Any tried-and-true, different & delicious party appetizer recipes?

We are going to a party tomorrow night at the home of one of my husband's co-workers. I am looking for something different to take. Any (and all) suggestions would be greatly appreciated!Any tried-and-true, different %26amp; delicious party appetizer recipes?
Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball





1- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened


1 stick butter, softened


1/2 cup chopped pecans, finely chopped


2 Tbsp. light brown sugar


3/4 cup powdered sugar


1 tsp. vanilla


3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips





Combine all ingredients (except choc. chips) in a bowl, much like you would a cookie dough. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. Take out mixture, form into a ball, then roll it in the choc. chips. Refrigerate again until ready to serve. Serve with graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or shortbread cookies.


______________________





Spanakopita (Spinach Tarts)





1/2 cup olive oil


1 bunch chopped scallions, white and green parts


2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted


2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill


3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten


7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled


1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


40 sheets (1 box) frozen phyllo dough (such as Pepperidge Farm), defrosted overnight in the refrigerator


1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted


1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs





Preheat oven to 400潞F. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add the scallions. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the scallions, dill, eggs, feta, salt, and pepper and mix together.





Keep the phyllo dough sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel. Unfold 1 sheet of the phyllo dough. Brush the sheet with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Repeat the process by laying a second sheet of phyllo dough over the first sheet, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs until all 10 sheets have been used. Spoon 3/4 cup of the spinach mixture into a sausage shape along one edge of the phyllo dough. Roll it up. Brush the top with butter and score the roll into 1-inch rounds. Place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the pastry and filling have been used.





Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Serve warm.





--Ina Garten


________________________





Boursin Dijon Lemon Artichoke Dip





1 tub of Boursin cheese


2 tablespoons capers (more or less to your taste)


1 tablespoon dijon mustard


juice of one fresh lemon


drizzle of good olive oil





In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and capers. Mash the capers up and add the boursin and dijon mustard. Drizzle in just a bit of olive oil to give it a smooth dip consistency. It can be as thick or thin as you like. You can also leave the capers whole if you like the little bursts of flavor.


____________________





Edna鈥檚 Armadillo Eggs





Mix together:


陆 lb. Owens Hot Sausage


陆 lb. shredded Monterey Jack cheese


1陆 cups Bisquick


And enough water to be able to pat these into little pancakes.





Seed a whole pickled jalapeno pepper and place a small piece of monterey jack cheese inside the pepper. Place stuffed jalapeno on top of a little pancake and close pancake to seal, forming into the shape of an egg.





Brush eggs with an egg wash (1 egg beat with 1 Tbsp. water). Bake in a slow oven (about 325潞F) for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.Any tried-and-true, different %26amp; delicious party appetizer recipes?
Dumplings are a fun finger food that everyone loves. These dumplings have pork, but you can always play around an make all vegetable dumplings or seafood. Enjoy!





Chinese Dumplings





**triple-tested at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute**





INGREDIENTS


2 cup(s) (packed) sliced Chinese cabbage (Napa)


1/2 pound(s) ground pork


2 tablespoon(s) soy sauce


1 tablespoon(s) dry sherry


2 teaspoon(s) cornstarch


1 1/2 teaspoon(s) ginger root, minced, peeled


1 green onion, minced


36 (3/4 12-ounce package) wonton-skin wrappers, 3 1/2'; by 3 1/4';


1 large egg white, beaten


Soy Dipping Sauce (recipe below)


Green onions for garnish





DIRECTIONS


1. Prepare filling: In 2-quart saucepan over high heat, in 1 inch boiling water, heat cabbage to boiling. Cook cabbage 1 minute; drain. Immediately run cold water over cabbage to cool. With hands, squeeze as much water out of cabbage as possible.


2. Finely chop cabbage. Squeeze liquid from chopped cabbage; place in medium bowl. Stir in pork, soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, ginger, and green onion.


