I just saw this on my homepage. I was reminded of your request and although they are holiday centric, you might find something that appeals to you for your get-together.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/thanksgiving-special/40-appetizers-to-nosh-on-while-the-thanksgiving-turkey-roasts/ss-AAfrbVN#image=1
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One thing overlooked here, is quantity, as well as having some help in the preparation/serving/cleanup.
For 50 persons, you will need about 6 per or 300 bites.
To shop , you can do that yourself , provided you have the refrigeration and storage space.
The actual preparation , I would have myself plus two other, experienced helpers.
If you want to socialize and enjoy, one person to serve and clear, and freshen up the serving area.
What did you consider for beverages?..perhaps a bartender is needed?
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Eggplant meatballs are always one of the biggest hits at my annual holiday party. Great because 1-2 big eggplant will go a long way, and they can be enjoyed by vegetarians and omnivores alike.
To make them I start by roasting the whole eggplants first to soften them. Chop up and squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible (hugely important). Then mix up like a regular meatball: breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Scoop into balls then coat in flour, egg, breadcrumbs. I like to then let them chill and rest before frying to keep their shape better.
Another bonus: you can make these the day before, and just reheat in oven before serving.
Also seconding/thirding the chicken liver pate idea. Doesnāt get much cheaper than chicken liver, and itās so rich a little will go a long way. Hereās my personal recipe for it.
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Thanks, Phreddy, for the quantity suggestions. How many different bite-sized apps would you do for that size of a crowd?
For drinks, Iām going simple:
-Table with wine glasses, red wine, and corkscrew
-Hot beverage dispenser with apple cider (dark rum on table), with paper hot beverage glasses
-Water/Cups
For the bite-sized apps, anything MAKE AHEAD will be KEY to my sanity and enjoyment of the event!
I might suggest adding a white wine to that list, unless for some reason you know this crowd specifically wonāt drink white. Whenever I have a large gathering of the size youāre talking about, the white wine always goes faster than the red. For some people red is just too heavy and they might want to go to rum if they want an alcoholic drink thatās lighter.
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Thanks for that, sockii - I definitely forgot to add white. I co-hosted a similar event last year and only one person wanted whiteā¦ which is why I was thinking red only. But, Iāll definitely have a few whites on hand (thanks to you!!)
Hereās my current short list/brainstorm (party isnāt for 6 weeks, so keep the ideas coming). Bonus for anything I can make in the weeks ahead and throw in my freezer). Iām not married to any of these, so if you think they are a bad idea or itās too disjointed, Iām all ears. Iām also trying to stay away from things that need to be warmed up before serving - but if I have a few of those, it should be manageable. Iāll have access to crock pots and chafing dishes, but would like to keep the food as āfinger-foodā friendly as possible
-Stuffed Mushrooms
-Caprese skewers
-Mini puffs/gougeres style - filled with chicken salad (or similar). Or nix the puffs and make tea sandwiches
-Cucumber/mint tea sandwiches and/or pinwheel/lavash style sandwiches
-Meatballs on toothpicks (either already seasoned, or in chafing dish/crock pot with toothpicks nearby)
-Veggie tray(s) with misc dips (hummus, ranch, black bean)
-Baked Brie (with crackers??)
-Spiced Nuts or just mixed nuts
Pondering:
-Some sort of flat bread (love this concept, but the timing of assembling it/baking it/slicing it on the day-of might make it too fussy)
-Salmon Cakes - love the idea of making these ahead of time and freezing! Thanks @hotoynoodle
-Potato Croquettes
-Savory mini-muffins - any thoughts on ones I could make head and freeze?
-Eggplant meatballs
-Chicken Liver Pate
-Homemade Potato Chips
-Some sort of hot dip: crab or spinach artichoke (too messy??)
@hotoynoodle - Do you have recipes you like for the potato croquettes and salmon cakes? I love the idea of both (especially making them ahead of time!!)
Do you make your salmon cakes in mini muffin tins?
Would also love to know more about the sausage/apple balls!
While I love, love, love tea sandwiches, they usually become a soggy mess or dried out when sitting for awhile, depending on your filling. They can be pretty labour intensive to make so youāll be rushing to prep them right before the party. I think gougĆØres hold up better especially if you stuff them with something like an herbed goat or cream cheese vs. a chicken salad type of filling.
