Party foods

[notquiteperfect]

Hi all - Our RS is having an activity and we're supposed to take our favorite party food.  The things I've thought of don't fit my time constraints, etc.  So what could I throw together in a jiffy that wouldn't require keeping warm or very many ingredients?  Or how could I add a twist to a popular option?  Thanks.

[Guest]

Deviled Eggs is my go-to take to a party thing.  Few and cheap ingredients, easy to make, doesn't need to be warm, can be done in a jiffy, and it looks like you just slaved over the kitchen for 3 days making it... and of course, most everybody loves them!

 

Here's how you do it - the trick to this being easy to do is proper boiling of the eggs.  If it gets overboiled, it becomes difficult to peel...

 

So, take a dozen eggs straight from the fridge and put it in a big pot and cover with tap water just enough to cover the top of all the eggs.  Put it on the stove on high.  When the water starts to bubble good, turn the stove off - if you're on an electric stove, move it to a cool section of the stove.  Wait 12 minutes then pour out the water and replace with cold water.  Wait a few more minutes until the egg is cool enough to peel.  Peel by rolling the egg on the countertop, then peel off a section by going for the film that holds the shell together  - you can just roll your thumb through the film to peel it off the egg.  Put the peeled eggs on paper towels to drain.

 

Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out the egg yolk onto a bowl.  Arrange the egg white halves over curly leaf lettuce (just to make it pretty looking) on a serving plate.  Add the following ingredients to the egg yolks in the bowl:

1/4 cup real mayo

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup sweet relish

and salt and pepper to taste

 

Mix thoroughly.  Scoop the egg yolk mix into a gallon-size ziploc bag.  Cut a small hole on the corner of the ziploc and squeeze out the egg yolks onto the egg whites.  Sprinkle with paprika and voila... All done.

[pam]

Exactly how I make them.

[Dravin]

You could make hummus though you'll want something to go with them, but vegetables are a perfectly find thing to dip into hummus. One can even take shortcuts with the tahini and just use a bit of peanut butter. Alternatively, spinach dip. If this is up your ally and you can't find some decent recipes online I can probably dig up a recipe for either.

[Irishcolleen]

Brie with apple or pear slices. Or, Brie with strawberry preserves and unsalted crackers.

[Palerider]

Can you say .......Brownies.....oh yea

[Quin]

Huh. I make my deviled eggs with a 10 minute hard boil, cold plunge... And white wine vinegar (plus mayo, mustard, paprika).

I'm on another board that had something like 2 zillion deviled egg recipes. I'm shocked that 3 of us are only 1 ingredient off, and you & Pam are identical! That just almost never happens with deviled eggs!

Occasionally mix it up use Franks Buffalo for buffalo eggs, or wasabi for "Yowza, I hate you! I thought that was guacamole!" Eggs.

But the glorious original can never be eclipsed.

Such yummy goodness.

Other faves: 20min or less

Italian

- Tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella baguette slices &

- Toasted basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, tomato, & pecorino baguette slices (toasted = sub pesto for fresh basil)

- Caprese Salad (cigilienne fresh mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes cut in half, basil, olive oil, shake)

- Gaspacho (ESP Tyler Florence watermelon Gaspacho)

- Stuffed mushroom caps

Vegg & fruit

- Radishes & sea salt (just cut the tops off the radishes. Serve w bowl of salt for dipping. Yep. That simple.)

- Fresh Peas & sea salt (toss peas with a few drops of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt. 3 micrometers more complex)

- Cold roasted roots w/ fresh herbs & salt (throw under broiler or on grill, blacken, season, stick in fridge until needed)

- Cold Greens (sautéed w/ garlic -lots- and salt/pepper)

- Pepper candied strawberries (make molten sugar, add fresh cracked pepper, drizzle over fresh strawberries)

- Chocolate drizzled strawberries (wAaaaaaaay faster than dipping, just drizzle melted chocolate over)

Latin

- Nachos of various kinds

- Tostones & Guac (deep fried plantains, this pushes the 20min limit)

- Grilled polenta wedges

Middle Eastern

- Bread with Za'atar or Harissa

- Grilled corn with Za'atar or Harissa

- Hummus & pita

- Baba ganoosh & pita

Indian

- Buy chicken tikka masala, stab with toothpicks, serve as bites. Hah. Love this cheat on the fly

- Chat Masala garbanzo beans (just dust dry roasted garbanzos with chat masala. Seriously addictive)

_______

Alt. go to Trader Joes. Buy apps. Heat. Serve.

[Bini]

You could put fruit on a stick like shish kabobs. Pick fruit that will work well being staked on a pole and doesn't brown so quickly, but you could also make these just before headed out to your event, so that will help with preservation too. You could do grapes, melon, mango, pineapple, etc.