For hors d’oeuvres ‘on the cheap’ we suggest starting with the following basic ingredients and then following your gut and allowing your own creativity to run free:
Choose ingredients you can comfortably afford or make smaller platters of hors d’ oeuvres made from expensive ingredients. If you’re pressed for time choose simple snacks with no more than three basic ingredients that cook quickly don’t require much skill to make. Enlist the help of friends and family if you think you are going to run out of time. Even kids can help with preparing crackers or buttering bread rounds.
But how many hors d’ oeuvres should you make? The golden rule is three finger foods per person, per hour. What does this mean in practice? If, for example, you are planning a two hour party for 20 guests you will need to prepare about 120 appetizers. However parties very often run longer than originally planned so you might need to prepare some extra hors d’ oeuvres in case this happens.
Make sure your hors d’ oeuvres are small and easy to handle so that guests are able to comfortably stand or sit while enjoying them. Avoid very messy appetizers that require careful eating. While one of the pleasures of finger foods is to eat them with…fingers…you don’t want your guests to end up with food all over their faces, clothes, or next door neighbors! Try as possible to make foods that are attractive but easy to handle.
