American Style Appetizers

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Americans love their appetizers, either as a warmup to a full meal, or just as snacks now and then, and also they are often served on big “game days” – when having friends over to watch the Super Bowl or the World Series, that is when a whole table-full of American style appetizers will be set out. Here is a selection of some of the yummiest appetizers to be found in North American homes.

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Note: If any of these ingredients are not available locally where you live, and if they are in bold and linked, you can purchase them in our online ethnic foods grocery store by simply clicking on them. You will be taken to a page here at Ethnic Foods R Us where you can locate the ingredient(s) you need in order to prepare the recipe in true, authentic and traditional fashion.

Hungry? Good. Help yourself to some of these …

American Style Appetizers

Please note: For your convenience, you can click on the recipes listed below and be taken directly to a page with just that one recipe on it, in printer-friendly format.

You are certainly welcomed to read through this whole page, all the recipes are here as well, and there are some videos and pertinent information on background, history, customs, special notes, etc., so it is well worth the read.

Here is the list, in alphabetical order:

Artichoke and Asiago Poppers (also the Artichoke and Asiago Dip recipe)

Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta

Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Dates

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bites

Homemade McChicken Nuggets

Pull Apart Party Bread

Red Hot Baked Wings

Smoky Greek Yogurt Deviled Eggs

Sweet and Sour Chicken Appetizer

Artichoke and Asiago Poppers

Asiago Poppers 2Asiago Poppers 1

You will need to make some dip for this yummy munchie. Here’s how:

Asiago and Artichoke Dip

Directions:
  1. preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together all ingredients.
  3. Pour ingredients into an oven safe baking dish and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
  4. Put on a platter garnished with thin sliced lemon, and serve with good bread or pita chips.

You can eat it right away, as a condiment for lots of other appetizers, too. But for this recipe you will want to store it overnight in the refrigerator, as it needs to be very firm.

Okay, now for the main recipe:

  1. Set up a breading station of flour (about 1 cup), 1 beaten egg (maybe 2 if you have lots of dip) and about 2 cups of Panko crumbs.
  2. Use Panko only, as it makes a great crumb for frying.
  3. Roll the artichoke dip into small golf size balls, then dip the into the flour, and next the beaten egg, then the Panko crumbs.
  4. Set the balls on a cutting board or cookie sheet once the dipping sequence is done.
  5. Heat an inch or two deep of canola oil in a skillet or shallow pot over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, (it will pop, sizzle and snap when a droplet of water is dropped into the pan), drop the balls in – 6 or 8 at a time.
  6. Don’t overcrowd the pot, or your oil will cool down too fast- which you don’t want. Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip over and brown the other side.
  7. Remove the cooked brown balls from the oil and place on paper towels to dry, patting the tops with another paper towel. Serve on an attractive serving platter and eat them while still nice and warm.

As with serving the dip on its own, when formed and baked into these poppers, it is really good to serve the poppers with sliced lemon wedges as a garnish, and some good, hearty bread slices.

Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta

avocado brushetta

Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 3 garlic gloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped coarsely
  • 2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and cubed
  • 6 (or however many you want) 1/2-inch thick slices whole grain baguette, toasted
Directions:
  1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, and black pepper, mixing well.
  2. Very slowly, add the olive oil, whisking constantly, until well-emulsified.
  3. Stir in the cilantro.
  4. Very carefully, fold in the avocado cubes, tossing to thoroughly coat with the olive oil mixture.
  5. Spoon onto the toasted baguette slices and sprinkle with additional sea salt, if desired.  Serve immediately.

 Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Soak toothpicks in water for 15 minutes.
  3. Slice dates in half lengthwise and open them. Fill each date with blue cheese.
  4. Close the halves of the dates and wrap a half-slice of bacon around the outside. Secure each one with a toothpick.
  5. Arrange on a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the dates over and bake for an additional 15−20 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bites

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Bites

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. To make the buffalo chicken mixture, in a small bowl, combine the chicken, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, melted butter and hot sauce; set aside.
  2. In a 1 cup measuring cup, heat the milk and then add the 2 tablespoons brown sugar; stir into warm milk until dissolved; place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
  3. Add 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast to the stand mixer and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour, a little at a time, if necessary.
  4. Allow the dough to knead in the stand mixer for 5-7 minutes. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball.
  5. Place dough into a clean bowl that’s been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and bubbles appear on surface, about 2 hours.
  6. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
  7. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces.
  8. Lightly dust your hands with flour, then gently roll and stretch 1 piece of dough to form a 12-inch-long rope.
  9. Flatten dough and arrange so a long side is nearest you, then roll out to a roughly 12- by 4-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin.
  10. Gently press one fourth of buffalo chicken mixture into lower third of rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along bottom edge. Stretch bottom edge of dough up over filling and press tightly to seal, then roll up as tightly as possible to form a rope.
  11. Cut rope into 12 pieces and transfer to a sheet pan. Make 3 more ropes with remaining dough, filling and cut into pieces, transferring to sheet pans. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, 30 minutes (dough will rise slightly).
  12. Bake buffalo chicken bites in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven (some cheese may have melted out.) and brush tops with melted butter before serving (optional).
  13. Serve.

