Finger Foods Night

We had some friends over for dinner, and everyone made finger foods/appetizers.

I made:
Smitten Kitchen's Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes
Cooking Light's Marinated Shrimp
Cooking Light's Stuffed Mushrooms
Bruschetta
Artichoke Dip

I didn't take a single picture because I was cooking as the guests arrived and didn't want to seem weird.

Cheesecakes
This was my first time making cheesecakes in mini form, and I really enjoyed it. I overbaked them a little bit, but they were still delicious. I bought a mango, and had full intent to use it as the topping, but time constraints made me just go with the (oh so delicious) cream topping. On the whole, these were fantastic. I forget where I did it, but I substituted Splenda for some of the sugar (I think in the cheesecake itself I substituted one cup), and I used Neufchatel instead of cream cheese. I dont think these changes impacted the flavor at all, and next time I will try a 100% Splenda mix.

Marinated Shrimp
Ironically, we ended up with two shrimp dishes that were very similar. They were both really good, but the only real differences were that mine were served warm while the others were chilled, and I used much more jalapeno (he said he used one ring while I used about 10). These were really good, although they had a good amount of kick in them. Definitely a nice amount of spice, but I probably won't use so much jalapeno next time.

Stuffed Mushrooms
I was a little disappointed in these. They were easy and very good, but I wouldn't call them outstanding or amazing. These went into the oven as we decided to eat, so perhaps their late arrival to the table explains why they didn't really move, but they weren't a favorite at the table.

Bruschetta
I made my typical version of Ali's Amazing Bruschetta from allrecipes. It was good, although I overbaked a little... too much activity happening at once! They were enjoyable as always!

Artichoke Dip
This recipe came from a friend and was in the book of recipes I received at my bridal shower. I don't know if it's a family secret or something like that, so I won't post it, but it's similar to the one posted here. I had some red onion, so I added that in, and I served with tortilla chips. This, ladies and gentlemen, was outstanding. I've made this dip for this same group before, and they all commented that it was outstanding the first time, but for some reason so much better this time. Strange, right? Anyway, it was really stinking good, and I think I even used Neufchatel in this too. YUM!

So in short, this was a great idea. It allowed everyone to bring something, and although the hors d'ouvres didn't all "go together," we had an excellent meal and a TON of fun!