What Are Quick Hot Appetizer Ideas for an Office Potluck?

[Math Is Hard]

Has anybody else here gotten roped into a holiday potluck this month?

 

[Tsu]

Fast and easy:

1 can chili
1 bag grated cheese
1 bag tortilla chips

You know what to do.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Giant bag o' Frito Pie?

 

[Tsu]

...although, if you do the bruschetta - SEND ME SOME! AND - YEAH! - LOTTSA GARLIC

 

[Tsu]

Giant bag o' Frito Pie?

well...OK. (gak!)

Or you can just heat the chili, add the cheese and use it as a dip. It doesn't suck!

 

[Sorry!]

Can you teach me?

It's really easy slice up a bagette bake it in the oven... like 1-2 mins per side just so it gets slightly toasted... rub it with a piece of garlic... or if you want you can use that garlic spread they sell at the super markets.
Mix up some diced tomatoes, some garlic, and some basil (all however you want it to taste... you can even add other veggies into the mix like sometimes I put some red onion )
put extra virgin olive oil and BAM bruschetta :P
You could add like some cheese on it like romano or mozzerella even parmigiano

You can ALSO add if you want some Balsamic to your veggie mix or some oregeno

It's really important you put some good olive oil on the veggies after you put them on the bread though.

EDIT: I should add that before you toast your berad you should also drizzle some oil over the bread :p

 

[Math Is Hard]

That sounds great. Do you cook the tomatoes?

 

[Sorry!]

Here's a good video I found on making bruschetta.. Just remember though you can change it up... some cheese on them tastes really good :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-xk4ateXE4&feature=related

EDIT: Just noticed you already replied Nope don't cook them just dice them up and plop them on the toasted bread... if you watch the video it'll show you a good basic recipe for it

 

[Math Is Hard]

Thanks - that's a really helpful video!

 

[Sorry!]

Thanks - that's a really helpful video!

No problem, hopefully you make it and it'll be a hit

 

[Vanadium 50]

Spam Tater-Tot Velveeta De-lites

Do you suggest those little plastic toothpicks for added flavor and texture?

I doubt one could possibly improve on the flavor and texture. The little plastic toothpicks would be there solely to increase the nutritional content.

 

[GeorginaS]

That sounds great. Do you cook the tomatoes?

I didn't watch the video, but no, you don't cook the tomatoes. You dice them really small and mix with the stuff Sorry! listed. (Red onion, finely diced, absolutely.) Fresh basil and whatnot. (I, personally, would not add balsamic vinegar to the tomato stuff.) That part, prepare the night before and let it sit in the fridge over night. It tastes way, way better when the flavours have a chance to mingle. The only cooking part that's done right before serving is heating the baguette slices and that's super-quick. Rub with garlic, [adding that I wouldn't use a garlic spread at this point but only use a garlic clove, end cut, and rubbed -- what you're looking for is almost an essence of garlic on the bread, no overkill] drizzle the extra virgin olive oil (worth it to pay a bit more for nice stuff) toss on cool tomato stuff, a bit more olive oil on top, fantastic.

 

[sportsstar469]

well I've been making myself ''calzone'' pitas for lunch this week. i take a whole wheat pita loaf throw some shredded mozzarella or cheddar in there and then some sliced genoa salami, and heat at 425 degrees for about 15.

comes out crisp and good. i might consider buying tomato sauce and adding one more meat. I've been working at this recipe for 2 days so its not phenomenal yet. also the pita is t small for the filling i put in. oes anyone have a better suggestion? i doubt ill stop using the pita though since its pretty good, pretty cheap, and nutritious. but id like some options also.

but yeah i think these would make good appetizers and theyre pretty small so theyd make good single serve apps.

 

[Monique]

I love bruschetta. You can't go wrong with tomatoes/mozzarella/basil/olive oil. I often eat an adapted version for breakfast or lunch: toast a stick of bread in the oven, slice in half, put tomatoes and sliced avocado on top, pour extra virgin olive oil over it and add sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Absolutely delicious! I know it's good, because I had an Italian copy the recipe from me

I like turbo-1's interpretation of a 'hot' appetizer

 

[turbo]

That sounds amazing! I might have to try making that for my wife!

I'm assuming you can use different cheeses as well?... Also, any time frame for how long it takes for the cheese to turn brown (assuming monterey jack is used), just in case I'm making it for a surprise meal or something similar?

I often make this on my gas grill set on "high" with the cover closed, and just peek in from time to time. I don't time stuff, usually, but 10-15 minutes is probably about right. I have made them in the oven, and IIR, I used a setting of 450 deg.

You can use other cheeses, for sure. I made them one time with extra-sharp Vermont cheddar instead of Monterey Jack, we we had run out of that. Generally, there is a bag of pre-shredded Monterey Jack in the fridge, though, for nachos, etc.

 

[turbo]

I like turbo-1's interpretation of a 'hot' appetizer

If you clean out the placenta and seeds really well, they are not all that hot, and the cheeses moderate that even further. They are really good, and are a favorite appetizer at cook-outs. They disappear very quickly - almost as fast as my spicy marinated grilled jumbo shrimp.

 

[Evo]

I doubt one could possibly improve on the flavor and texture. The little plastic toothpicks would be there solely to increase the nutritional content.

Vanadium, you should get the funniest member award.

