The DIVA of TINY FOODS: 2009

20091229

New Year's Party Appetizers for 2010

Download the New Year's Blank Recipe Card in full 5x3 format here

Happy New Year! I'm taking it a wee bit easy this week and not posting any new appetizers BUT my New Year's Gift to you is this fun blank recipe card for you to download and write out your own favorite tiny food recipes!

You can get all my Appetizer and Tapas Recipes on the Recipe Archives at PopArtDiva.com.

Be sure to stop by The Martini Diva all this week for my NEWLY CREATED NEW YEAR'S MARTINI CHAMPAGNE RECIPES for your New Year's Eve Celebrations!

HAPPY NEW YEAR from
The Diva of Tiny Foods!

Follow me on Twitter as PopArtDiva
Follow me on Twitter as TinyFoodDiva
Friend me on Facebook

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

20091224

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - The Christmas Cheese Ball

Click here for the Full Sized Recipe Cards

What would a holiday party be without the traditional Christmas Cheese Ball on the buffet table?

Here's a fun recipe I found for a Cheddar Cheese ball rolled in pecans. This is my favorite combination but you can play with the cheeses and the nut coating for variety. One year I did 3 cheese balls - one cheddar, one Swiss and one with smoked Gouda and I rolled them other varieties of nuts. Walnuts went really nice with the Swiss and the Smoked Gouda got rolled in pistachios!

Don't forget to click over to The Martini Diva for the last Christmas Martini of the season today!

Wishing your a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday or Even the Best of Festivus!

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

20091223

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Crab Stacks

I can't remember where I found this recipe but I've been making these Christmas Crab Stacks for years and they're always the first to disappear from my Christmas party buffet. Probably because I eat half of them before they ever make it to the table, lol.

I love crab appetizers in almost any form but stick crab and some cream cheese in some form of pastry and you'll make me a happy Christmas camper!

You'll need some holiday martinis to serve up with them so hop over to The Martini Diva for my latest Christmas Martini recipes!

Follow me on Twitter
Food Inspired Art, Apparel & Gifts at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

20091222

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Savory Christmas Tart Recipes

Today I'm treating you to two Christmas appetizer recipes because a) I have 4 holiday recipes left and only 3 days to Christmas, and b) because they're both savory tart recipes. These are the mini sized recipe cards - Click here for the Full Sized Recipe Cards.

I love tart appetizers, probably because I like almost anything stuffed into pastry doughs, lol. The Blue Cheese Pear Tartlets are simply FABULOUS, the combination of blue cheese baked with fresh pears is amazing. It's also pretty easy once you get the hang of working with phyllo dough!

The Bacon Cheese Tart Bites are super simple just using refrigerated crescent rolls, cooked bacon and Swiss cheese for the main ingredients. These remind me of a classic Quiche Lorraine without the egg! You just can't beat any bacon appetizer!

Be sure to stop by The Martini Diva for today's Christmas Martini Recipe!

20091221

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Sugared Cranberries

Click here for the Full Sized Recipe Cards

Sugared Cranberries are a great way to garnish almost any Holiday Recipe or Holiday Cocktail as well as being a wonderful sweet treat. They're tart and tasty and add a true Christmas spirit to your Holiday celebrations!

I'll be posting a Christmas Appetizer recipe each day this week until Christmas Day so check back to collect all my holiday h'ors d'oeuvres recipe cards!

Be sure to click over to The Martini Diva for today's Christmas Martini too!

20091218

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Baked Cranberry Brie

Click here for the Full Sized Recipe Cards

This is one of my favorite holiday recipes - I love baked brie "en croute" (food baked in a pastry) and even though I don't care for cranberries all that much they are great in this dish.

This is truly easy if you use the pre-made pastry sheets and you can always keep the ingredients on hand for when a surprise holiday guest drops in. With only a baking time of 15-20 minutes you can have an h'ors d'oeuvre to serve in no time!

Be sure to click over to The Martini Diva for today's Christmas Cocktail!

20091217

FREE BLANK CHRISTMAS RECIPE CARD #2

Click Here for the Full Sized Blank Recipe Cards

Today I'm posting another of my FREE Christmas Themed Blank Recipe Cards. These are for you to write your favorite Holiday Recipes on for your files or to share with friends!

If you like this design you can also get it on Posters, T-shirts, Cups, Aprons, Cards & other fun gifts at my Happy Holly Daze Store.

Stop by tomorrow for another great Christmas Appetizer Recipe!

20091215

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Mean Green Spinach Dip

Click here for the Full Sized Recipe Cards

Spinach Dip is a favorite at parties. Since the 1970s it's been served in a hollowed out bread bowl which is fine, but I prefer to serve this particular spinach dip in a mini crock pot because it's served warm, not chilled! I do love it best with bread but you can also team it up with fresh veggies and crackers.

