hors doeuvres suggestions?

Hello!
I am throwing a small birthday party next Friday for myself, and I plan on making all the hors doeuvres, appetizers and cake. I love to cook but never get a chance to, so I am really excited to do this for myself.
I am making a few labor-intensive foods ahead of time, but I wanted to know if anyone has any suggestions for a few quick appetizers? I am willing to purchase a few quality store bought items and mix it with something homemade to save time, if need be. Any dips or quick recipes appreciated, and my friends will eat just about anything. Thanks ahead of time!
~Leena T.

My bhel poori.

Some really simple and fast appetizers I rely on: prosciutto and melon; hummus and baba ghanoush with fresh pita, olives and feta cheese from the Pita Inn market; rounds of sourdough bread (toasted or not) topped with soft goat cheese and a small dollop of fig and sesame preserves (I get that at Oakton Market, though there are gourmet versions of fig preserves available elsewhere.) Also I like this quick shrimp recipe, because you can make it ahead: Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons minced shallots, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of minced garlic together and heat in a large skillet; add two pounds tail on uncooked shrimp; cook about 3 minutes till done. Transfer shrimp and sauce to bowl; add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon fresh dill, 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano, and a dash of red pepper flakes. Season to taste and chill for two hours or overnight if you want. Add a tablespoon or so (or more, if you like) of fresh lemon juice before serving. Happy birthday! Hope someone brings you something in exchange for all your labors.

My parties usually include some mutant form of devilled eggs (one year with chipotle, one with wasabi, my last one used lots of lemon juice to attempt an avgolemono taste, it was less than successful at that, but still was eaten).

Smoked salmon (inexpensive at Costco), with creme fraiche (seen in Jewel, but you can just leave cream (not ultrapasteurized) out to sit for a day with a couple tablespoons of buttermilk in it and it should thicken right up) chives and any number of starches to hold it with (phyllo cups, rye, toast points, blinis, etc. etc.). Add chopped egg, caviar, capers etc. for garnishes.

Kosher mini hot dogs wrapped in small pieces of Pillsbury crescent dough beat the snot out of commercial bagel dogs.

A cheese platter never hurts, and is nearly effort free.

Wonton or gyoza wrappers, frozen puff pastry and phyllo are great secret weapons. Phyllo-based treats will take some effort, but with big payoffs. The wonton wrappers can be used for ravioli, pot stickers, pierogies, crab rangoon...

Some books I recommend:
Cooking Under Wraps by Nicole Routhier -- outstanding book, not a bad recipe in the bunch. Not all hors d'ouvres, but all flavorful and beautiful dishes.

Martha Stewart's Hors D'ouevres Handbook (couldn't get URL to work) - nearly encyclopedic and full of food porn. Her recipes usually take more steps and bowls than really neccessary, but have some great ideas for building a party platter around a few variations on a theme.

It's a little time consuming in the wrapping process, but I like to make little spanakopita (going along with JoelF's phyllo suggestion), and lumpia shanghai (the wee, bite-sized Filipino eggrolls).

Both good freeze-ahead, bake/fry right before party snacks.

I also like to do pan-fried potstickers.

Mmm... I'm having a hankering to throw an appetizer party now.

As the one who does the bulk of the cooking at our parties, I am all for the 'no maintenance' appetizer. I second the lumpia suggestion. Very tasty and if you don't feel like frying, you can order them ready to go from Unimart. They have locations in the city and suburbs.

Unimart One Stop Shop
5845 N. Clark St., Chicago
773-561-8667
7315 W. Dempster Ave., Niles, IL
847-663-8388
1038 W. Golf Rd., Hoffman Estates, IL
847-755-1082

Also, at almost every party we have, we usually pick up a container of Whole Foods spinach/artichoke dip and serve with slices of baguette. I'm not too into dips but this one is quite good.

Another no maintenance appetizer is picking up a smoked pork tenderloin from Paulina Meat Market (get the one with cracked black pepper). Slice and serve it up with triscuits.
Paulina Meat Market
3501 N. Lincoln Ave.
773-248-6272

Happy birthday!

There are lots of good recipes for appetizers, dips and salads in the LTHForum Recipe Index.

Here are a few ideas:

Gravlax

Low Country crab dip

Moroccan sweet carrot slaw

Sun-dried tomato bruschetta

At a recent appetizer party, we had the following: (all offerings were either made ahead or pre-prepped and cooked at the last second):

No prep:
assorted cheese board
assorted olives

Make ahead and serve:
gravlax w/ pickled onions and creme fraiche
shrimp cocktail
truffled deviled eggs

Make ahead and assemble/heat last minute:
lobster rolls (just butter and toast buns--apply lobster salad)
crab and queso jalapeno rellenos (saute)
prune stuffed chicken livers wrapped in bacon (bake)
gougeres (bake from frozen state)
grilled (marinated) baby lamb chops
grilled (marinated) duck

It was nice because we were all able to enjoy ourselves, and no one felt like they were a slave to the kitchen. Especially important if the host is also the guest of honor.

JoelF mentioned Martha's Hors D'ouevres book which is a favorite of mine. It has a zillion variations on a theme with clever presentation ideas that make a little effort seem like a boat load of toil.

~Happy Birthday~

1) Mr T suggested smoked pork loin from Paulina, and trixie pea suggested grilled duck. You could also get the smoked duck breast from Paulina-- I had it a a Christmas party and it was delicious. No prep, only slicing. Nice garnished with grapes, perhaps.

2) gmonkey suggested spanakopita -- this can be made in a tray like baklava, and scored before baking for easy cutting, which saves you the wrapping time. An unusual version can be made with with palak paneer (prepared a bit dry, rather than soupy) I made this for a party and didn't get to try a piece of it because it disappeared so fast. I guess it was good.

3) Pappadum chips with chutney (tamarind, cilantro) and/or a dip made with whole milk yoghurt/ sour cream and pureed lime-pickle.

3) I also like slices of dry Spanish chorizo and cubes of manchego. Marcona almonds on the side, or slices of fig bread or quince paste to go with the manchego.

4) How about dessert, appetizer style? Vosges' chocolate bars with curry were the inspiration for a chocolate fondue that went over quite well. It was served with coconut macaroons, angelfood cake squares, banana slices, and chunks of pineapple.

A tip: everything tastes better on a good baguette slice, and most places that sell them will run them through the regular bread slicer for free, giving you perfect little rounds.

It's amazing what you can whip up from staples in your fridge: I made a great dip the other day by combining feta, a little plain yogurt, capers, chopped olives, and chopped marinated artichokes.

Or I make a similar nicoise-style spread: flaked canned tuna, capers, canned roasted peppers, chopped olives, olive oil, a little balsamic and salt and pepper. It may sound complicated, but it takes seconds to make.

The nicoise tip reminded me of one of my friends' favorites:
A simple chicken salad, kicked up with a whole lot of curry powder (she uses a Japanese variety)