31: Simple Hors d'oeuvres

I have been behind in posting this due to lack of time and not having good pictures...but I have decided to go ahead and share some of the recipes for hors d'oeuvres that I thought are easy and perfect for entertaining.

I recently hosted a birthday party for my sweetie

and this is a collection of hors d'oeuvres I served at the party.

Shrimp cocktail (Recipe from Alton Brown @ Food Network)

What surprised me was how easy and yummy this was....way better than the $20 ready-made shrimp cocktail bought at the store.
Make a brine solution with 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 1 cup ice. Place cleaned and de-veined shrimp into a bowl with brine and refrigerate for 20 - 25 minutes. Place a baking sheet or broiler pan under oven broiler and preheat for 5 minutes. Remove shrimp from brine and drain thoroughly. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and dry on paper towels. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with olive oil and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning. Place shrimp onto a sizzling sheet pan and return to broiler immediately. After 3 - 4 minutes, turn the shrimp with a pair of tongs. Return the shrimp to broiler for 1 minute. Immediately transfer to a cold parchment paper or cookie sheet. Refrigerate immediately. Serve the chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce.

Homemade guacamole (Recipe from the Joy of Cooking book)

Peel 5 Haas Avocados and mash into a paste using a potato masher or a large spoon. Add 1 finely chopped onion, 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro, juice from 1 lime. Add a tsp of salt and chili sauce. Mix well and then add 1 finely chopped tomato. Serve at room temperature with tortilla chips.

Tangy and Cheesy Tortilla Scoops

Mix 1 can of black beans with 1/2 can of sweet corn. Add 1/2 finely chopped onion and juice from 1 lime. Lay out tortilla scoops in a baking tray. Add the a tsp of the bean/ corn mix to the tortilla scoops and top with shredded Cheddar Cheese. Bake in oven for 5 mins at 375 F.

Antipasto skewers

Made with store bought selection of marinated black and green olives, marinated mozzarella, artichokes, salami, cheese and grapes. Serve different combinations of these antipasto on skewers as people always love food on a stick.

Chocolate dipped Marshmallow skewers

Molten fondue chocolate can be used. I used 4 oz semi sweet baking chocolate, 6 Tbsp butter and sugar. Melt the ingredients in a double boiler. Insert toothpicks into large marhmallows and dip into the molten chocolate.

Consider using these ideas the next time you host a party.... Happy entertaining!! 

Leaving you guys with a really cute pic of the B'day boy with his buddies