Easy canapés for a crowd

[OMGitsnotgood]

Offered to help friend with food for her significant birthday celebration at the weekend. I assumed she’d ask me to make salads or desserts (my usual contributions to these gatherings), but she’s asked me to make canapés to help make the do more special.

More than happy to do this but discounting some of my go-tos:

This is for c20 people so they can’t be too fiddly.
Need to be quickly assembled at my friend’s, don’t want to be transporting ready made canapés.
My usual piles of sticky sausages are out as some really lovely sausages are going on the BBQ.
Many of my favourites are cheese based but there will be a massive cheeseboard so don’t want cubes of cheese in the canapés
No egg based canapés due to an allergy

So far am thinking:
Padron peppers
Bowls of decent olives
Smoked salmon and tsatsiki on cucumber bases
Pate on squares of toast
Chorizo sliced and pan fried in red wine

That is probably enough given everything else that is on offer but am wondering if I’ve missed some quick and easy but classy alternatives?

Thank you

Canapés tend to be finger food which might make the Chorizo tricky?

Maybe some mini skewers - could be meat, fish or veggie as suits?

Puff pastry mini tarts - ready roll puff cut into squares and topped with pesto/olive tapanade/Chutney, tomato/peppers/olives and a cheese (brie, goats cheese, mozerella work well

The chorizo I'd put on cocktail sticks.
I like your puff pastry and skewer suggestions thank you, just takes a while to top them/ load the skewers (I know from bitter experience!) but if I could do one or two like that, it would be ok I guess.

This is where the sticky sausages are brilliant (again served with cocktail sticks), makes masses very quickly, but can't use this time.

Ready made or frozen vol au vents filled with condensed Campbell's soup.

You could cook the vol au vents at home and then fill them with the condensed soup at your friend's, as the soup is condensed it's thick enough to be used as a filling

The suggestions above sound delicious but perhaps time consuming.

What about either pickled prawns, completely prepared ahead but expensive, or Angels on Horseback/Devils on Horseback? The former are oysters wrapped in half cooked streaky rashers, then quickly grilled. Just serve with lemon. The latter are prunes or, for preference, dates, pitted and filled with an almond or a bit of soft goat’s cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked til the bacon is crispy.

Quick, easy, delicious and popular with those who try them. Recipes abound.

I would do smoked salmon blinis.
Rare roast beef and horseradish blinis.
Cocktail oatcakes (aldi does a great range, there are three flavours and are bitesize) with a little piece of nice cheddar and topped with chutney.
Little gem lettuce leaves with prawn cocktail in.
Melon, wrapped in parma ham.
Crostini made from thinly sliced toasted baguette with a couple of different toppings.
All of the above are just assemble from packets.

PS A lesson I learned the hard way is that the toothpicks securing the bacon should be well soaked in water before use, like wooden kebab skewers. Not all recipes specify this

The suggestions above sound delicious but perhaps time consuming.

This is what I am trying to avoid - I know from making for a smaller number of people many times in the past how long it can take even to wrap melon chunks in prosciutto.

One if my favourites is chunks of emmental, with a chunk of red pepper and a chunk of chorizo. Once everything is chopped which is quick, you simply take a cocktail stick and spear one after the other - but am avoiding cheese if possible for this occasion as friend is planning a big cheeseboard in the evening

Thanks for all the suggestions, will go through them again as shopping in the morning.

https://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/sesame-cheese-biscuits-kids-cook/2fd9f5bb-a542-4cf6-807a-72e7c8471e5d

These are great and can be passed around while you get on with doing more fiddly canapés. I freeze them and then freshen up in the oven.

I know you said no cheesy options, but I’ve never had anyone refuse these!

I usually put together a tomato bruschetta mix (cherry toms/garlic/basil/olive oil etc) and have some pre toasted ciabatta cut to top when ready. All sorts of variations could be done.
FYI I find the part baked ciabatta/rolls great for this, drizzled in olive oil and baked in a low oven they don't come out too overdone.

I think one answer to cut the faff (and I love canapes) is make bigger things that can then be cut into canape sized pieces, rather than assembling 100 fiddly individual things.

One of my favourites - steam some asparagus and leaves to go cold. Take slice of Parma ham, spread with cream cheese, put 3 asparagus spears together at one end and tightly roll up. Then cut into inch slices and serve laying down so you see the 3 asparagus ends. You get 6 or so canapes for the effort of one and they are really nice.

Bruscetta a great idea - to make it even easier slice the bread lengthways so you make giant ones, then cut up.

You could do a tray of potato wedges, seasoned, and serve in those paper mini chip cones with a dollop of garlic mayo.

Make a big veggie frittata, cut into cubes and serve cold.

Thanks all. I am very happy for the suggestions to keep coming even though the event is past.

I totally agree for larger numbers it's better to prepare a larger version and cut it up.

I did :

2 pastry sheets, one soread with red pesto before cutting into squares, topped with half a black olive, and one with green pesto topped with half a cherry tomato. (Just check if doing this that there are no pine nut allergies).

Someone mentioned prawn cocktail and I remembered I had some mini shot glasses and mini spoons from making vodka jellies for one of the DC's parties which I'd washed and kept, so made up a load of prawn cocktail at home and decanted into the plastic shot glasses when I got there.

I was going to do smoked salmon blinis but that suggestion reminded me of an old favourite: spread tortillas with cream cheese, add strips or smoked salmon, rioll onto a cigar shape, wrap in clingfilm, chill until needed (done at home) then sliced into rounds to serve. Much quicker than blinis, tho I do like blinis.
(I know I said no cheese, but that was more chunks which would be a repeat of the cheeseboard).

The frittata mentioned is a great one for larger groups, I've done this before too but was avoiding eggs for this group.

I also did the chorizo slices quickly pan fried In red wine then served on cocktail sticks.

And the usual olives etc

Please keep the ideas coming as I will take
Note for future reference and will soon be party season anyway.

Thanks again