It's simple and delicious and it's a classic!

Don't forget to hop over to The Martini Diva for today's Christmas Cranapple Martini!

20091211

CHRISTMAS RECIPE CARD for your Recipes

Here's this weeks Free Blank Christmas themed recipe card for you to write your own recipes on. Feel free to share and keep checking back for all my other recipe cards and Christmas appetizer recipes!

Happy Holidays!

20091210

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Cranberried Meatballs

These great Asian flavored meatballs are topped off with a spicy cranberry sauce and will bring some powerful flavor to your holiday buffet. There's a nice amount of heat from the chili sauce that balances great with the tart sweetness of the cranberries and the sugar.

These went so fast the first time I served them I always make a double batch just in case. Try serving them up with some of my fun Cranberry Christmas Martinis from The Martini Diva!

Need some Unique Christmas Gifts?
Stop by PopArtDiva.Com and Shop The Pop
All sorts of gifts, apparel & home decor from stocking stuffers like buttons & magnets to great tees, hoodies, shoes & aprons and great stuff for the home!

-------------

20091208

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Cheese Bites

Every Christmas my Dad would make his Blue Cheese Dip and serve it with Ritz crackers. I loved that dip and these Cheese Bites have that same great blue cheese flavor dressed up for the holidays in a nice coat of chopped walnuts!

They're like little mini cheese balls and my guests love them - if they ever get a chance to eat one! I always have to make a double batch because I end up eating a bunch before the party ever starts, lol.

Don't forget - click over to The Martini Diva for today's holiday martini!

20091203

CHRISTMAS COOKIES - Mom's Ginger Snap Cookies

Today I am sharing my FAVORITE COOKIE OF ALL TIME with you. These cookies were a tradition in my house for the holidays and every special occasion. The smells as they were mixed and baked are definitely Christmas smells, the spices of the ginger, clove and cinnamon are very much reminiscent of warm kitchens and holiday baking marathons.

For some reason it took me almost ten years to finally get this recipe right. Mom's recipe book was nearly 60 years old and faded and I couldn't read the amount of flour! Finally, one day I got it right - I cannot tell you how overjoyed I was - to think I would never taste these cookies again actually made me cry every time I failed. Silly yes, but these cookies were not only my favorite cookies to eat they were also a large part of cooking with my Mom.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present my Mom's Ginger Snap Cookies all dressed up for Christmas:

Don't ever say I never gave you anything - this is a treasure of a recipe. Merry Christmas from me to you and let me know how they go over!

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

20091201

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS - Holiday Holly Spread

Yup, it's that time of year again - time for my Christmas recipes for Tiny Foods! Let's start off easy with this Holiday Holly Spread made simply with cream cheese, cucumbers, dried cranberries and some seasonings. I had a version of this served as bruschetta at a little restaurant in Jerome, Arizona and loved it so I had to add it to my holiday buffet table!

This would go perfect with my Thyme Cucumber Martini from The Martini Diva or any of my many cranberry martinis!

If you need to dress up your party
get some cups, aprons, tees & even shoes with my Christmas Design:
POP ART CHRISTMAS TREES

20091125

THANKSGIVING DINNER - Use That Leftover Turkey!

Yes, the recipe says Chicken but it's perfect for your leftover TURKEY! I know what your fridge will look like on Friday morning - just like mine, full of dishes covered in foil, Tupperware containers loaded with leftovers. The biggest leftover in there will be that bird carcass - just sitting there waiting to be turned into sandwiches, soups and other dishes before it dries out completely!

I have to admit that my favorite part of turkey leftovers is making turkey sandwiches - loaded with Mayo to combat the dryness of a roasted gobbler! BUT. . . . another great way to create a great dish is to make a pot pie! You have all the ingredients already - poultry, potatoes and maybe even leftover veggies!

Obviously you can skip the steps for cooking the turkey and the potatoes. Just cube them up, jump to the steps where you cook the broccoli and carrots (unless you have some leftovers of those too) then start at the place where you saute the onions and go from there. You can even take some of the turkey skin and a bone or two and make your own turkey broth!

The sherry sauce gives your turkey a whole new flavor dimension and pot pies are perfect fall food, hearty and hot! Serve it up with your leftover jello salad and rolls!

In case you missed them - here's the links to all my Thanksgiving Martinis at The Martini Diva.

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook

20091124

THANKSGIVING DINNER - Sweet Potato Leftover?

By this time everyone has their Thanksgiving Dinner menu planned, most of the shopping is done and maybe even some pies are baked. In a few days however, we're all going to be looking at a fridge stuffed with leftovers and wondering what to do with them.

Today I have a perfect recipe for those leftover sweet potatoes - Sweet Potato Puffs. They're tasty little tidbits perfect for after all that shopping you plan to do on Black Friday! Mix up a few of the Thanksgiving martinis I've posted lately at The Martini Diva and you have the perfect little snack to sooth your aching feet and your sore wallet!