 

[Kronos5253]

I often make this on my gas grill set on "high" with the cover closed, and just peek in from time to time. I don't time stuff, usually, but 10-15 minutes is probably about right. I have made them in the oven, and IIR, I used a setting of 450 deg.

You can use other cheeses, for sure. I made them one time with extra-sharp Vermont cheddar instead of Monterey Jack, we we had run out of that. Generally, there is a bag of pre-shredded Monterey Jack in the fridge, though, for nachos, etc.

Great! Thanks much :)

 

[Monique]

If you clean out the placenta and seeds really well, they are not all that hot, and the cheeses moderate that even further. They are really good, and are a favorite appetizer at cook-outs. They disappear very quickly - almost as fast as my spicy marinated grilled jumbo shrimp.

I often buy the cheese-filled peppers that are preserved in oil, very tasty indeed. I would want to try your recipe, but the only good peppers I can get my hands on are Madame Jeanettes.. they may be a bit too spicy, even without the placenta and seeds.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Sometimes I take some crackers, spread them on a plate, put a slice of pepperoni on each one, a small piece of cheese, one of those small disk shaped pickels and a little mustard on top. Those are good.

 

[Evo]

I often buy the cheese-filled peppers that are preserved in oil, very tasty indeed. I would want to try your recipe, but the only good peppers I can get my hands on are Madame Jeanettes.. they may be a bit too spicy, even without the placenta and seeds.

I use a great brand of mild jalapenos, they're pickled, but I stuff them all of the time. I don't know if you can find these online. The also come stuffed with shrimp or tuna, but those I can only get in southern Texas. See picture of the "MILD" jalapenos, I know turbo will not approve.

 

[turbo]

I often buy the cheese-filled peppers that are preserved in oil, very tasty indeed. I would want to try your recipe, but the only good peppers I can get my hands on are Madame Jeanettes.. they may be a bit too spicy, even without the placenta and seeds.

When I'm cooking for a crowd that has heat-intolerant people (my father has lost his taste for real hot peppers, though he used to love them) I make up some of the cheese-and-bacon stuffed chilies with jalapenos (Mmmm!) and some with Hungarian wax chilies. The Hungarian wax chilies are larger and milder than jalapenos. I don't know what they are called in your part of the world, but perhaps you could find those. I love them in stir-fries. They come in a range of colors, so the stir fry looks as good as it tastes.

Dumb me, Monique! I just looked around a bit and found out that Hungarian wax chilies are paprika. You might be able to find them fresh... Good luck.

 

[Sorry!]

Evo, I have always wanted to try grits... the way it looks just turns me off though hahaha.

Jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheese is extremely good ... I think it requires more effort to make than bruschetta however.

 

[Monique]

I use a great brand of mild jalapenos, they're pickled, but I stuff them all of the time.

I can get these hot peppers, which are delicious straight out of the can, the best thing is the brine that infiltrated the pepper and comes out when you eat them. I think they'll be too difficult to fill, because they are too long and irregular shaped.

These are my favorite, why go through the trouble when someone has already done it for you?

 

[Evo]

Evo, I have always wanted to try grits... the way it looks just turns me off though hahaha.

Grits are wonderful, nothing like them.

Your bruschetta recipe is awesome, I love bruschetta.

Jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheese is extremely good ... I think it requires more effort to make than bruschetta however.

Nah, it's incredibly easy. Bruschetta is much more involved, more ingredients, more complex flavors. Stuffed jalapenos is about as easy as you can get.

 

[George Jones]

Spam Tater-Tot Velveeta De-lites

5. Arrange the slices of fried Spam on another cookie sheet. On each, place a Tater Tot and then a Velveeta slice, securing the arrangement with a decorative toothpick. Bake at 300 for 10 minutes, or until the Velveeta has melted over the Tater Tots and onto the fried Spam, the cookie sheet, and the oven floor.

What if the oven is run by a microprocessor that has a spam filter?

 

[Sorry!]

Grits are wonderful, nothing like them.

Your bruschetta recipe is awesome, I love bruschetta.

Nah, it's incredibly easy. Bruschetta is much more involved, more ingredients, more complex flavors. Stuffed jalapenos is about as easy as you can get.

Lol thanks, and you're probably right, I've never made stuffed jalapenos myself so I wouldn't really know.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I got all the stuff to make "practice bruschetta" tomorrow. I almost bought some heirloom tomatoes just for the fun colors.

 

[GeorginaS]

Practising with food is the best part.

 

[turbo]

Practising with food is the best part.

That's the beauty of having a vegetable garden. You get to practice a lot without paying top prices for the produce.

If you know that you're going to get tagged for some pot-luck in the future, it's a snap to prepare something in advance. Due to the very cold wet summer last year, I didn't get to can my usual batches of pickles because I didn't have enough cucumbers ripening at once. I got some of the big, over-ripe cucumbers from my neighbors, though, and saved them in the 'fridge until I could make a small batch of dill pickles. (halve them, scoop out the seedy cores, then slice them into spears) At the end of the season, I got a few more and made a batch of refrigerator pickles. Make up your brine, like usual, and pack the vegetables in the brine, jar it and refrigerate it. The pickles end up nice and crispy, with a flavor that processed canned pickles, can't get. I made the refrigerator dills with cayenne and jalapeno peppers and lots of fresh garlic. One of my neighbors' granddaughters is hooked on them. She won't eat the chilies, but she'll snag a whole clove of garlic if given the chance, even if it's a bit "hot".