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My favorite is boiled shrimp followed by anything wrapped in tortillias, lettece, rice paper, then sliced and served with dipping sauce.
Mixed nuts and fresh fruit trays.
I always serve the above and go to a deli and purchase high quality cold cuts. Salami, ham, smoked turkey and a variaty of cheese, fruit and veggies.
Rich, decadent types of food in bite sizes so I can nibble and not feel guilty! No crudite - shudder! And while a cookout is fine, that's not what I usually think of as a "party" - a party is yummy cocktail food.
Pizza and beer! Especially home-made white pizzas! (crust does not have to be homemade)
But i'm not a fancy-type person
I do LOVE an appetizer that my sister makes - it's store-bought puff pastry, with goat cheese and raspberry (I believe) preserves inside. Very easy and you can eat many, many lol. (oh, and you put a piece of green onion (scallion) on top)
Chips and Salsa (husband especially loves this - and the 7 layer salsa type dip works for him too)
Cold Shrimp with Sauce (to dip it in)
Pigs in Blankets
Swedish Meatballs
Potato Chips and French Onion Dip (I prefer Dean's but home made is usually really good too. We're just used to Dean's.)
Crudite - with Dill Dip (preferably) or Ranch (I LOVE Dill Dip)
Hanky Panky's
Mini Quiches
Mini Ruebens (Husband's favorite)
Cheeseball with Crackers (another me favorite)
Stuffed Mushrooms
Cold Marinated Tomatoes/Cucumbers/Onions (especially cucumbers)
A Shot Glass of Gazpacho (Now I'm reaching - I did that for one party ONCE - what a pain in the butt! )
ETA - Bruschetta! I can't believe I forgot Bruschetta!!!!
I love any effort and am not picky. When the crew is at my house they always seem to expect some kind of awesome homemade dessert. I think I've spoiled them. And one boy has to have chocolate (he's my favorite).
It just depends on what kind of party, what time of year, and who is coming. Better have plain hot dogs for the grandkiddo (kosher, of course).
Happy to see small bites of things so I don't get burned by taking a full sized something that turns out to not be tasty to me. The worst thing to see at a party, for me, is waste.
Love to see pizza if it's an informal dinner. Even bad pizza is ok for me, I'm not that fussy. I can appreciate quality homemade stuff but I will even eat the cheapest store bought Mama Celeste type stuff too. The only way I've seen pizza inedible was when it was burned. Toppings don't scare me either - I've had jalapeños, pineapple, mushrooms, artichoke, spinach, all kinds of meats and sausages, fried eggs, cut corn, anchovies, onions, sliced garlic, tuna, shrimp, you name it on top of my pizza and it was all ok with me.
However, my experience has been that most people don't realize how bad their mac and cheese is. I've had several people sing the praises of their mac and cheese and many times I come to find it involves cooked macaroni noodles layered with shredded cheese and warmed in an oven or microwave. Once was served mac and cheese and the guy tried to make a crumb topping before baking but used fresh bread cut in huge cubes which turned soggy in the baking process (I'm not even sure how that happens, but it did) - and he had chunks of bulk sausage mixed into it too. *shudder*
nothing is as bad as eating mac and cheese that really isn't prepared well. and yes, most people do not know how to make it properly. Of course mine is the best.
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