jalapenos or jalapeno jelly, cover a block of cream cheese with it and serve with sturdy crackers or corn chips

even more fattening, but not spicy.

ARTICHOKE - SPINACH DIP - instead of the suggested corn chips, slice and toast some good chewy bread. spread with this stuff and then broil for a minute or two.

1 can drained artichokes
1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
3 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. shredded Mozzarella
1/4 c. fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 to 1 tsp. garlic salt

Cook spinach according to the directions on package and drain. Drain the artichokes and chop them. Mix the artichokes and spinach with the remaining ingredients. Put in greased 1 quart dish and bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips. Also good served with sour cream and salsa on the side.
posted by domino at 6:25 AM on June 16, 2006

I also made a 7 layer dip like this once. It was gross on so many levels - appearance, calories, etc - but goddamn it was a hit. I made enough for twice as many people as needed and all of it vanished.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:43 AM on June 16, 2006

My mother's Hot Artichoke Dip:

1 can artichoke hearts
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup parmesan cheese

Finely chop artichokes (either by hand or machine), combine ingredients. Microwave for about five minutes, or until the dip is fully warmed and the cheese is melted on the sides. Serve with stoned wheat thins (YCrackerChoiceMV).
posted by Flamingo at 6:50 AM on June 16, 2006

Samosas? No one can resist a samosa.
posted by anjamu at 6:50 AM on June 16, 2006

Make up a batch of polenta, stir in some cubed feta cheese, then spread into a large rectangular baking dish.

Top with
- seeded, chopped tomatoes (seeded is important ... if you neglect to remove the seeds & gooey stuff the whole thing will be a disaster)
- diced (pretty small) zucchini
- more cubed feta cheese
- rosemary
- sliced or minced garlic

Drizzle over some olive oil. Broil until nicely browned on top.

Can be served warm from the grill or at room temperature. Very yummy. I can let you have a precise recipe later if you're interested. I can never remember the cornmeal/water proportions without looking at the recipe.
posted by valleys at 8:32 AM on June 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

And I should have mentioned ...

- when you put all the stuff on top (before drizzling the oil), push it down into the polenta so it doesn't fall off when you try to eat it

- slice into squares to serve.
posted by valleys at 8:34 AM on June 16, 2006

Chicken satay, mmmmmmm.

Spicy peanut sauce for dipping, yummy.
posted by contessa at 9:25 AM on June 16, 2006

Potstickers? They do take time to make from scratch, but they're available frozen too. Or for something simpler and easier to find, how about cheese/cheese and bacon biscuits? You can just make regular bisquick biscuits and add cheddar and (cooked) bacon to the mix. Cheddar and scallion scones go over well at our place too.
posted by synapse at 10:35 AM on June 16, 2006

Burger snacks! Specifically:

Triple Happiness Burger Snacks

Ingredients
1 head of garlic
olive oil
1 pound ground beef
½ pound ground pork
½ pound ground veal
1 jalapeño pepper
1 dozen dinner rolls
1 package Sonoma Jack Original Flavor Spreadable Cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 medium red onion
Dijon mustard

Directions
Cut the top off the head of garlic, exposing the tops of the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees until soft to the touch, about 40 minutes. Let cool.

Put the ground meat in a large bowl. Squeeze roasted garlic into meat. Cut jalapeño in half, deseed and devein one half. Finely dice both halves and add to the meat mixture (for more or less heat adjust amounts of jalapeño and seeds and veins). Add salt and pepper. Mix by hand until well blended. Roll or pat out the meat mixture into a large rectangle, just under ½ inch thick. Cut into patties approximately ½ inch larger than dinner rolls on all sides.

Grill burgers to desired doneness, approximately 10 – 20 minutes. Shave red onion into rounds. Cut dinner rolls in half and lightly toast each side. Spread jack cheese onto roll tops and mustard onto bottoms. Add burgers and top with onion.

Makes 12.

This is an award-winning recipe! Cheese can be substituted for whatever is available of course.
posted by modofo at 12:46 PM on June 16, 2006

Potstickers are delicious!
posted by johnsmith415 at 1:10 PM on June 16, 2006

Stuffed baby bell peppers. First slice 'em open and broil until just cooked, then stuff some with avocado (a bit of lemon juice, salt, pepper, mush) and others with herb chevre (soft goat cheese). Totally yummy. My family quite liked them. (They all disappeared while the cookies remained.)
posted by Margalo Epps at 2:30 PM on June 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

Time to trot out Nigel Slater's onion tart recipe again.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:26 AM on June 17, 2006

I made Queso de Cabra last night for some friends. Marinara sauce + goat cheese, baked. Serve with a baguette. Super delicious and EASY.
posted by echo0720 at 8:53 AM on June 17, 2006