Party Panache, Spur of the Moment Appetizer Buffet

the Painted Apron

8 years ago

My favorite way to entertain is to invite friends over for appetizers, it’s casual, perfect for last minute, and guests only stay for several hours

Do everything in advance so you can sit back and enjoy the gathering

Clean up is minimal with an appetizer buffet, there are less things to put away without a table setting

Even though HH and I were whipped 😵 after 5 days with grands over the holiday weekend, we wanted to catch up with some island friends

Rather than fighting the summer crowds at restaurants, it’s much nicer to stay home and relax

I will go to great lengths to avoid a trip to the grocery, and love the challenge of creating dishes from what’s on hand

This is a flatbread topped with fig jam and pear paste or preserves*, blueberries, bacon, bleu cheese and Parmesan

*or use fresh figs or pears

Crazy combo, crazy good!

I had burger meat in the freezer, and plenty of tortillas and cheese in the fridge, so I decided to make taco quesadillas

To make fast and easy quesadillas I cooked a batch of taco seasoned ground beef and layered it between 2 flour tortillas with lots of grated cheese to hold it together. I assembled these early in the day and refrigerated them. Right before serving I sprayed them with olive oil and baked them on a cookie sheet and cut them into triangles

The cut quesadilla triangles were piled on a plate along with colorful peppers, tomatoes, romaine, chips and guacamole for dipping

Wholly Guacamole is a new favorite convenience food and comes in handy minis so you can have as much or as little as you like

I got the tomato bowl and turquoise and red plate [it’s melamie!] at Home Goods recently

The blue fish platter was a Home Goods find last year and the square plates are from Christmas Tree Shop a few years ago

The big red fish platter was a gift from my mom a long time ago

Spend a few minutes laying out serving pieces early in the day, and then you can just add the food at the last minute

Provide small plates so guests and help themselves to a little of everything and then move around so people aren’t hovering over the buffet

Even though I only made 2 things, all the food groups were present, meat, vegetables, fruit, cheese and bread and it was a rainbow 🌈

Fast and Fabulous Flatbread

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword blueberry flatbread, easy appetizer, fig and bleu cheese flatbread, flatbread,, party appetizer, sweet and savory flatbread

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Ingredients

refrigerated pizza crust dough like Pillsbury pizza crust in a can
1/4 cup fig jam
4 oz pear paste pear preserves or 1-2 thinly sliced ripe fresh pears
8-10 slices bacon cooked* and torn into 1 inch pieces
1/2 – 1 cup fresh blueberries
2-3 oz crumbled bleu cheese
2 oz shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Shape dough into a large rectangle and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Prick surface all over with fork tines and bake at 400 degrees until firm and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Spread crust with fig jam and pear paste or preserves, or top fig spread with pear slices. Distribute bacon pieces and blueberries evenly over all sprinkle with cheeses. Return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheeses have melted and crust is golden brown. Cut into small squares for serving

Notes

*lay bacon slices on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes until cooked through. Drain well on paper towels. May be done up to 2 days ahead of time

here are some bonuses to entertaining this way-

BONUS 1: these recipes are just as good at room temperature, and can safely stay out for several hours, making them perfect for party buffets

BONUS 2: add prepared snacks, like Wild Snax, or popcorn for more variety

BONUS 3: dessert is optional for this type of party, guests don’t really expect it. If you want to be a super hostess, wrap a cookie, snacks or some chocolates as a departing party favor

Party and Shower Ideas here