St. Patrick’s Day may be about drinking, but you still have to eat! Here’s a fun way to turn the classic corned beef and cabbage meal into a finger-food appetizer for your Irish festivities this year.

Erin go Bragh!

Corned Beef Cabbage Rolls

(Makes 12)
6 Savoy cabbage leaves
1/2 cup stone-ground mustard
2 slices dark rye bread
1/2 lb. corned beef

Trim off the white core at the bottom. Steam cabbage leaves for no more than 2 minutes.  Rinse with cold water and pat dry. Cut leaves in half length-wise.

Cut rye bread and corned beef into strips. Spread mustard onto the bread strips and place corned beef on top. Lay the bread/corned beef section on a half cabbage leaf and roll.

Ideas for optional dips or alterations:

• Dip idea: Mix equal parts mayonnaise and chopped dill
• Dip idea: Mix 1/4 cup sour cream with 3 tbs. prepared horseradish
• Alteration: Leave out the bread for a low-carb appetizer
• Alteration: Don’t steam the cabbage for a crispier treat

Other St. Patrick’s Day party recipes:

Irish Car Bomb cupcakes
Whisky cupcakes
St. Patrick’s Day cocktails
How to pour a perfect Guinness pint
Recipe inspired by The Food Network

Shrimp Cocktail is a classic cocktail party appetizer … and for good reason. It’s finger food that tastes fancy without a ton of work. Also, it goes great with cocktails and beer!

You can serve it in individual sauce-and-shrimp glasses or lay the shrimp out on a large platter and provide a bowl of cocktail sauce. It all depends on the type of party. Be aware that you want these to remain cold—-so it may be advisable to keep it on ice.

Note that shrimp is sold by the number of shrimp needed to make a pound. So how many servings depends on how large your shrimp is. For example, 21-25 count shrimp means a pound will contain 21-25 pieces of shrimp. Choose the size you like best.

Here’s my favorite simple recipe:

Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp

1 lemon, halved
1 tbs. kosher salt
1 tbs. black peppercorns
1 tbs. Old Bay seasoning
1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
1 pound unpeeled shrimp

Fill a medium-sized pot with water then squeeze the lemon and put it in the pot along with the salt, onion, peppercorns and seasoning. Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.

On medium heat, add the shrimp. Gently cook until the shrimp turn pink and are no longer translucent. Drain the water and peel the shrimp. You may want to leave on the tail for looks or to make them easier to handle. Put peeled shrimp in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the cocktail sauce, at least 30 minutes.

Cocktail Sauce

1 cup ketchup
2 tbs. fresh horseradish, grated
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 grind fresh pepper
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

Combine the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, pepper and Tabaso in a small pot and warm over low heat for about 7 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator. Add parsley right before serving.

Photo credit: SpecialKRB

Super Bowl party food is the best!

Game time is the perfect time for those snacks you’ve been craving for months.

No matter who you’re rooting for, here are a few of our favorite Super Bowl food recipes:

Buffalo Wings
Creamy Artichoke Dip
Slow Cooker Super Bowl Chili
Sliders with Chipotle Mayo
Mexican Layered Dip
Deviled Eggs
Bacon Cheddar Popcorn
Whiskey Brownies

Football-Themed Cocktails

Photo credit Ron Almog

Deviled eggs are a tasty cocktail party finger food that you cannot go wrong serving!

They look fancy, but take less than 15 minutes to make.  Here’s my favorite, super-simple recipe:

Deviled Eggs

12 eggs
1/2 cup safflower mayonnaise
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Paprika (garnish)

Put eggs in a sauce pan, cover with water and add a splash of vinegar. Bring eggs to a boil on medium-high heat then turn down heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain the hot water and run cool water over the eggs.

Peel cooled eggs. Slice eggs in half lengthwise, scooping out the yolks. Mash half the yolks with a fork and stir in mayonnaise, parsley and mustard. Sprinkle in salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the hollows in the egg whites and sprinkle with paprika. To make it pretty, use a cake decorating gun or plastic bag with the corner cut off to dispense the filling.

more cocktail food
for everything Deviled Eggs check out deviledeggs.com

Photo credit: TheGiantVermin

Whether it’s game time or just party time, Buffalo wings are a crowd pleaser. They are also pretty simple to make. Here’s a basic recipe that will make ‘em come back for seconds … and maybe thirds!

Buffalo Wings

24 chicken wings
1/2 cup butter
1 tbs. Tabasco sauce
1 cup cayenne pepper or Louisiana hot sauce
Canola oil

Cut the tips off the wings (throw them out or keep them to make a stock) and then cut the chicken wings in half at the joint. Fry wings in a pan with a couple inches of oil. Put on paper towels to drain. Melt the butter and pour in the hot sauces. Dip fried wings into the sauce. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.

more cocktail party food
Photo credit VirtualErn

With October just a week or so away, I thought a little cocktail party food refresher was in order. I always have an issue with this, but when trying to decide how much food to get for your cocktail party - always err on the side of too much! You can always put it in the fridge or send extras home with friends. I always seem to have takers.

When planning party food, this is my top 10 (in no particular order):

(more…)

If on Halloween you and your guests want to ingest more than candy and cocktails, here are some tasty Halloween recipes.

Dessert
Halloween Cake Balls

Brain Cupcakes

Caramel Apples

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Light appetizers
Screaming Hot Peanuts

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chipotle Deviled Eggs

Eyeball Caprese 

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

Heavy Appetizers/Main Course
Pumpkin Stuffed with Bread and Cheese

Pumpkin Gratin

Pumpkin Curry

Halloween cocktail and punch recipes

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