Favorite Finger Foods?

This is the time of year that I make finger foods the most.

These are like the appetizers served at parties.

I have two favorites that I like to make, these are Sausage Cheese Balls and Pigs in a Blanket.

What are your favorite finger foods?
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I don't have a recipe that I use for "Pigs in a Blanket".  Dear hubby does not like any of my biscuit recipes so I make them with either canned crescent rolls or canned biscuits.  I like to buy cocktail sausages though I have used just plain ole hot dogs.

Here are some ideas I found on Pinterest for making "Pigs in a Blanket" festive for a Christmas Party or any time:


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Deviled eggs are probably one of my favorite (low carb) finger foods.    Jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon is another,  yum.

Great topic Ann!
Here’s an appetizer that’s great for brunch, lunch, or dinner party. Practice before making them for a party so you get the timing right for your altitude and oven. I’m at 5,000 ft so you may want to reduce the roasting time.

Amy’s Crispy Potato Nests

These crunchy nests that can be eaten plain or topped with anything you like on a baked potato or potato chip (see suggestions below)*
There are only 4 ingredients:
1 lb starchy potato (I use russets for this recipe) per 24 mini muffin cups tray
Vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 t salt (or more to taste)
1/2 t pepper (or more to taste)

Essential pans: 2 matching mini-muffin pans (ideally 24 mini's per pan)

The secret is in the method:
1. Preheat 2 same-size clean mini-muffin cup pans in a 425F degree oven (the pans must be able to nest later on). When pans are hot, leave them in the oven.
2. Quickly shred the potatoes with a fine grater in a bowl lined with a cotton dish towel. Squeeze the potatoes and compost the liquid.
3. Toss the shredded potatoes in a bowl with oil (enough so the potatoes are glossy)
4. Remove 1 hot pan from oven and quickly cover the pan top and cups LOOSELY with a thin layer of shredded potatoes (thin crunchy, lacy cups are best). Over flowing the grated potatoes onto pan edges is important!
5. Roast for 8 minutes
6. Quickly open oven and smash the 2nd hot pan on top of the filled pan to make cups. Flip the pans upside down and close oven.
7. Roast cups until they smell like fries (about 10 - 12 minutes)
8. Remove pans from oven. Flip right-side-up and remove top pan. Use wooden skewer to gently remove nests. Place on serving dish and serve warm, either plain or topped*

*Topping ideas:
Sour cream, crumbled bacon, caviar, shredded cheese, chives, green onions, onion jam, smoked fish, pulled pork, soft cream cheese spreads

Thank you, both.

Heather, I have made lots of deviled eggs for us to enjoy and to take to potlucks. As a teenager, I made them for picnics.

Amy, those Crunchy Nests sound like a great idea.

I had been looking for something like those to make ahead and freeze for an easy dinner item.

I had found this recipe for Parmesan Hash Brown Cups which is very similar to your recipe with 1/2 cup of Parmesan and Bake for 60-75 minutes in lower third of oven:

https://www.food.com/recipe/parmesan-hash-brown-cups-496093



Your recipes due to your cooking steps and two muffin tins make if a lot faster.

BWWC!

Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts.

Anne, those individual hash brown portions sound wonderful. They appear to be a thick portion of hash browns and look perfect for advance prep or freezing.
The nests are more like thin lacy cottage fries (another great appetizer!) without the deep frying. They are very delicate and not a candidate for freezing.
Since you mentioned parmesan, another amazing thin carrier for toppings is the simple one ingredient shredded cheese shell. Just heat an oven to about 375F degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment. Shred cheese (about 1/2 c per person total, parmesan or cheddar), put a tablespoon of shredded cheese on the parchment (limit to 6 spoonfuls amply spaced per cookie sheet). Bake until cheese melts and edges brown slightly. Remove the "tortillas" from sheet and place onto upside down muffin cups and the cheese will drape then harden into the shape to form a nest. Again, these are delicate and not meant for freezing.
In any case, I like to shred the potatoes into ice water, or shred the cheese if using those shells, and prepare the fillings all in advance. I make the hot nests or shells while people hang out in the kitchen and catch up. Hot out of the oven is wonderful but always practice well before the gathering.

Individual loaded nachos in "scoop" shaped chips. (quantities are a guess, but the chips fill up fast, and a little bit of everything is nicer than running out of room and leaving something out.)
1/2t. each: Taco-seasoned meat, black beans
1/4t. each: onion, tomato, jalapeno (or salsa)
top with shredded cheese and bake until melted
garnish with sour cream, sliced olives, chives or cilantro if you like.

Bacon-wrapped chicken bites makes ~30 bites
3/4 inch "cubes" of chicken, two breasts?
1 lb. regular sliced bacon, strips cut in half.
oil to shallow fry in a skillet.
wrap bacon around chicken pieces, in a bit of a spiral? overlap the starting end as you go, tuck the final end under to finish. (there's no toothpicks used here. a tool can help with the final tuck)
It takes a little practice to get the chicken size matched to the bacon size, and the wrapping technique. The goal is complete coverage, without excessive overlap, which gets all the bacon crispy (no hidden layers).
cook in batches (don't crowd your pan) turning to cook all sides evenly.

I found these ideas while searching for natural ingredients for a Gingerbread House thread:

Charcuterie House was inspired by making a gingerbread house


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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Joy to the world!


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These are some of my favorite finger foods:


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I like the very best carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, grapes, and bananas.