Ok, so my mom has made it clear she expects to have a 50th Anniversary party.  She seems to think there will be a lot of people, but I'm sure it will end up being pretty small, just the 10 of us local family and assuming she has it at her church, some of those people.  So I'm guessing around 25-50 at the absolute most, and I think that's being overly optimistic.

Anyway, I will probably be doing much of the food.   In thinking back over the weddings I have attended, the best food was always the ones that had hot & cold hors d'oeuvres rather than a regular meal.  But I can't for the life of me remember anything specific except melted brie with preserves and sweet & sour meatballs.  Of course we will have the usual fruit & veggies trays with dips, and pigs-in-a-blanket are a must with my family :)

Any suggestions for some really good finger foods?  Also, bear in mind my mother does not have a very sophisticated palate, so most ethnic foods would be out, or any "unusual" flavor combinations.  I guess you would call them simple Midwestern/southern country folk in their tastes, & I imagine most of their church people would be similar, though my family & my siblings are more adventurous and I would like it to be somewhat elegant.  I particularly need quick & easy, or what can be made ahead, since I will also be doing the cake.  Thanks!

*Also should add that my parents & most of the rest of the family don't eat seafood.

Mix together some salad shrimp and ****tail sauce and pour over a block of cream cheese - serve wtih crackers

mini cheese balls with a fancy toothpick put in them

the land o lakes web site has a fabulous hot dip made with swiss cheese and ham- serve with little bread rounds

chocolate fountain with fresh fruit, marshmallows and chunks of angel food or pound cake

lay peices of ham flat and spread them with cream cheese. Put a green onion on the ham and roll it up, then slice it into little rounds.

lunch meats and cheeses with little rolls for mini sandwiches (don't forget condiments)

That is all I can think of for now, but I have a bunch because my family loves finger foods and I will get back with ya!

Di

ridiculously easy and delicious--and after baking just toss 'em in zip lock bags & freeze

(if you can keep from eating them)

i reheated mine to serve them

i think the flavors of bacon and parm & cracker might be mainstream enough for your folks

then there's a variation where you sub brown sugar for the parmesan

for one package of bacon you use one sleeve of the club ctackers

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/flashback_1981_-_holiday_bacon_appetizers/

i think i need to make some!!!

you def need to make both kinds--mmmm

Thanks for the suggestions, keep 'em coming!  It's not until Sept, but I want to start getting ideas together now while I am not so busy....

Another thing I forgot to mention is that my parents and most of the family do not eat seafood, either. 

I have been looking online some, and it seems that most of the really popular ideas involve something wrapped in bacon; go figure ;)   One I have seen mentioned over and over is dates stuffed with some type of cheese or almonds and wrapped in bacon.  Sounds intriguing, but I wonder if dates would be too exotic for my parents? 

Wow, back in the day a thread about food would never have died so quickly, LOL!

I saw so many mentions of the bacon-wrapped dates I had to try it.  My husband, daughter, and I all liked them (10 yo old son thought they were disgusting, LOL), but we all agreed they would be too "weird" for Granny ;)   I had to laugh at my husband when he asked if it was an authentic Middle Eastern recipe.  Umm, no....hello, bacon?  I am going to try the bacon-cracker things, too, but haven't had a chance yet since they have such a long cooking time.

I browsed the frozen food section at Kroger, and saw a few interesting ideas, but most were not very cost-effective for a crowd.  I sure wish we had a Costco! 

Chicken livers wrapped in half strips of bacon and closed with a toothpick.  Make them up ahead of time, bake them at the last minute with spicy sauce of your choice drizzled on.  I bet your folks are used to liver.

Swedish meatballs (NOT sweet-sour) made with half ground beef, half ground pork with mushroom gravy.  They taste great made ahead and reheated gently. We used to make these by the bucketful for parties and they always went first. These are also finger food when you add toothpicks.

Stuffed mushroom caps, made ahead and baked at the last minute.

y'know what i bet they would like those biscuit mix sausage cheese balls

remember those?? bet they'd like them and they are make ahead friendly

i had thought of something else though & meant to come back here anyway...can't remember...

i'll be back...

