Over the holidays we spent several nights entertaining with our families. Given the responsibility of coming up with some different appetizer and finger food dishes, I turned to Pinterest. I had already created a Finger Food and Appetizer board so it was easy to go there and pick a few items that would work.

We needed food that was good for a casual get-together, not too greasy or unhealthy (good-bye buffalo chicken bites) and could be prepared ahead of time.

Here is what we made and all of them ended up being huge crowd pleasers. I also loved that they were so easy to do and required little prep time.

Pears with Goat Cheese, Cranberries and Pistachio

This was so simple and requires no cooking skills. Simply slice the pear, toss in fresh orange or lemon juice, add some goat cheese and press in a few dried cranberries and pistachios. I used orange juice and herbed goat cheese.

Find original recipe and picture from Sweet Potato Chronicles.

Baked Brie with Cranberries, Honey and Orange Zest

The recipe said fresh cranberries, but since I already had dried cranberries from the pears I just went with that to be more cost effective. No one noticed.

Find original recipe and picture from Real Simple blog.

Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups

We had to take advantage of being in Southern California and having access to a grill. These roll-ups I found (and pinned) on Cooking Light were great. The biggest challenge was thinly slicing the zucchini by hand, so I’d recommend using a mandoline if you have it.

Original recipe and picture from Cooking Light recipes.

Have you tried any recipes from Pinterest? How did it turn out?

Mark and I love to have people over. It allows for quality time, easy conversation without the noise of a loud restaurant or being on the timetable of a waiter trying to turn over a table. We both enjoy cooking and it’s a good way to make use of all our various kitchen gadgets. While I love the chance to go out and try a new restaurant in San Francisco, sometimes it’s nice to have a meal at home with good company.

The problem with entertaining is that sometimes I over-complicate and stress over silly things. Silly things like figuring out how to make 5 new, semi-complicated dishes that I saw on a blog that are really more than I bargained for or should be attempting at once. How do I get 3 hot dishes timed correctly to serve for dinner when I only have 1 electric oven? To decorate or not; will I seem like a crazy Martha Stewart if I make those labels I saw on Pinterest? Do we play games or not? What if they don’t like the food? I want the food to be fresh, but not spend the evening in the kitchen ignore the guests.

Do you get the picture? I worry over things that probably aren’t an issue or it’s an issue I’m creating (like attempting 5 new semi-complicated dishes an hour before company arrives). However, as time goes on I’m picking up our own ways to make things simple, but nice as well as getting new inspiration and ideas from other blogs or pinterest browsing.

This will be a new series on “easy entertaining” as I share tips I’ve learned over time, my own hosting successes and failures, ideas for the future, inspirational finds and my entertaining experiences along the way. Plus I’m hoping this series gives me the extra motivation to try new things when we have friends over.

Do you entertain often? Do you ever over-complicate?