Appetizers for 25 to do in advance, by myself?

I am organizing an event at the local Woman’s Club to acknowledge all the hard work of our president.

I only have three weeks to organize and I am ready to do everything by myself, if necessary!

It will be a simple event, wine and appetizers with some jazz music.

So – if I need to do appetizers for 25 all by myself, what are your suggestions?

I would need to prepare at home and then take to the club.

How nice of you! I like Ina Garten for inspiration

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The little clear plastic glasses with hummus or dip in the bottom and then stacked with veggie crudités?

A hot dip that will be ok just warm w/dippers like a spinach artichoke dip or seafood dip?

Cold shrimp with cocktail sauce?

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Deviled eggs. You will be the star of the party!

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Might have to take out a second mortgage, though!

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Shrimp will be outside my budget! :slightly_smiling_face:

I’m not adventurous…but I’d start with some charcuterie boards – cheese, crackers, grapes, meats etc. Easy to prepare in advance and can be done within a reasonable budget.

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An assortment of finger sandwiches, like you would have at high tea, always look pretty but are easy. Things like cucumber, cream cheese and dill; roast beef with horseradish; egg, mayo and cress.

Flatbread with goat cheese, caramelized onions and fig jam cut into individual servings (I find that combination works well cold).

Another vote for deviled eggs

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Even better, make skewers and put them in little cups for easy transport and easy individual serving

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You can try bruschetta. 1. chop tomatoes, mix with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Before serving, add chopped basil and shaved parmesan. 2. Slice some good crusty bread. Brush with olive oil, salt and pepper, and sprinkle some Italian herb seasoning or similar. Place under broiler until just browned on the edges. You can serve the toast alongside the tomatoes, and people can serve themselves. Or you can spoon the tomatoes on the bread yourself and arrange the topped slices on a platter for people to pick up.

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I’d create two charcuterie-like trays. For example, I’d have one with meats (salami, sopressata, ham, prosciutto, etc.) cornichons, olives, and crackers. Then another with an assortment of cheeses (soft and hard), jam, crackers, nuts, and fruit. I’d also have a hummus dip with veggies or baba ganoush with pita bread or both.

Also, I’ve found that people seem to love deviled eggs. You could make plates of deviled eggs instead of the hummus or baba ganoush. Also, if you’re going to make the deviled eggs, use a piping bag for the filling. They’ll look amazing. Good luck!

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Grilled veggies with dip are also very popular and would make a nice platter. I find them to be more popular than raw veggies.

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Tortilla roll up pinwheels. You make a spread, put it on tortillas, then roll up each tortilla. Chill a bit and cut each into pieces about 1 inch wide, and serve on the pieces’ sides so they look like pinwheels. There are many options for spreads but 2 we use are prepared salsa mixed with cream cheese. Also dill and cream cheese mix and tortilla wrapped around a peeled 1/2 (cut lengthwise) English cucumber. You can also use things like sliced deli-meat and flavored Boursin or cream cheese and can also use flavored/colored tortillas. If you use the larger size tortillas you can make a bunch of apps fairly quickly and they transport well.

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Deviled eggs!

Deviled eggs are always very popular with my family, but I’m always a little wary when I see them in a large group/potluck setting. It just seems like the prep is so, you know, hands-on. I know a lot of other popular appetizers are as well, but somehow with eggs it concerns me more.

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Some ideas from a recent bridal shower I co-hosted.

This looks impressive but is actually quite easy.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/grilled-lemon-chicken-skewers-with-satay-dip-recipe-1953711

I serve the skewers on a round platter with the satay in a bowl in the center of the platter. A straight short skewer works. You have to slice the chicken breast into thin, bite-size pieces after grilling. You can make the satay days in advance and grill and slice the chicken the day before, leaving only the skewering for day of.

No recipe for this as I just made it up. Cook cheese tortellini, then toss in pesto with grated Parmesan when finished cooking. Skewer one piece of tortellini, and then small pieces of mozzarella and sun-dried tomato. I like the green skewers with knots on end for these.

If watermelon is in season, a cube of watermelon topped by smaller square of feta and a sprig of mint, with a toothpick through the top to hold it together.

Gazpacho in small plastic cups.

Classic 40 year old recipe from Martha Stewart’s original Entertaining cookbook, but I cannot find the recipe online. Title is Shrimp Vinaigrette Wrapped in Snow Peas. It tastes amazing, but wrapping the snow pea around the marinated shrimp is a task!

Fill phyllo cups with chicken salad.

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Lots of ideas in this thread:

I posted this one, among others:

Edit to add two sources with zillions of ideas.

https://www.catchmyparty.com/blog/cold-appetizers-for-a-party

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Here are some appetizers I was able to enjoy at an open house I attended. I was so impressed with them I took photos and saved them.

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The new caviar!

Cucumber sandwiches.

See if you can get little appetizer size rye and or pumpernickel breads. If not get regular and cut into quarters.

Mix one packet good seasons Italian dressing and one brick softened cream cheese.

Peel and slice your cucumber.

Spread the mixture on the bread and top with a cucumber slice.

Sprinkle a little dill weed on top. VERY tasty and best made the day before.

caprese kabobs

Get some mozzerella balls, cherry tomatoes and basil.

Put one mozzerella ball, a leaf of basil, and then the tomato on either a long toothpick or something like that.

You can do this part the day before. Before serving, drizzle balsamic glaze on them.

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If avoiding gluten - there was plenty of choices!