FF Cooking Club- Halloween Party Appetizers!

Hi everyone! If you are new to this blog, and haven’t read what FF Cooking Club is all about, please refer back to my prior post, FF Cooking Club.

So Halloween is tomorrow and our neighborhood is the place to be.  Everyone goes all out with the decorations, there are hundreds of kids (no exaggeration), and every other house is hosting a party.  Every year we invite our family over, dress in themed costumes (this year we are all Sesame Street characters), and hand out candy to all the kids.  For our traditional annual Halloween party, I like to create an appetizer party.  What’s an appetizer party you ask?  Basically, we cook our favorite appetizers, everyone brings their own favorite appetizers, and we just drink and eat as we hand out candy.  It’s the perfect kind of party for Halloween because there is no formal sit down meal, every one can pick at the appetizers through the night, and the appetizers are easy to eat with one hand while passing out candy with the other.  Today on the FF cooking club I am going to pick my favorite appetizers that I traditionally cook for our Halloween party, but also make for all my other parties.  Happy Cooking!

So what’s on the menu for the Halloween appetizer party?

Pizza Pockets

• This is by far and away everyone’s favorite appetizer. In fact my brother in law, Matt, will not come to one of our parties unless these are being served.
• The preparation is tedious, so I like to make these the night before and then just pop them in the oven the day of the party.
• Serve with warmed up marinara sauce (buy already made to make it simple).
• This kitchen tool, the empanada press, made making the pockets a million times easier.  It’s an awesome kitchen tool for not only these apps but for all empanada recipes.

Shrimp Platter

• I have been making this for YEARS! It is one of my absolute favorites!
• I purchase the frozen peeled, deveined, tail off medium shrimp in a bag and defrost under warm (not hot) water.  The recipe calls for the tails on but I definitely like it without the tails.
• It’s so easy and amazing!
• I serve this with small baquettes and crackers.

Queso Dip

• This is everyone’s FAVORITE football party appetizer!  It’s so good, I did a whole blog last year just on this dip.
• This dip has become famous with my hubby and all his friends and is so easy to make.
• I like to serve this in a slow cooker on warm to keep the dip hot and delicious, and of course serve it with tortilla chips.
• I promise no matter how much you make, it will be gone.

Stuffed Mushrooms

• Delicious! I am a HUGE fan of mushrooms, so this is always a great one for me.
• I have tried MANY stuffed mushroom recipes and this is, by far and away, the best!
• This recipe is a also a bit more involved with the prep work, so I like to prepare these the night before and pop them in the oven when we’re ready to serve.

Here’s you SHOPPING LIST for the party!

I hope you enjoyed these appetizers and they get saved in your recipe boxes.  I love hosting “appetizer parties”!  They are causal, fun, and everyone gets to try tons of different recipes and flavors.  Happy Halloween and Happy Cooking!

These are some pics of our Halloween party last year. People were stopping to take pictures with Rob and Dustin (Waldorf and Statler)! It was hilarious!

Photo credit www.foodnetwork.com