Party Canapes

Last night we had company and I went all out on appetizers.  There was an article in the paper that was about party canapés.  It had the following subtitles:

Bases

Toppers

Garnishes

Spreads

Under these were the following:

Bases

Multigrain crackers

Slices of seedless cucumber

Toasted baguette slices

Purchased phyllo cups (freezer section)

Toppers

Small cooked and peeled shrimp

Shredded cooked chicken

Halved cherry tomatoes

Crabmeat

Small wedges of Manchego cheese

Garnishes

Shaved parmesan cheese

Sliced green and black olives

Sliced hot peppers

Sliced scallions

Parsley (I added this)

Spreads

Garlic-herb cream cheese

Zesty barbecue spread

Orange sweet potato spread

The barbecue spread did not appeal to me.  I made the other two and put them in small plastic bags to squirt on the bases.

Garlic-herb cream cheese

Ingredients:

4 oz. softened cream cheese

2 T milk

Pinch of salt

¼ t black pepper

1 T chopped fresh thyme (1t dried)

1 T chopped fresh oregano (1 t dried)

1 t minced fresh garlic

Directions:

In a medium bowel beat together all ingredients.

Orange sweet potato spread

Ingredients:

1 smallish sweet potato, microwaved until fork-tender

2 T orange marmalade

1 T cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.       Peel the sweet potato, then place it in a medium bowl and mash it.

2.       Stir in the orange marmalade and vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. 

So how easy was that to make the two spreads?  With these two you can make multiple choices to create all different appetizers.  I did not go nuts as there was only going to be 4 of us. 

For the first one, I topped a sliced cucumber with the garlic cream cheese and placed a ½ cherry tomato on top.  I did not garnish.  The second one was a salt and pepper Triscut with the sweet potato spread. I topped it with a shrimp and sprinkled with parsley. 

The sweet potato topping was by far the favorite and I am going to make more for Jim and I tonight.