Oh yeah, those sausage balls are still very popular around here!

I just had a thought....since casseroles were so popular back around the time they were growing up & got married, and still a staple of church pot-lucks, maybe individual mini-casseroles?  Or layer round ravioli's & sauce for mini-lasagnas??  Do you think a foil muffin tin would suffice for a disposable ramekin, or should I get the actual disposable foil ramekins??

I love party foods, so trying all these ideas out will be fun, but I bet you anything after I do, my mom will end up deciding in the end she wants to do a simple buffet dinner instead ;)

i just haven't had any of those cheese sausage balls in a long time

(when is that party???  and the address??)

i think the mini casserole idea is a great one

here's another thought

you can make cups too out of sliced bread or phyllo dough

just cut the frozen bread with a cookie cookie cutter and butter it and stick it down into mini or regular muffin cups & bake till crispy

same with phylo dough--just butter in between the sheets

I've done a little more experimenting this weekend.  I found some frozen arancini (Italian appetizer made out of leftover risotto & cheese made into a ball & breaded and fried) at Kroger that turned out to be pretty good, and super easy.  Not quite as good as at a restaurant, but good.  I tried to make an oven-baked version of toasted ravioli, but wasn't thrilled with the results.  I thought they seemed too dry and a little chewy.  The family liked them, but I didn't think they were good enough.  I guess they just really need to be fried. I also tried the bacon-cracker thingys with mixed reviews.  My husband liked them, daughter like the brown sugar version, son didn't like them.  I liked the Parmesan version better, but it was just too greasy for me even though it had good flavor.  I thought the brown sugar ones were too sweet & sugary, and if you were going for that salty-sweet-smoky combo I prefer the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with cheese (even if my mom would think they were too weird & exotic ;-) )

I'm  keeping a running list of things to try.  Good thing about appetizers; it's easy to scale down the recipe to just make a few to try in most cases!  Does anyone know if Sam's Club has any really good ready-made hors d'eouvres?  Unfortunately, we don't have a Costco :(

Have you tried the Frank's Buffalo Chicken Dip? It is really good.

Homemade chips.... get a package of wonton wrappers... cut in half on the diagonal and then brush with eggwhite or just water, sprinkle your favorite topping on (my hubby and son love garlic and onion) or brush with balsamic vinegar... bake on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven for 3 -5 minutes or until crispy and serve with dips or just plain... I have used it at several parties and it is always a hit. oh and it is heart healthy and only 5 calories per chip.

How about mini-quiches made in foil muffin cups, puff pastry shells, filo dough in muffin pan, or bread stuffed in muffin pan (as mentioned previously). I guess that's the same as mini-casseroles, but I would cut dough circles to put in the bottom of the foil cups. If you don't want to make dough, just use supermarket already-rolled-out pie dough.

Also,  chop spinach, artichoke (hearts and/or bottoms), and cheese together. Add seasonings. Put a dollop in the center of a wonton wrapper. gather up the corners and edges and seal shut with water or brushed beaten egg white. Bake in preheated oven at 375oF. Check at 5 minutes and you'll probably have to add a couple of minutes - you want them hot enough to melt the cheese but not burnt.

Or take refrigerated biscuits (that come in a tube). Flatten and stretch with a rolling pin (you may want to use just half a biscuit). Add some filling, fold over and seal, and bake. Cheeseburger = cooked hamburger, cheese, bacon, tomato; taco = hamburger cooked with taco seasoning, Mexican mix cheese, tomato, black olives, maybe a teesy bit of jalapeno and serve with Guacamole dip. Think of other mixtures and seasonings. Sausage. Ground turkey with sage. Ham and cream cheese.....

Bowls of nuts and party mix (e.g., Chex mix).

Cheese twists: refrigerrated bread sticks, flatten a bit, coat one side with parmesan cheese and a dusting of paprika for color. Then twist and bake.

I usually rely on allrecipes.com

AGo to skinnytaste.com and look at the appetizers list. She has some amazing recipes that people will never know are diet friendly. I love her pecan pie tartlets (phyllo dough cups baked with pecans, honey, and brown sugar)! Yum yum! Good luck!