{mini appetizer trio}

While shopping for some decor items for our Moroccan themed dinner party, I came across this mini tasting set for only $20 and my mini food loving heart basically stopped.  So obviously I brought that immediately and started brainstorming exactly what dishes to make for it.  Initially I thought it might be perfect used to serve a trio of desserts at the end of the meal, but it's such a fun piece I decided it would be better to greet guests with it (because who knows what anyone is going to remember once we are three bottles of wine in at the end of the dinner so it's better to lead with fun stuff!).

For the tasting spoon piece I created a rosewater cucumber gimlet jello-shot (based on the success of this recipe).  For the mini square bowl, I placed a handful of spiced cashews from Trader Joe's in the interest of saving time - I had considered the idea of a mini salad in that vessel, but I figured my time was better spent on the main dinner entrees.  For the small glass, we whipped up a big batch of spicy tomato gazpacho which turned out to be my favorite dish of the entire evening!  Our guests were absolutely delighted with this fun sampler set up for the appetizers and I am definitely planning to use this set again for future dinner parties utilizing any number of the dishes from this inspiration board. I can't wait to share the rest of the decor, recipes and photos from this entire dinner party soon!

Scroll to the bottom of the post for links and tips on these recipes:

{garnishing the jello shots with a sprinkling of sugar}

Rosewater Gimlet Jello Shot:

3/4 cup gin
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons of rosewater
3/4 cup water
2 packets of Knox gelatin
ice cube mold

Lightly spray silicone mold with cooking spray making sure to wipe down any areas where excess oil collects.  Mix together gin, lime juice, sugar & rosewater in a bowl and set aside.  In a small saucepan, heat water to just before boiling then remove from heat.  Add knox gelatin to heated water until fully combined then immediately add to gin mixture and stir until well incorporated.  Immediately add jello mixture to desired mold or you can use a small pan and cut out whatever shape you want once the mixture is set.  Place in fridge for 2 hours or overnight.  To remove from silicone molds, it helps to run a small knife along edges of mold or run warm water along the back of the mold.  Shots will hold at room temperature for about 2 hours before they start to melt a bit so it is best to serve immediately.


Thai Lime & Chili Cashews from Trader Joe's


Tomato Gazpacho:  We used this recipe from Cooks Illustrated, but be warned that it is a very involved recipe and if I were to do it again I would omit the "finely chopped" portion of the recipe which is intended to be added to the blended gazpacho at the end of the recipe.  I would avoid this part of the recipe partly because it's time consuming, but also because I prefer a smooth gazpacho and this step makes it more of a chunky salad texture.