3. Arrange half of wonton-skin wrappers on large sheet of waxed paper. With pastry brush, brush each wrapper lightly with egg white. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon filling onto center of each wonton wrapper. Bring opposite corners of wonton wrapper up over filling; pinch and pleat edges together to seal in filling. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers, egg white, and filling


4. In deep 12-inch skillet over high heat, heat 1/2 inch water to boiling. Place all dumplings, pleated edges up, in one layer in skillet. Stir gently with spoon or heat-proof spatula to prevent dumplings from sticking to bottom of skillet. Heat dumplings to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.


5. Meanwhile, prepare Soy Dipping Sauce: In small serving bowl, mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons angel-hair-thin strips peeled ginger root. Makes about 1/2 cup sauce.


6. With slotted spoon, remove dumplings to platter; garnish with green onions. Serve with dipping sauce.





For other appetizer ideas, check out: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/search/f鈥?/a>
The FoodNetwork website has a great recipe for a hot corn dip. It sounds a little wierd but everyone goes nuts for it when I make it. (I use frozen corn and it works just fine.)





2 tablespoons unsalted butter


3 1/2 cups corn kernels (from 4 ears fresh white or yellow corn)


1/2 teaspoon salt


1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


1 cup finely chopped yellow onions


1/2 cup finely chopped red bell peppers


1/4 cup chopped green onions (green and white parts)


1 jalapeno, seeded and minced


2 teaspoons minced garlic


1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise


4 ounces monterey jack or cheddar, shredded


4 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded


1/4 teaspoon cayenne


Tortilla chips, for dipping





Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels turn deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Add the onions and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, until the onions are wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the green onions, jalapeno, and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Transfer to the bowl with the corn. Add the mayonnaise, 1/2 of the monterey jack and half of the cheddar, and the cayenne and mix well. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve hot with the chips.
Smoked Sausage Crock Pot Heinz 57


1 bottle Heinz 57 steak sauce (small)


1 can jelled cranberry sauce


2 tablespoons brown sugar


3 lbs sliced smoked sausage


Brown sliced smoked sausage. Melt steak sauce, cranberry sauce and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Place meatballs in crock-pot, pour mixture over and place the crock-pot on low. Excellent!





********Marmalade Meat Balls





Ingredients


2 pounds fully cooked frozen meatballs


1 bottle (16-ounce) Catalina salad dressing


1 cup orange marmalade


3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce


1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes=1/4 cup





Instructions


Place frozen meatballs in the insert of a slow cooker. In a bowl, stir


to combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over meatballs and stir to coat. Cook on high setting for


2 to 3 hours.
WHISKEY SHRIMP. I HAVE MADE THESE FOR APPETIZERS MANY TIMES AND THEY ARE A BIG HIT. NEVER ANY LEFT.





1 pound peeled and deviened raw shrimp medium size is fine


1cup catsup


1cup whiskey


1 tablespoon lemon zest


1 large sprig thyme





mix catsup, whiskey, lemon zest, %26amp; thyme in large frying pan or saute pan. DO NOT MIX WITH PAN ON BURNER AS ALCOHOL IS FLAMABLE!


Place on medium heat on stove top and let simmer until it starts to thicken a little.Add shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink or is cooked.


Serve warm.


alcohol does not cook out in this recipe.
Those little cocktail smokies are admittedly not very different but what you can do to make them different is take along a selection of dips for them. I have three that I always use with them.





The first is simply bottled barbecue sauce--roasted garlic is great.





The second is a sauce we always made at Boy Scout get-togethers: 1/2 cup grape jelly mixed with 1 cup ketchup and melted over low heat until bubbly. Odd, yes, but wonderful!





And third my special honey-mustard:





1/2 cup Miracle Whip


1/4 cup honey


4 tablespoons Dijon mustard


4 tablespoons regular mustard


2 tablespoons horseradish sauce


1 teaspoon garlic powder


1/4 teaspoon white pepper or to taste





Mix all ingredients well.





Arrange your platter with the smokies in the center surrounded by little dishes of the sauces and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh parsley. Makes a very pretty dish!
Here are 2 very easy but tasty tips:


Pour picante over cream cheese. Serve at room temperature with white corn chips (like tostitos).





Pour pepper jelly over cream cheese and serve with crackers.