Having an elegant cocktail party, -looking for some great appetizers-finger foods-no forks required????

I also love gougeres. I've made the chorizo/manchego ones from this site, and they were terrific, and I use a pate au chou receipe from the NYT for my "traditional" ones with Gruyere. I often serve crostini. For one type, I make the creamy homemade ricotta cheese recipe from this site, and put that on the crostini and then I drizzle a bit of honey on the cheese and top with toasted pine nuts. A super-easy topping for crostini is to take marinated artichoke hearts (in a jar, with spices -- even Costco sells them) and pulse them in the food processor until they're quite chopped up. (You can add some of the marinade, if necessary, to get a nice consistency.) Put the chopped artichokes on the crostini and top with shredded basil and a shaving of Parmesan. Having said all of that, at all of my cocktail parties, dinner parties, etc., the hors d'oeuvre that gets people the most excited is pigs in a blanket! So, I often serve those, too!

Make savory shortbread rounds (e.g. Ina Garten has one with cheddar & jalapeno), then top with your choice - cream cheese, hot pepper jelly, apple butter, mango chutney, etc etc. Makes a lovely 1-2 bite treat.

The secret to cocktail party appetizers is that they should be "one bite".
Nothing is more clumsy than having to bite into some great looking appee and having half in your mouth and the other half on your clothes and host's floor.

I make these a lot - they are delicious and look fancy - can you get your hands on quail eggs?

https://food52.com/recipes/2843-eggs-and-baskets

Endive leaves with lobster or shrimp salad. Yum.
Toasted baguette slices with grilled beef tenderloin and horseradish sauce.
Boston bio lettuce with Asian chicken salad.
Mini potato pancakes with smoked salmon and Dijon whipped creme fraiche.
Love smoked trout too.
A pork tenderloin on a baguette toast with a fresh chutney is great too.

For our veg friends, make a spinach dough and place in Mini cupcake tins, par bake, fill with ratatouille and bake again.
Do a beautiful crudités with nice height and stunning veggies, a hummus, a sour cream dip and an eggplant dip. A great cheese platter and an extravagant charcuterie, get great sparkles and call it a party!!!

All cold or room temp, ( except ratatouille) make ahead and don't stress. Enjoy your own party.

p.s. Meant to include this mushroom spread, too:

Mushroom Mousse by Mrs Larkin
https://food52.com/recipes/11145-mushroom-mousse

I could live on appetizers so I've been thinking about your cocktail party. More ideas:

Cranberry Cheddar Gougeres, NY Times
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015716-cranberry-cheddar-gougeres

Gougeres (regular), Dorie Greenspan
http://www.doriegreenspan.com/print/2008/11/all-things-considered-considers-cream-puffs.html

Fennel and Mushroom Paté with Grainy Mustard by Laura Wright
https://food52.com/recipes/25729-fennel-and-mushroom-pate-with-grainy-mustard
Serve with lightly toasted baguette slices (don’t need to prep bread with olive oil, garlic, etc. before toasting)

Anchovy Puffs - awesome - by deanna1001
https://food52.com/recipes/15331-anchovy-puffs

I like the little phyllo cups.they're in the freezer section with the puff pastry , etc..you can fill them with all sorts of things ...I like Brie that has been softened , topped with a fresh raspberry and then heated just until the brie gets slightly melted. The website for the phyllo shells has lots of other filling ideas

"Fig and Blue Cheese Savouries" by the Runawayspoon - a blue-cheese shortbread cracker with a dab of fig jam in the middle - are very popular on this site (for good reason!).
https://food52.com/recipes/8010-fig-and-blue-cheese-savouries
I've made them several times and need to get over to that recipe page to add a couple comments. (I roll them out thicker, etc.)

You might also want to check out "Your Best One-Bite Party Snack" contest:
https://food52.com/contests/265_your_best_onebite_party_snack

Make a checker board with toast bread cut into 1inch squares & alternate smoked salmon and black caviar as toppings!! Looks amazing!!