It’s always fun to hear what other people are making, and share some recipes when asked.
My standards are crab dip and spinach artichoke dip, but I’m looking for some new ones to try.
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This has been my go-to fall of 2024. Sort of a grown up version of pigs in a blanket.
Basically just need puff pastry and a sausage you like - I use one of the Costco chicken/apple/cheese sausages. (they are technically precooked so saves a step)After that you can make the tomato-pepper things she does - or I’ve just served them with a good grainy mustard and/or bbq sauce.
Easy peasy. The puff pastry gets crisp and delicious!
Actually she has TONS of great appetizers. She’s an excellent follow on Instagram if you like food. She also has an adorable new puppy. And while she has an apt in NYC she also just bought a home in The Hamptons. Yes all this and she is 28.
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I also love a hot crab dip appetizer in the winter!
For appetizers:
A big hit at our house are tomato soup shooters, with a soft pretzel bite with melted cheese. You can make it all homemade, or you can buy a nice soup and high quality cheese, and just heat/broil and serve ; )
I have also had nice feedback with sautéed mushrooms with herbs and fontina cheese over polenta rounds.
Flatbreads with caramelized onions, fig jam and goat cheese area also a keeper.
For sides -
I love simple roasted veggies with evoo, aged balsamic, salt and pepper. Great over asparagus and Brussels sprouts.
Now that it’s starting to get colder again, I make more faro and barley sides too. Great with a sprinkle of goat cheese.
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Easy…
Cucumber Sandwiches
1 8oz cream cheese block, softened
1 packet good seasons Italian dressing mix
Cucumbers peeled and sliced about 1/4 inch or so thick
Cocktail size rye and or pumpernickel (which they say will be available again around Thanksgiving)
Dill weed
Mix the cream cheese and good seasons well. Spread the cream cheese on the bread. Top with a slice of cucumber. Sprinkle with dill weed.
You use as much bread and cucumbers as you need. I did this recently but needed to use rye bread sliced into quarters per piece. I made about 30…using all of the cream cheese mix, and 2 1/2 cucumbers.
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This looks amazing!
For the past two years at family holiday meals I’ve also done a variety of soup shooters as an appetizer/sip. Homemade tomato basil, butternut squash, cucumber…it’s a fun way (and can be a healthy addition) to start a meal. I want yours though!!
I’m boring this year. 
Because I’m traveling a good bit lately I’ve prepared simple items that I can freeze and cook when needed.
I have stuffed jalepenos and funeral sandwiches always on hand.
I play around with the jalepeno stuffing. Usually a cream cheese base with another shredded cheese and sausage or bacon, onion and garlic, herbs, sometimes taco seasoning.
Tip: Skewer the jalepenos with a toothpick before freezing if you plan to wrap with bacon when you bake or grill them later. I precook the bacon a bit before wrapping when I cook them.
Interesting note: Are funeral sandwiches a Southern thing? The folks I know in the Midwest weren’t familiar with them, but they’ve been a big hit.
I’ve never heard of a “funeral sandwich”!
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That looks great! A beautiful presentation.
Here’s a recipe I grabbed online. This is pretty close to what I do. It’s simple and easy.
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Thank you! I’ve made something similar with roast beef. Just have never heard them called funeral sandwiches before.
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I have no idea what funeral sandwiches are…please tell!
And so you freeze the jalepenos stuffed? And then thaw and bake??? I would love some ideas that can be prepped ahead of time and then pulled out and finished.
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Ahh! Never heard them called that! We just call them Hawaiian Roll sandwiches. 
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@momofboiler1 and @abasket it sounds like it’s just the name that is uniquely a Southern thing.
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Yes, I freeze the jalepenos stuffed but not wrapped with bacon. Because we like to wrap with bacon, I pierce them with toothpicks before freezing.
I don’t thaw before baking/grilling. As far as precooking the bacon before wrapping, it depends on the thickness of the bacon. If it’s thin sliced, you most likely don’t need to precook. We use a thicker sliced bacon so I precook just enough to be a bit translucent.
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I grew up with these as did most people I know around here- Midwest. They freeze so well.
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My Midwest peeps are just weird then. Haha
My wife made these for an adult Halloween party (substituting Havarti for Swiss), but she didn’t refer to them as “funeral sandwiches”; perhaps because she is from the Midwest?
What ever name they go by, they are great! The few leftover ones we have are in the freezer now.
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Holiday meals for us are usually mid-afternoon. I used to do a variety of casual appetizers when my mother came over. Some combo of cheese/crackers, shrimp, veggies/dip, baked frozen store appetizers. But now if just two or three of us (if son/wife not here), we are more likely to just head right into the meal. Then dessert. Then snacks (and/or more dessert) in lieu of dinner while watching football games.
I need to fix my side dish. Every year for I think the last 15, maybe 20 years, I get asked to bring the same thing to Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter - corn pudding (aka spoon bread). I was originally assigned this back in the early days when all the cousins of my generation got assigned something - I was the first cousin to live independently, my mom/aunts/grandma wanted to give me something easy and cheap. For the first several years, no problem. Then, somehow, I started messing it up. I have no idea what happened, but somewhere in the middle it started just not getting cooked all the way, or was too liquidy. I’ve tried everything - add more cornstarch, add an extra can of creamed corn, up the temperature, increase the cooking time, various combinations of all of those things. I only make this three times a year and, while it’s still cheap, easy, and good, I’m tired of getting it JUST a little bit wrong every year. Plus, now that we are doing smaller gatherings (it used to be 30+ people, which got to be too much, so now it’s my mom, my family and my sister’s family - 9 people) AND of those 9 people three are super picky and won’t eat it AND my older kid won’t be there for Thanksgiving this year, I just don’t want to make this.
So I need another side. Any suggestions? There will be (in addition to turkey): sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, mac 'n cheese, green bean casserole, plain green beans, salad. We surely don’t need another carb. One year I tried to sub in roasted brussel sprouts - only four of us ate those. Maybe I just offer to take over the sweet potatoes since we surely have enough food for all of us?