Hanukkah/holiday cocktail party foods
I'm throwing a holiday cocktail party that happens to fall on the first night of Hanukkah. I'm going to be making latkes and have champagne and probably some sort of mulled Chirstmassy drink, but I'm not sure what else to serve. It should be finger food, possibly traditional, and fairly quick and easy because I have an exam that morning. Any ideas?
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(personally, I'd like amysarah's idea of grape leaves...they can be made ahead of time also.)
Also, small stuffed vegetables are very traditional in Sephardic Jewish cuisine - I love stuffed grape leaves, which are great with cocktails. (Don't think of the pre-made supermarket ones; homemade are worlds better.) Claudia Roden - a fantastic source in general - has a great recipe stuffed with rice, fragrant spices, pine nuts, tomato, mint, lemon...found it in this blog: http://altoonsultan.blogspot.com/2011/11/cold-stuffed-grape-leaves.html (Not really difficult, just a bit time consuming.)
Jamie Geller, author of Quick and Kosher Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing, contributed this recipe for Spinach Tidbits. Serve these dairy appetizers to your Hanukkah guests before lighting the Menorah. They can be prepared and frozen a week in advance to minimize pre-party preparations.
Prep Time: 14 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 29 minutesIngredients:
•1 (16-ounce) package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
•3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
•1 tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
•1 egg, lightly beaten
•1 cup seasoned mini croutons
•2 tablespoons butter, melted
•1 tablespoon prepared crushed garlic
•1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit (190° Celsius).
2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, place spinach, parmesan, onion, egg, croutons, butter, garlic and Tabasco. Mix well.
5. Shape spinach mixture into 1-inch balls using hands or a melon baller.
6. Arrange on cookie sheet spaced 1 inch apart.
7. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 15 minutes, until croutons are slightly golden.
TIP: Prepare this a week ahead of time by freezing tidbits after step 6. Freeze them on the cookie sheet overnight and in the morning transfer them to a sealable plastic bag for easier storage. Do not thaw them before baking; just increase baking time by 20 minutes.
YIELD: 6 servings