I think a hot dip would be nice. People always seem to love hot artichoke and spinach dip.
When I do appetizer sized salmon cakes, I donāt use any kind of muffin tin. I just roll them into balls, and lightly press down to make the little bite sized patties. Then I chill for at least half an hour. You could easily freeze these until youāre ready. Just store them between wax paper. You can throw them in the pan to cook, directly from the freezer. You could also cook them, freeze and then reheat in the oven but they wonāt be as nice.
I usually serve them with some sort of mayo based sauce like a chipotle aioli, lemon-dill or tartar sauce. They hold up well at room temp.
Iād love to see what others put in their salmon cakes. Mine are usually a combo of:
salmon
panko
egg
finely minced shallot, celery, parsley and red pepper
a touch of Dijon and Worcestershire
tiny bit of lemon zest
a couple drops of tabasco
salt and pepper
a little mayo to bind if itās too dry
Sometimes I go really simple and only add in some dill and chopped capers to the salmon, panko, egg mix.
Out of your list, this is what I would enjoy eating:
eggplant meatballs
salmon cakes
chicken liver pĆ¢tĆ© (donāt forget the cornichons)
hot dip of spinach and artichoke
herbed cheese stuffed gougĆØres (or stuffed with crab or chicken salad if you can stuff just before serving)
veggie tray with dips
baked brie and crackers (throw on some fresh figs or fig jam, grapes and spiced nuts on the serving platter)
Most of this can be done ahead of time except for the baking of the brie and stuffing of the gougĆØres. You could also go with non-stuffed gougĆØres and just add some cheese and herbs to the dough. Totally make aheadable.
Is my invitation in the mail?
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I get a recipe from the Leiteās Culinaria website a few years ago for mushroom empanadas that makes a really good appetizer. I searched for it so I could link it, but I canāt find it. I have it at home so I could scan it if you are interested and if I could figure out how to upload it!
Anyways, it uses puff pastry, plain white mushrooms sautƩed with scallions, mixed with breadcrumbs and some cheese, etc. I make them so they are little triangles, about 3" on a side. The BEST part is that they freeze beautifully so you 1) can make them ahead and just bake them the day of, and 2) you can have them on hand all the time!
I make a bunch at a time so I can have them available. In fact, Iām making some this weekend for a Christmas open house Iām having in December.
Let me know if you want the recipe.
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I think it is okay to serve finger foods like salmon cakes so long as you provide loads of cocktail napkins in strategic places around the room. Otherwise, I think food-firmly-on-toothpicks is the way to go (and then you need empty bowls for the toothpicks in strategic places). Do eggplant meatballs hold together?
When I look at a buffet table in a room full of 50 people, I generally avoid anything that looks like it might have mayonnaise. I seldom arrive at the beginning of parties, and by the time 30 people or more have filled a room, it can start to feel quite warm, and I no longer risk the mayonnaisse.
I think pinwheel sandwhiches are easy to prepare as opposed to mini-sandwiches. I only like flatbreads if what they have on them will stay on them when I bite into them.
I think anything that requires my using utensils is tough. I can use a knife to cut a bite of cheese to pop in my mouth, but if I have to put down my glass to add a fig jam, or spread pate onto a cracker, itās a problem.
Iām not fond of hot dips because they are usually drippy/messy.
Skewers of bites of hard cheeses alternating with seedless grapes can be nice.
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I have this special place for canned mushrooms. I have this currently in the oven. Will let you know how it turns out.
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Hereās one of the recipes for the grape jelly - I like to use the grape jelly from Trader Joeās, which has some nice acidity to balance the sweetness: http://www.food.com/recipe/grape-jelly-meatballs-72826
And hereās the hot clam dip: http://www.thedomesticfront.com/its-party-time-clam-dip/
Itās also pretty good cold, too - it doesnāt get gross as it cools - but I usually make 3 or 4 smaller bowls, pop them in the oven during the party and refresh once or twice during the party. Same with baked brie.
Iāve also in the past made a ham (something like Farmer Johns is pretty inexpensive and often on sale this time of year) and set it out with rolls or something.