Tomorrow I have a great recipe for all that left over turkey!

Check out my New Original Miniature Paintings by PopArtDiva
Prices for originals starting at $25!

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

20091123

THANKSGIVING DINNER FUN - Cherry Sauce NOT Cranberry?

I don't like cranberries. Sorry, can't help it, they just don't do a thing for me. Our family Thanksgiving dinner ALWAYS included a bowl of that awful canned cranberry jelly - my mother loved the stuff and it was a tradition in our house. It just wasn't a holiday dinner without that wiggly cylinder of tart, red glop.

When I started to roast my first turkey breasts (I don't like dark meat much so this is my first year of roasting a whole turkey!) I replaced the cranberry sauce with this dried cherry sauce. Okay, had Mom still been with me I would have also served her cranberry jelly - and let her take the leftovers home in a Tupperware container!

This cherry sauce is wonderful on pork, duck and chicken too and it's a really nice change from the standard cranberry garnish. Try it out, serve it as well as the cranberry if you must, but give it a whirl this year! And yes, you can substitute dried cranberries for the dried cherries - just don't tell me you did it, lol.

By the way - wish me luck with my first full Turkey - I'm using Alton Brown's recipe which has you brine the turkey ahead of time - I am NOT putting in the ginger. I will leave the ginger flavor for my Gingerbread Martinis that I'm posting to The Martini Diva this week.

20091111

Check out my NEW Hand Painted Martini Glasses!

My new Hand Painted One-of-a-Kind, Original
MARTINI GLASSES

are now available for purchase - just in time for Christmas!

I'm so happy with every one of my new Hand Painted, Original MARTINI GLASSES - I'm so excited about them I'm posting them on every one of my blogs, lol. Plus I want to keep them all - but I won't because I can always paint more, right?

Check out what else you can do with them besides drink martinis in them:

To read all about them and get more information on how you can order a set check out my new blog dedicated just to my original paintings and creations - The Original Art of Pop Art Diva.

or you can go right to my New Etsy store where I sell the glasses as well as my one-of-a-kind pop art paintings:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE SETS of my
HAND PAINTED MARTINI GLASSES
and get ready to give yourself or a friend the gift of One-of-a-kind Happy Hours for years to come!

20091030

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Bone Shaped Breadsticks

Dem Bones Dem Bones are simple breadsticks that you turn into bone shapes - they're just that simple and delicious. I use those prepared doughs you find in the freezer or refrigerated section of the store because it's a lot quicker, but if you insist feel free to make your own dough!

If you want you can brush them with an herb butter or sprinkle on some seasoned salts for more flavor. These are great with some of the Halloween dips and spreads I posted this month - especially the spinach dip I call Slimy Green Goo Dip but you'll see people eating them just by themselves too so make a good pile of 'em!

Be sure to check out the latest Halloween Martini at The Martini Diva and check out these fun Halloween websites for Halloween music, carving tips and patterns and other Halloween fun.

Check out The POP ART DIVAS - Original Miniature Paintings by PopArtDiva
Prices for originals starting at $20!

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

20091029

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS -Tortilla Chips in Halloween Shapes

Not only are these BAT & PUMPKIN CHIPS great because they're fresh and home made but they're fun because you're serving Halloween shaped tortilla chips and not those boring triangles!

They're great with all the fun Halloween Dips and Spreads I've posted this month - check my October Archives for all the Halloween Recipes.

And don't forget to visit The Martini Diva for all my terrific Halloween Martini Recipes this month!

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook

20091028

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Eyeballs & Fingers

These two recipes take a little time to create but the reaction of your Halloween guests when they arrive at your party buffet is well worth the effort!

Both are cheese appetizers but with a little Halloween flair - severed fingers and a plate full of eyeballs staring back at you is definitely something you can only pull off on October 31st!

Have fun - get your kids to help you, kids love making freaky food, lol.

Hop on over to The Martini Diva for today's Halloween Martini and use the search bar or check the blog archives here and there for all my Halloween goodies posted this month.

ONLY 4 MORE DAYS TO HALLOWEEN!
------------------------

Check out The POP ART DIVAS - Original Miniature Paintings by PopArtDiva
Prices for originals starting at $20!

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook

My Favorite Tiny Food Recipes at PopArtDiva.Com
All my recipes for food and drink at the PopArtDiva Bistro
Buy Great Products at The DIVA of TINY FOODS Shoppe!

20091027

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Pizza Mummys & Spider Cheese n Crackers

Two fun Halloween snacks - appetizers that the kids will love and the more mature spooks will gobble up:
Spider Horrors D'Oeuvres - Basically cheese and crackers with olive garnish dressed up for Halloween
Mummified Pizza Heads are frozen mini pizzas you decorate to look like mummy heads - wrapped up pizza that pleases!

