by Meeta Khurana of What’s For Lunch, Honey?

Appetizers are finger foods usually served prior to a meal, or in between mealtimes, and are also called hors d’oeuvres, antipasti, tapas, mezzeh or starters. Appetizers may range from the very simple to the very complex, depending on the occasion and the time devoted to making them. Often they are a common accompaniment to aperitifs or cocktails served prior to a meal.

The most important thing to do, when you are deciding to serve appetizers is to think about foods that will pair well together, but also vary in flavor and taste appeal. A good example is seafood: perhaps you would like to serve grilled jumbo shrimp. Although this is a great choice, however some guests may be allergic to seafood or shellfish. It might be wiser to consider other appetizers in addition to the shrimp. Stuffed mushroom caps, a nice cheese plate, and fruits and vegetables in easily handled sizes are all great options.

Whatever you plan to serve, there are virtually thousands of appetizers you can choose from. To help you plan your perfect party, dinner or cocktail you’ll find a few excellent ideas for delicious appetizers in this roundup. A page to bookmark for future reference – for sure!

We all love the great antipasti repertoire the Italians have. There are so many interesting bites to choose from, I for one can forget about the rest of the meal. Mike wraps the ever famous tomato and mozzarella in phyllo pastry to serve us Phyllo Caprese Bites. Staying with vegetables and dough Canary Girl serves one of my favorite combinations - spinach and feta – in little flaky tartlets. Crostini is always a popular appetizer at most parties. Toasted ciabatta drizzled with olive oil and topped with fresh ingredients. What’s not to like about this? These Crostini with Goat Cheese and Roasted Peppers from Kim are the perfect example. Sara has an incredible 7 layer dip recipe, which she suggests to use as a topping idea for crostini. A genius!

My own pesto spirals are so easy to whip up and come in two flavors. They’ll also be a huge hit with the kids! Kristen wraps ground beef spiked with the flavors of ginger and Hoisin to present Asian ground beef lettuce wraps. These are just perfect finger food and just right for cocktail parties.

Faith over at The Kitchn shares a light and lovely recipe, which is perfect for entertaining. The pistachio and chive goat cheese on puff pastry wafers are easy and promise a full-bodied flavor.

Cheese and crackers are an all-time favorite appetizer and Robin gives this a heavenly twist. Her curried cheese ball is potently mixed with spicy cayenne pepper and curry, then loaded with chopped peanuts, green onions and shredded coconut. Definitively not your usual serving of cheese and crackers!

In the Middle East and some Mediterranean countries the concept of wrapping vegetables around a delicious filling is extremely popular and they make spectacular little appetizers, or mezzeh. My Greek aubergine dolma with a piquant rice filling uses a salty Greek cheese known as Kefalotyri cheese and is served with garlicky yogurt sauce.

I thoroughly enjoy seafood appetizers and one of my all time favorites has always been the popular prawn cocktail. If your guests do not have any seafood or shellfish allergies this should not be missing at your party. The very charming Peter G makes a very appetizing looking prawn cocktail. His sauce idea is so perfect “just blend a good quality aioli with a dash of tabasco, a dollop of organic ketchup and a good a squeeze of lemon juice.” It could not get better than this!

Another handsome man in my blog life is Tony and his Holiday brie got me drooling the minute I saw it. This is a perfect recipe to impress your guests. It’s so easy to prepare too, simply smother a wheel of brie in garlic, drizzle with honey and allow the flavors to mingle in the oven. Then serve with warm baguette.

If you are serving a platter of cheese at your dinner these fig and pear bacon wraps will pair up very well with almost any type of cheese. They really highlight the flavors of the cheese. Perfect with chilled white wine or prosecco!

Of course you can serve luscious desserts as appetizers too! Alexandra impresses with these adorable Bavarian Cream Petit Fours. Nothing like tiny bites of vanilla flavored cream with aromas of lemon and raspberries!

A colorful fruit platter really livens up the buffet. I love using exotic fruits like papaya, passion fruit and mangoes. A fresh fruit platter with ginger mango sauce adds a lively zing to plain fruit. Your guests will be dipping till they drop!

Should you ever need inspiration for your parties or cocktails, turn to this handy appetizer compilation. However, if you are looking for more ideas the FoodieView Search Engine will give you several great appetizer suggestions.

Meeta is passionate about food, photography and life. On her blog What’s For Lunch, Honey? she shares her passion for cooking and pictures, all peppered with a good dose of life. You’ll also find creations like a tart ratatouille with warm goat’s cheese or a creamy veal and mushroom pie to tempt your taste-buds for more!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 8:44 am and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.