This is another good recipe. Itās reasonably cheap to make in California, too: http://www.thedomesticfront.com/easy-party-appetizer-fig-olive-tapenade/
And chicken liver mousse - Iām always impressed by how cheap chicken livers are, even at Whole Foods, and this is very rich: http://www.thedomesticfront.com/chicken-liver-mousse/
And in the category of ākind of a pain in the butt but relatively inexpensive and can be made aheadā is pork rillettes - my grandmother made these for Christmas every year. Sheās been gone for almost five years, and I have a yen to make some this year ā¦
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figure 4-6 different apps, 4-6 pieces per person, so 300 pieces total. that is standard catering amounts. some people will eat like crazy and some people will eat almost nothing.you want some hot/some cold or room temp.
from your list:
stuffed mushrooms can be made ahead and frozen so are great for this
unless you are down under, what is the point of caprese skewers in the dead of winter? you will also have to thread about 75 of them.
same on stuffing the gougeres. the first ones will be soggy by the time you finish them all. my suggestion of gougeres was for an as is. use a flavorful cheese, bake ahead and freeze. they are dead easy and people swoon over them.
tea sandwiches are fiddly and cucumber/mint seems summery. pinwheels can be made ahead, or you can get loooooong loaves, fill them and slice into small pieces. that will be easiest.
meatballs can be made ahead and frozen. put a container of toothpicks nearby, but if they are drippy? kind of a bummer.
veggie trays are easy, especially if you buy pre-cut items, but such a yawn. maybe something more interesting like home-pickled carrots? or caponata?
baked brie for 50 means 3-4 wheels and i never see the point of baking it since it starts to firm up soon after coming out of the oven. just temper it properly and save oven space.
nuts can be spendy. flavorful popcorn is dirt cheap to make and will hold a couple days if you want to make it ahead.
i donāt have a recipe for potato croquettes, since i always wing it, but they get hoovered and can be made and frozen ahead. same for the salmon cakes. i just hand-form them: how many mini-muffin tins do you have? personally i only have 2, so using tins seems like a time-waster here.
the mini muffins seem odd, especially with plenty of other crackers and bread-like things.
am a lover of chicken liver mousse/pate and that freezes very well for making ahead.
but i prefer the apples grated and omit the maple syrup. freeze on sheet trays and bag them up. they can be piled up in a big bowl to serve and no drips!
i might put out some small (cut) bunches of grapes if you are serving lots of rich food.
in addition to your wine and cider, be sure to have some sparkling water ā not everybody will booze!
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Actually commercially made mayo presents no risk. Itās the things like potato that are the problem. I learned that on CH 
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agree on the food safety issue. it can get gross and greasy in a hot crowded room though.
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I agree with your quantities as the same as I noted above. Since this is just a 2 hour window of visitors, and not a meal, 5 or 6 ounces of food per person is fine.
Agreed on the Brie out of the ovenā¦
All else looks goodā¦
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haha they just work in this. I realize I forgot garlic, but itās obviously one of those recipes you could tweak any way. artichoke hearts would be good finely chopped up in there too.
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Salmon cakes: I use the Deviled Salmon Cakes recipe on Epicurious. They freeze beautifully.
I just posted my familyās country-style pĆ¢tĆ© recipe on the HO Recipe Collection thread. Must be made ahead, you could make it the weekend before.
When I used to have a party like this I always did a spiral-cut ham (usually on sale around the holidays) with a variety of mustards and small rolls and people loved it ā and I had the bone later for soup. I realize that this conflicts somewhat with the finger food theme but itās budget-friendly and a crowd-pleaser in my experience.
Sounds like a fun party!!
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Thanks, hotoynoodle. Great points all the way around.
-Iām nixing the cucumber sandwiches (definitely too summery), and the stuffed gougeres (for the soggy factor)ā¦ not to mention the assembly factor
-Iām thinking no meatballs w/ drippy sauce and replacing it with apple/sausage balls
-Definitely agree about the baked brie firming up. Might just do a festive cheese ball instead.
-I was staying away from flavored popcorn for the serving/mess factor (and not having a ton of space to arrange individual cup portions. (Even with a scoop provided, the thought of lots of hands going into the popcorn bowl make me cringe). Any tips or favorite flavors youāve had experience with?
Revised list:
Stuffed Mushrooms
Gougeres
Veggies/hummus
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Potato Croquettes
Salmon Cakes
Chicken Liver Mousse
Apple/Sausage Balls (or some dripless meatball type)
Pinwheel Sandwiches?
Thank you to everyone for your helpful input!
