East Meets South: appetizers

Easy Party Recipes

Hosting a party can be stressful, especially when it comes time to prepare food. I have my go-to recipes when we have guests over or when we are invited to a friend's house for a potluck gathering. When we had our house warming party last weekend, I tried a few new recipes along with the ones I always make. One of the easiest things you can make that may look the fanciest is a cheese tray. Who doesn't love cheese? It is definitely a crowd pleaser.

I decided to use havarti, goat, brie, jalapeno jack, and assorted meats. Yum.

One of my favorite recipes to make is these bacon wrapped jalapeno thingies (yep, that is what they are called). I love anything Ree from The Pioneer Woman makes. And if you have read any of her posts, you know how funny and charming she is! I have been reading and following her blog long before she had her TV show, and I just love her. She keeps her posts down to earth, and her writing about how nervous she gets about her TV episodes are just so cute. Not to mention her recipes are so easy to follow.

RECIPE

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Here are some other ones that I have saved for next time to switch things up a bit. If you have tried any of these recipes, let me know!

{Antipasto Salad Kabobs}

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{Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs}

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{Kale and Artichoke Dip}

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{Saucy Asian Meatballs}

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{Bacon Corn Dip}

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Easy Cheese Appetizers

appetizers 6:00 AM

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I really try to photograph the results from my own kitchen but mine did not turn out this pretty. Better luck next time!

Brie is one of my favorite cheeses. I love all cheeses really, except for blue cheese. I just can't do blue cheese. Anyway, I finally tried out the Publix that opened near our place the other day. Every one had me so hyped up that I wasn't that impressed. Don't get me wrong, I have definitely been back and will go back but, how impressed can you be with a grocery store? But I guess my expectations were just too high. They were sampling baked brie and I knew I had to finally try this. I had seen different variations on Pinterest but when the sample lady told me just how easy it was, it was no brainer. Sample corners always get me. Especially at Trader Joe's.

To make baked brie, all you need are brie, refrigerated pie crust or puff pastry, and some jam. I used strawberry basil but you can obviously use any kind. You just wrap the brie with the pastry and either put the jam inside or top it off on the outside. Bake it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes and it's done! I felt like this would be the perfect appetizer option for the holiday season! If you are feeling fancy, I found some other cheese appetizer variations on Pinterest that you could try. Do you have any that you'd like to share or any tips on how to make them as pretty as the photo above?

Wine-Spiked Cranberry Cheese Log