Do you have any suggestions for summer appetizers?

Question

I am having approx. 25 people to my home this coming Saturday afternoon (1:00 pm - 4:00 pm). The party will be an open-house, so all 25 people will not be there at the same time. It will be held outside around our pool. What kinds of items would you serve? I am concerned about serving the typical cheese, meat, shrimp platters since the sun may be very hot. I need suggestions that are VERY EASY to prepare since I have a three week old and a 20 month old. Also, about one-third of the 25 people coming are children. PLEASE HELP!

Answer 1

You might consider sushi California rolls, fruit plates (which are very easy to prepare and you can dress them up with any fake or real flowers you like) or if you have a little bit of extra time hollow out a watermelon and use it as the bowl for the fruit people are always impressed with that. Chocolate covered strawberries are always a plus. Instead of just basic shrimp, cook them in teryaki sauce and put them on skewers with stir-fry vegetables (peppers, onions, broccoli, etc.) and serve with mini-eggrolls. For the kids you can make barbecue cups (ground meat with barbecue sauce added then scoop the meat into "cups" made by lining the cups of muffin pans with canned dough such as Pillsbury biscuits and use the directions on the biscuit can to bake them, kids and adults both enjoy them) or go with mini pizzas. Also one last thing is you could set up a icecream sunday buffet for the kids, I prefer sugar free icecream (so the kids aren't hyped up on sugar) then lay out sprinkles, nuts, crushed candy, syrups, etc. and let the kids build their own Sundays, it keeps them busy and happy and is very easy to set up and can be cheap if your able to catch sales.

Answer 2

Two "fancy but easy" appetizers are Filo Asparagus Wraps and Bacon Wrapped Dates. Both will impress your guests because they are unique and tasty, but are pretty easy to make.

Filo Asparagus Wraps:
Take a sheet of Filo Dough (available in the freezer section of your grocery store-usually near the pie crusts), fold it in half, and brush w/ melted butter. Sprinkle it with Parmesan Cheese and a little salt. Roll 2-3 small Asparagus sprigs so the filo dough holds the sprigs together (letting the ends poke out of the dough). Once all are finished, brush w/ a little more butter, sprinkle w/ more Parmesan Cheese and salt, and bake until the dough browns (see baking instructions on the box for temp.)

Bacon Wrapped Dates:
Wrap half a strip of Bacon around a pitted Date, secure w/ a toothpick, and bake until the bacon is cooked, turning once to insure all sides are cooked. For an extra "kick", add a bit of Jalapeno when wrapping. Take a jalapeno, cut off the ends, slit down the side to open it up, and scrape out all the seeds. Cut it into strips approximately the length of the dates and wrap the bacon around it and the date. (I know it sounds like an odd taste combination, but the sweetness of the date mixes well with the smokyness and savoriness of the bacon, and the jalapeno gives it that extra "punch".)

A 3rd suggestion is great for kids and it's fun and healthy!

Fruit Kabobs:
Use wooden Skewers and make "kabobs" using mixed fruit. The easiest and most economical way is to buy a Fruit Plate (with grapes, pineapple, cantelope, honeydew)-they are already cut in appropriate sizes. Other great fruits you can use are Strawberries, Watermelon, Blueberries, and Bananas. This is a fun and handy way to offer your guests fruit. If you have small children, they can help you make the kabobs.

Answer 3

I would try to avoid cheeses/dairy, greens, and seafood since the heat can be disastrous. Kabobs would probably be nice, chips and salsa, luncheon meat might be okay wrapped around a pickle, nuts, veggie tray, etc. Pigs in a blanket and little weinies in BBQ sauce are easy and tasty. Lemonade would be nice too. Desserts can be kept chilled indoors until after the appetizers have been served.

Answer 4

There are a lot of great ideas here. To deal with dishes that need to be cool just serve them on trays on top of ice or gel packs.
Here's a few more ideas:
cheese straws
lemon cookies
smoked sausage, pineapple tidbits and cheese on a toothpick
mini-hawaiian pizzas
cucumber/cream cheese mini sandwiches
pretzels with honey mustard dip
fruit with poppy seed dressing

Answer 5

Convince a buddy to help out, either by watching the little ones or helping with the food.
A great summer appetizer tray would be:
grilled sausages on sticks with pineapple tidbits, purple onions, and bell peppers.
Or, a cheese ball rolled in sliced almonds.
My mom used to make a great dip out of high quality mayonnaise thinned with lemon juice and flavored with a lot of curry powder to go with cut up fresh vegetables (crudities).

Answer 6

Pinwheels: Tortillas Sliced Black Olives Diced green Onion Shredded Cheese Cream Cheese the different element of decision Salsa (for dipping) unfold cream cheese on tortillas. upload shredded cheese, olives, green onion and the different element of decision. Roll crammed tortilla like a burrito. decrease right into a million" thick slices. Serve with salsa.

Answer 7

Buy a cheese, meat, and cracker plate..well, several actually...

Chips and dips...

The kids like these types of things too so your spending will not go overboard.

Have fun!!

Answer 8

Try out water malon, Indian mangoes, all fruits that hav good colont content.

Answer 9

I was going to say brushetta also

french bread
tomatoes/spices
and use parm cheese---

Answer 10

I would go with cold salads and place bowls in larger bowls with ice to keep them cool.