Wing on over to The Martini Diva for today's two Halloween Martini Recipes.

20091026

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - 2 New Halloween Food Recipes

These two recipes actually can go nicely together on your Halloween Party Buffet - The "Wickedly Good Witches" are deli meat salads spread on breads that are cut out with Halloween cookie cutters - always a good staple for a Halloween Hoard.

The Spooky Slimy Slaw is a really delicious Red Cabbage Coleslaw with a wonderfully sweet touch that compliments your more savory dishes and stands alone pretty well too.

I'm always fond of fun garnishes and presentations so I buy a lot of gourds and mini pumpkins this time of year, hollow them out and use them as serving dishes. I also have a really nice collection of beautiful Halloween crockery and plates for serving up my goblets of goblin fare - and I've amassed a nice bit of fun plastic containers (like plastic skulls) for dips, spreads and other holiday eats.

Try your hand at some unusual serving choices and be sure to stop by The Martini Diva this week for the last ten of my famous Halloween Martini recipes!

20091022

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Olive Tapenade dressed up for Halloween

Bat Guano Caviar - sounds pretty gruesome, right? Don't run screaming from the blog yet - it's really just a simple Olive Tapenade and it's really delicious!

A tapenade is basically just olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil chopped finely and served up on bread or toast points as an hors d'oeuvre. The word tapenade comes from the provençale word for capers, tapéno. It's very salty thanks to the anchovies and the olives themselves and this is why I gave it the name "caviar" - Bat Guano was just my little Halloween theme addition!

Serve it up with some bread cut out in Halloween shapes and toasted and enjoy! Be sure to serve it up with one of my fun Halloween Martinis from The Martini Diva and your Halloween party will be a hit.

How to Throw a Great Last Minute Halloween Party

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook
Pinterest Me!

20091021

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Black Bean Salsa in Costume

Worms in Black Ooze is my Halloween Costume for my favorite Black Bean Salsa. It's a really hearty and tasty bean dip with a lot more texture and flavor than those refried bean dips you see - PLUS it's black which makes it perfect for your Halloween buffet!

Of course, the best part is the addition of the chow mien noodles for the worms - who would have thought worms in your food could be fun? OK, if that truly grosses you out you can leave out the worms, but you'll be missing half the fun of seeing your guests draw back in horror, lol.

I jokingly suggest you try to get a sterilized skull to serve it in but you can get a fun plastic skull or a pumpkin bowl or even a small witches cauldron as these can be found easily in the Halloween sections of your favorite discounts stores.

Don't forget to click over to The Martini Diva for my Halloween Martinis and Cocktail Recipes!

HALLOWEEN ART, APPAREL, TRICK or TREAT BAGS, GIFTS:

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook
Pinterest Me!

20091020

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Cheese Dipped Grissini

Honestly this is probably one of the grossest names I've come up with for Halloween food but the kids will love it. Besides they're tasty, after all this is a bread stick and cheese in a jar, lol.

Not the most gourmet recipe but fun for Halloween - in fact, leave out the food coloring for the cheese and it's a good all year round snack for after school or a work break too.

To have some fun with your holiday table print out the recipe cards for each dish and post by their respective dishes - people will stand around your table on the 31st of October laughing and pointing - and eating it up.

Swing over to The Martini Diva for all my great Halloween Martini and Cocktail Recipes this month too.

20091019

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Guacamole Goes Goblin

I love guacamole and I eat it all year long but it's a perfect recipe for Halloween because of the great color of the dip. Serve it up with some of my fun Bat & Pumpkin Chips and watch it mysteriously disappear!

Be sure to click over to The Martini Diva for all my great Halloween Martini & Cocktail Recipes!

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook
Pinterest Me!

20091016

HALLOWEEN APPETIZERS - Gazpacho Soup in Test Tubes?

This is a really fun and easy way to serve soup at a buffet! Mad Science Soup Tubes are really a simple and delicious gazpacho soup that is traditionally served cold so you don't have to worry about keeping it hot.
The best part is that it's a small sip that you serve up in a test tube! To make it really fun add some dry ice to the ice and water in the bucket or witches cauldron that you serve it in!

Don't forget to stop by The Martini Diva this month for all my fun Halloween Martinis too!

HALLOWEEN ART, APPAREL, TRICK or TREAT BAGS, GIFTS:

Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook
Pinterest Me!

FOOD THEMED ART, APPAREL & GIFTS

20091229

20091224

20091223

20091222

20091221

20091218

20091217

20091215

20091211

20091210

20091208

20091203

20091201

20091125

20091124

20091123

20091111

20091030

20091029

20091028

20091027

20091026

20091022

20091021

20091020

20091019

20091016