Easy Starter Recipes, Appetizers, & Hors d'oeuvres for Quick and Easy Country Cooking

Easy Starter Recipes, Appetizers and Party Finger Food for you! These are often painful to prepare, mainly because they only consist of mouthfuls, and there are often so many mouths to feed. It's when you start making these hors d'oeuvres and then wonder why on earth you invited all those people. If only you had kept the numbers down - your work wouldn't be so difficult! Well here's the good news! These starters are quick and easy and will take no time at all to throw together. The trick is not to make those small, finiky party finger foods, but to make trays of goodies that you can cut up into smaller pieces - so much easier!

Easy Starter Recipes: FISH

Smoked Salmon

Smoked Salmon is such a lovely fish to use for appetizers and I don't know too many people who don't like it. It is so easy to use both as a quick and easy dinner party first course, or as finger food. Both dishes below are so easy, I am almost embarrassed to put them up!

2 slices of smoked salmon per person

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1 lemon, cut into wedges

1/2 teaspoon of capers per person

Black pepper to taste

Put the smoked salmon on the plates and scatter thin slithers of onion on the plate along with the capers. Grind black pepper over the top, with a wedge of lemon and hey presto! You have a starter!

This is another easy dish:

1 tub cream cheese (not cottage cheese!)

250g Smoked Salmon

Black Pepper to taste

Separate the slices of salmon in the packet and place on a cutting board. Cut into 1 inch strips and place a teaspoon or two of cream cheese at one end. Starting at that end, tuck the salmon around the cream cheese and roll to the end. Place on plate. Chill. Finish off with ground black pepper just before serving.

A great dip to go with those pre-dinner drinks. Buying the cheaper pink salmon is a better, as really red salmon is too expensive these days, and in this dip, you wouldn't be able to taste the difference.

1 x 220 g tin salmon, drained, skin and bones removed and mashed

125 g cream cheese

25 ml thick cream

5 ml brandy

5 ml crushed onion

5 ml tomato sauce

Pinch each salt and sugar

Pour into blender and add just enough additional thin cream or milk to enable the blender to blend. When smooth, place into small pots, decorate with parsley and chill for several hours before serving.