Thanksgiving Appetizers

We were in charge of appys on Thanksgiving.  I was pretty happy about this as it's truly a way to be so creative on a day when the meal is usually soooo traditional (and I wouldn't have it any other way!).  I scoured pinterest and Annie's Eats (my go to source!) for ideas and here is what we came up with.

pic from Bon Appegeek

Sugared Cranberries.  I don't really like cranberries, but even I thought these were good.  Spencer LOVED them and would have eaten the whole bowl if I let him!  They were easy to make and definitely added some color to the display.  Plus, they were so tiny, everyone could enjoy them without any added guilt!

Baked Brie with apple compote.  I adore baked brie but usually serve it wrapped in crescent rolls with mustard sauce.  This way was awesome and I would definitely make it for any special occasion.  The apple compote is super easy and so delish that you could serve it up alone!  It would also be great just quadrupled and served as a tart- it's that good!

pic from Martha

Cheese straws.  So good, so easy.  I would add cracked pepper to the top prior to baking next time.  It also would be great to experiment with other cheese.  People really liked them.  We doubled the recipe and didn't need to as we had WAY too much to eat!

Roasted garlic.  I wish I had a pic of what we did.  It was everyone's favorite.  We roasted about 7 bulbs of garlic (could've gotten away with 5 for 14 people) for 45 min at 350 after cutting the tops off the bulbs and  drizzling them with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then we popped them out of the bulbs, mashed them, and served them alongside of roasted cherry tomatoes, toasted bread points, and arugula drizzled with olive oil and balsalmic.  I would call it a wintertime bruschetta.  And I would also call it one of the best things I ate on Thanksgiving!!  We roasted them in muffin tins and covered them with tinfoil while baking.  The muffin tins were perfect as then they weren't rolling around on the tray. 

I would serve all of the above at any fall or wintertime gathering.  No fails this time around.  Yea!  Any of you have fabulous apps that I should consider for our next dinner party?  I've got one coming up this Sunday!!