Christmas Party Recipes ~ Cold Appetizers

We had a good time at our Christmas party last night as evidenced by my aching knees.  The dogs were really good so no problems there ~ I’m surprised someone didn’t dognap them since our friends were all fawning over them.

On to the food…a couple of things I didn’t get pictures of but I’ll post the recipe anyway.  I’m going to do cold appetizers today, the hot ones tomorrow, and the desserts and niblles on Tuesday.

These were the most popular appetizer.  The recipe makes 40 and I think we had three left.  I made them earlier in the day and refrigerated until party time.

Ham and Cheese Biscuits

2 tubes (12 ounces each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
2/4 cup stone-ground mustard, divided
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey
10 slices deli ham
10 slices Swiss cheese
2 1/2 cup shredded lettuce

Cut each biscuit in half forming half circles. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Spread the top of each half circle with 1/2 tsp stone ground mustard. Bake at 400º for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks to cool.

In a small bowl, combine butter and green onions. In another bolw combine mayo, honey, and the rest of the mustard.

Cut each ham slice and each Swiss slice into four triangles.

Split each biscuit in half and spread bottom half with butter mixture. Layer ham, cheese and lettuce on top of butter. Spread honey mustard mixture on the bottom of the top biscuit and place on lettuce. Secure with sandwich pick. Refrigerate before serving and any leftovers.

Makes 40 sandwiches.

I didn’t get a picture of this next recipe but everyone was raving over it.  It’s super simple to make and you can make it earlier in the day and let it marinate in the fridge. I use a chunk of mozzarella and cube it myself.

Marinated Mozzarella

1/3 cup good olive oil
1 tbsp chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp minced fresh chives
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 pound cubed part-skim mozzarella

In a ziplock bag, combine the all ingredients except mozzarella and squish to combine well. Add cheese cubes. Seal bag and squish lightly around to coat all the pieces of mozzarella. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and serve with toothpicks.

Makes 8-10 servings

This cheeseball recipe came from Recipezaar and got loads of thumbs up.  It’s easy and delicious and it’s make ahead.  The link to the recipe: Amy’s Beer & Ranch Cheese Ball

This spicy recipe also came from Recipezaar and it is really tasty.  I was a little hesitant about the combo but it works and everyone seemed to like it since it was almost gone and it couldn’t be easier to make.  Here’s the link:  Spicy Cranberry Cheese Spread

I am not a fan of refried beans so for this dip so I switched out the refrieds for black beans and it worked great.  The picture isn’t so great but you get the idea.

Layered Tex-Mex Dip

1 16 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsps salsa
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 cup guacamole
1 cup shredded Chddar cheese
1/s cup chopped tomatoes
2 green onions, chopped
Tortilla chips

Mix black beans with sals ain a small bowl and spoon in a thin layer over a 12 or 13 inch serving plate.

Spoon sour cream over beans leaving about 1 inch border of beans around the edge. Spread guacamole over sour cream, leaving a border of sour cream showing.

Sprinkle cheese, tomatoes and green onions over guacamole.

Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, for no more than 6 hours.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Makes 16 servings

I used to make a recipe similar to this cheese ball years ago but I misplaced it.  This one that I found on Recipezaar is very close to that one.  I love horseradish so I always sneak in a lttle more than called for.  I rolled it in some of the chipped beef and made it into a log just to be different.  Here is the link to the recipe:   Chipped Beef Cheese Ball

Happy Cooking!