Homemade McChicken Nuggets

 Homemade McChicken Nuggets

 

Definitely original to the USA is the now globally proliferated McDonald’s franchise. Their particular brand of “fast food” taste offerings caught on and spread like a wildfire all across America and by now all over the planet in almost every developed or developing country. Trying to capture that true “McTaste” is not easy to do. But this recipe nails it. Try it and see … they are just McYummy!

 

Ingredients:
  • 2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts (that’s 4 breast fillets)
  • 3/4 teaspoon of Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried Parsley flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried Oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon of Onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
  • 2 Eggs, beaten
  • 1 Cup of Flour
  • 1 Cup finely ground Panko breadcrumbs (do not substitute – only Panko crumbs get this recipe right)
  • 1/4 Cup Canola oil (for frying)
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cube chicken and place in a food processor. Blend chicken until it has all been taken apart and is well ground. Add the spices and blend a little more.
  3. Pour out flour on a plate and have your beaten eggs in a small bowl ready to work with.
  4. Roll the chicken paste mixture into small “nugget” balls (smaller than a golf ball). You should coat your hands with a little flour during this step because the ground chicken will be sticky.
  5. Roll the nugget in flour, then in egg, and then in the Panko. Then, press the ball down to make it more of a nugget shape. Set nuggets aside.
  6. Heat the oil in a heavy duty skillet until it becomes very hot. Place as many nuggets as possible in the oil, and fry for just 2-3 minutes until the bottoms are golden, turn and fry until the other side is golden.
  7. Remove and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake nuggets for approximately 10-12 minutes or until thoroughly cooked through.
  8. Remove to a towel-lined plate (to catch any excess oil).

Red Hot Baked Wings

 Mels Red Hot Baked Wings

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Sprinkle cayenne pepper liberally all over the uncooked wings.
  3. Bake/roast the wings, uncovered, at for 45-50 minutes, until they’re cooked through and have turned a golden brown. When done cooking, place the all in one very large bowl and set aside.
  4. In a smaller mixing bowl, stir and blend together 1/2 cup Franks Original Red hot Sauce, 2 tbsp. Sriracha sauce, 1/3rd cup melted butter, and about 2 tbsp. of brown sugar.
  5. Pour the hot sauce mixture over hot wings and stir and toss the wings to coat evenly on all sides.
  6. Now put the coated wings back in the oven for 10 more minutes, turning them over 2 or 3 times during the last cooking.
  7. Five minutes into the final cooking, sprinkle some more brown sugar on top of them. The last 5 minutes of hot cooking will make the saucy coating get nice and gooey.
  8. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes, sauce will continue to goo up a little.
  9. Enjoy your Red Hot Baked Wings! They go great with chunks of fresh raw veggies, a blue cheese dressing to dip the in and, of course, if you are doing up your All-American ethnic experience the right way, some good cold beer.

Pull-Apart Party Bread

Pull Apart Party Bread

Ingredients:

You will need: a 10″ Bundt Pan.

Directions:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Prepare your pizza dough, following the package instructions.
  3. Lightly grease or oil your Bundt Pan.
  4. Cut your pizza dough into 8 equal sized pieces.
  5. Put all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, then toss, stir, and blend until the oil is evenly spread all over each piece of dough.
  6. Put the blended mix into the Bundt Pan, spreading evenly. Make sure to allow room for the dough to rise.
  7. Bake in oven for 30 minutes (or until the top is & and center is cooked) If the middle is still not cooked thoroughly, leave it in oven for another 5 minutes at a time until it’s done.
  8. Remove from oven & let rest for 5 minutes. As an option, you can sprinkle some more grated Parmesan cheese over the top while the bread is still hot, it will quickly melt onto the surface.

Smoky Deviled Eggs with Greek Yogurt

Smoky Deviled Eggs with Greek Yogurt

Deviled Eggs are not original to America, in fact they date back to Ancient Rome when the Roman Empire flourished. But this recipe is a unique American version of the age-old delicacy. Make sure and eat them fresh-made!

Ingredients:

(Makes 12 deviled eggs)

Directions:
  1. Slice the eggs in half and scoop the yolks into a bowl. Set the whites aside on a plate.
  2. Smash the yolks with the back of a fork. Add 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and stir until well combined. Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes, smoked paprika and salt.
  3. Taste and, if you wish, add the remaining yogurt 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Adding the entire cup of yogurt will make quite a lot of filling and it will be thin. I prefer my eggs very creamy, so I do add the whole cup.
  4. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Test the oil with a slice of shallot – when it instantly sizzles, it’s ready. Add the shallot slices to the pan and cook until they turn golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove them from the pan and place on a paper towel. While they’re still hot, sprinkle lightly with salt.
  5. Using a small spoon, fill each egg white with a generous amount of filling.
  6. If serving immediately, top each one with a frizzled shallot. Or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, and top with shallots just before serving. Best eaten within a few hours.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Appetizer

Sweet and Sour Chicken Appetizer

Ingredients:
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix all the ingredients together.
  3. Heat the mixture over medium high heat in a saucepan, while stirring and blending the mixture well.
  4. Now place your chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl and pour the seasoning mixture over the chicken. Stir and toss well to ensure even coating.
  5. Bake the seasoned chicken at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours or until tender.
  6. Serve your Sweet and Sour Chicken Appetizer fresh out of the oven while still nice and hot.

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