4 Fun And Fuss-Free Finger Food Ideas For A Festive Party
Any festive party needs to have a stellar menu because your guests are going to be super hungry. And if there's a lot of physical revelry involved, whether that's having fun with firecrackers or a whole bunch of colours, your guests will want to be free of encumbrances or anything that gets the hands too messy. Enter: finger foods. If you're worried about running out of ideas for a finger food-focused festive party menu, then we've got you covered with these recipes.
Spinach and Ricotta Crostini
Ingredients
2 cups of baby spinach
½ cup of chopped parsley
½ cup of chopped chives
Garlic as per taste
⅔ cup of ricotta
½ cup of softened goat cheese
½ cup of shredded pecorino Romano
1 tbsp of lemon juice
Salt per taste
½ tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
3 tbsp of olive oil
16 slices of toasted baguette
Instructions
Blanch the baby spinach in a pot of boiling water. Once it's cooled down, squeeze as much water as you can from the leaves.
In a food processor, pulse the herbs and garlic, then add the cheeses, salt, and pepper. Use the pulse setting to retain the structure of the herbs. Finally, add the olive oil.
Spread this mixture on toasted baguette slices. You can toast them in the oven or on the stove with some butter or olive oil.
Serve on a platter.
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Ingredients
10 strips of bacon, you can also use turkey bacon or vegan bacon
20 dates, preferably medjool
1 cup of goats cheese
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Line a baking tray with parchment paper, then preheat the oven to 200 C for about 15 minutes.
Once the oven is warmed, line a baking pan with the bacon strips and cook them until they are cooked but not yet crispy. You want the strips to be pliable enough to wrap around the dates.
Next, generously stuff each date with goat cheese.
Halve the bacon strips, yielding 20 pieces. Wrap each date with a piece of bacon and secure it with a toothpick.
Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. This step will allow all the flavors to meld together. The final result will be a crisp exterior and a warm, gooey interior.
Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
400 grams of button mushrooms (around 20 to 25 pieces)
⅓ cup of finely chopped onion
1 to 2 tsp of finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil
½ tsp of crushed black pepper
½ tsp of chili flakes
½ tsp of dried parsley
½ cup of grated cheese of choice (processed cheese and cheddar cheese are good options)
Instructions
Wash the mushrooms thoroughly to remove any scum and impurities.
Chop off the stalks and finely chop them either by hand or in a food processor.
Cook the chopped stalks with garlic, onion, salt and pepper till all of the moisture has evaporated.
Then add the chili flakes and dried parsley. You can add any other dried herbs like basil and oregano too.
Once this mixture has cooled down, stuff the mushroom cavities with it. Then top it off generously with cheese of your choice.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Once it's hot, place the mushrooms on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes. You can also drizzle them with some olive oil before cooking.
The mushrooms will be done once they’ve darkened a little and the cheese has melted and turned golden.
Serve warm.
Mini Cheese Balls
Ingredients
2 cups of softened cream cheese
½ cup of chopped chives
1 ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 to 2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of black pepper
1 cup of toasted and chopped almonds
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, and other ingredients. Mix well.
Using a tablespoon, scoop out the cream cheese and roll into balls.
Place these balls on a parchment-lined baking paper and refrigerate for around 15 to 20 minutes.
Roll these mini cheese balls in the toasted and finely chopped almonds.
Serve with crackers.
