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The best (budget!) holiday cocktail snacks

Wow your friends with these fun and easy finger foods

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  Cocktail snacks on a budget
Dec. 13: Annie Copps of Yankee magazine shares with TODAY’s Natalie Morales cheap and easy-to-make appetizers that'll be a hit at your holiday get-together.

Today Show Kitchen

By Annie Copps, Yankee magazine
TODAY
updated 11:28 a.m. ET Dec. 13, 2007

Want to impress your friends without busting the bank? Try these recipes from Annie Copps, senior food editor at Yankee magazine.

Shrimp-filled moneybags
Annie Copps, Yankee magazine

Yields 40 pieces

Preparation time: 60 minutes; Start to finish time: 90 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound shrimp, uncooked, shelled, and deveined
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
8 water chestnuts, rinsed and finely chopped
20 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 dozen fresh chives, blanched, at least 4 inches long

Soy dipping sauce

1 cup light soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 scallion, finely sliced

Recipe continues below ↓
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DIRECTIONS

Sometimes called "beggar's purses," we prefer the optimistic "moneybags." We used shrimp in this recipe because it's a real crowd-pleaser, but substitute scallops, lobster meat, ground pork, or chicken if you'd like.

In a blender or food processor, pulse shrimp, ginger and garlic together into a paste. Place in a medium bowl. Fold in soy sauce, cornstarch, scallions, cilantro and water chestnuts.

Heat oven to 350 degrees f. Cut phyllo sheets into 4-inch squares. Brush one square lightly with oil. Place a second square on top. (Keep the rest of the phyllo covered with a lightly dampened cloth until ready to use.) Spoon about 2 teaspoons of shrimp mixture into center. Gently pull edges of phyllo to center and twist to seal. Brush each "moneybag" with oil. Place on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining filling and dough.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, tie a chive bow around each piece. Serve hot, with dipping sauce.

Soy Dipping Sauce: In a small bowl, combine ingredients. Makes 1 cup.

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES


Figs stuffed with gorgonzola and prosciutto
Annie Copps, Yankee magazine

Yields 24 stuffed figs

Preparation time: 20 minutes; Start to finish time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 dozen ripe, fresh figs
4 to 5 thin slices prosciutto, cut into 2-by-2-inch squares
3 ounces Gorgonzola dolce

DIRECTIONS

Super-easy, super-impressive and super-fast — what more could you ask for? We like this recipe's sweet, salty, piquant combination, but feel free to use your own favorite soft cheese, such as fresh goat's-milk or ricotta.

Cut an "x" into the top of each fig, slicing three-quarters of the way to the bottom. Stuff each fig with a piece of prosciutto. (Lay a square on top of the fig and push down gently on the center of the square, into the fig.) Spoon 1 teaspoon Gorgonzola into center of prosciutto. Repeat with each fig.

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES



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