Appetizers are generally foods served before a main course. They are intended to sustain guests while they wait for the main meal, to extend the length of a meal or to add to the formality of a meal. That said, some parties consist of nothing but appetizers, which are often served in abundance throughout the course of the night. If you will be serving appetizers this Christmas season, consider ways to incorporate the season into your dishes.
Meat and Cheese Tree
Cover a Styrofoam cone with pieces of fresh rosemary using toothpicks to secure. This will resemble the branches of the tree. Then, use tiny cookie cutters to cut stars and circles out of various types of cheeses and meats. Secure these shapes to the tree with toothpicks to resemble the tree's decorations. If your guests will be sitting at different tables, place one meat and cheese tree in the middle of each table to double as centerpieces.
Mini Bagel Wreaths
Mini bagel wreaths are made by spreading cream cheese on open-faced mini bagels. For an added festive touch, add a few drops of green food dye to the cream cheese and mix it together before spreading. Then, sprinkle the top of the bagels with tiny pieces of red and green bell peppers.
Rudolph Delights
To make Rudolph delights, cut graham crackers from one corner to another, forming a triangle shape. Next, spread 1 tsp. peanut butter on one side of each cracker, press one maraschino cherry on one of the triangle's tips to create Rudolph's nose and press two raisins on to the top of the graham cracker to create his eyes. Finally, break small pretzels to form antlers, and press them on to the graham cracker directly above the "eyes."
Veggies and Dip
Purchase a serving dish shaped like a triangle (for a tree), a circle (for a wreath) or a Christmas stocking. Then, fill the dish with a vegetable dip of your choice. If you like, you can use a dip in a Christmas color. Finally, decorate the dish using many pieces of green and red vegetables, such as peppers, olives, tomatoes, broccoli and celery. If you're using a triangle dish, arrange the vegetables to look like ornaments, and place a star made out of yellow pepper on the top. If you're using a circle dish, use lots of green vegetables to look like leaves, and arrange some red vegetables at the bottom to look like a bow. If you're using a tray shaped like a Christmas stocking, cover most of it with red vegetables and place a bunch of green vegetables near the top to look like the cuff.
Tags: look like, green vegetables, Christmas stocking, cream cheese, graham cracker, like Christmas, pieces green
