Salad on a Stick

Recently I was looking for a healthy recipe for an hors d’oeuvre to bring to a party.  Normally I don’t need a recipe for something for a party.  Lord, I have cooked for at least a thousand parties between my catering business and my own entertaining.  But the problem is when I think about an appetizer or finger food my mind goes to cheesy, or bacony, or bready something.

Think about the top ten finger foods:

Ham biscuits, that makes it in two categories

Baked Brie—again two check marks there because it is not just a cheese, but it either has puff pastry around it and or it is spread on a slice of French bread

Spinach artichoke dip – don’t be fooled by the mention of not just one, but two vegetables in the name, the majority of it is mayonnaise and cheese and it also must be served on something, usually a cracker or bread

Stuffed Mushrooms – Just a hollow place for hot cheese or even better crabmeat and hot cheese

Anything wrapped in bacon – of course

Crostini- that’s Italian for toast with something fattening on it

Cheese puffs or anything with the word puff in it– that just means that the butter is so well incorporated into it that is turns into butter air

Fried mozzarella- Fried equals bread and fat together then add the cheese

Mini Pizzas- This could be the mother load if you also put bacon on them

Shrimp Cocktail- – Ta Da- a healthy hors d’oeuvre.  The one in ten.

Of course there is the veggie platter.  I often am the only one eating it and always want to make a host happy they went to the trouble to prep all those colorful vegetables, but it is not the appetizer that makes most people really happy.  Why is it that party food is the last hold out of 1960’s cuisine?  If someone could just invent a salad on a stick I could be a really happy guest.