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Full Episode Fridays: Meet the Parents | 4 Cocktail Party Recipes | Finger Food Recipe Ideas
Jul 10, 2026
4 Cocktail Party Recipes - Paula's sharing finger food desserts, including a honey nut bars recipe and a lemon bars recipe, and appetizer recipes for parties, like shrimp butter and finger sandwich recipes. Paula’s Home Cooking, Season 4, Episode 11.
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00:00 Intro
1:55 Engagement Ring (Bling) Finger Sandwiches Recipe: https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/engagement-ring-bling-finger-sandwiches/
7:40 Shrimp Butter Recipe: https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/shrimp-butter/
10:45 Lemon Bars Recipe: https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/lemon-bars/
13:37 Glazed Honey Bars Recipe: https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/glazed-honey-bars/
18:36 Chocolate Strawberry Trees Recipe: https://www.pauladeen.com/recipe/chocolate-strawberry-trees/
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For more episodes of Paula’s Home Cooking, click here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LHabI5sYyFJ8aWpcpr9ivq9xrVV7Z-q
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
- Hey, y'all I'm Paula Dean,
0:03
and guess who's coming to dinner.
0:05
My son Jamie just got engaged, woo hoo,
0:09
and it's time to meet the parents.
0:11
And I have to say I really am a little bit nervous.
0:13
So I'd like to invite you all in to see what I'm cooking.
0:16
I'm gonna be whipping up this spread
0:19
in my other son Bobby's kitchen,
0:21
and he said it's okay,
0:22
but promise not to snoop, mama. (laughing)
0:25
Finger foods are on the menu today.
0:28
And first we're gonna be making
0:29
engagement ring finger sandwiches
0:32
that are savory, satisfying
0:34
and just sure to break the ice.
0:36
And then next I'm gonna be fixing my strip butter
0:40
that's creamy and delicious on crackers and vegetables.
0:43
And you know no Southern sit down would be complete
0:47
without my sweet and tangy lemon bars.
0:49
And then to finish it off,
0:50
it's my nutty glazed honey bars
0:53
and strawberry topiaries
0:55
that are just bound to make an impression.
0:58
So stay with me y'all and keep me company,
1:00
'cause it's time to meet the in-laws.
1:11
Hey y'all.
1:14
I have to confess,
1:16
y'all caught me snooping through my son's drawers.
1:19
I guess you'll notice that I'm not in my kitchen,
1:22
but I'm in my son Bobby's kitchen.
1:25
This is Bobby's loft,
1:28
and Jamie lives directly above Bobby.
1:32
And today's show is all about Jamie
1:36
because I've got a very special announcement.
1:39
The old man is finally getting married,
1:43
and today I get to meet Brooke's mother and father.
1:47
And we're gonna be meeting in between meal time,
1:51
so I just want something light, but tasty for 'em.
1:55
And I decided that I would make some finger sandwiches.
1:59
Now I'm gonna mix together two containers of softened,
2:02
spreadable cream cheese.
2:05
And I'm gonna mix this
2:07
with a half a cup of mayonnaise.
2:12
All right.
2:13
So I'm just gonna mix this up.
2:14
And my cream cheese is very soft.
2:19
And you can see I've got different bowls set up.
2:22
So I'm gonna start dividing my base for these sandwiches.
2:29
And I'm not gonna need a lot
2:33
because it's just gonna be like the six of us.
2:40
All right, now in this first one,
2:42
I think I'm gonna add the pecans to it.
2:46
I love pecans and cream cheese.
2:49
So we'll mix that up just like that,
2:54
and sit that one to the side.
2:56
And in this one, I love the pineapple in the cream cheese.
3:01
In fact, here in the South we eat pineapple sandwiches.
3:05
All right, so there's our pineapple sandwich.
3:09
All right, and the next one is our cucumber.
3:12
So you can see I'm gonna have all different choices,
3:17
from the sweeter to the savory.
3:21
And down South we a lot of cucumber sandwiches.
3:25
All right.
3:27
The last one is gonna be an olive sandwich.
3:32
And this is just finely minced olive.
3:39
Okay.
3:39
Now you'll wanna start with some good fresh bread.
3:42
So I'm gonna just cut my shapes out.
3:45
And I think I'm gonna mix my breads up.
3:49
I think I'll do one side wheat and one side white.
3:53
Your ends of your bread will be just perfect for topping
3:59
for casseroles and things like that.
4:00
So don't think you're wasting this bread,
4:03
'cause you're really not.
4:04
You can use it for so many other things.
4:06
All right, let's see.
4:07
Let's try the heart out.
4:10
And you'll wanna just set it down real hard,
4:13
and then just kind of jiggle.
4:16
And look, that's a perfect heart.
4:18
I love it.
4:19
All right, so let's try the square now.
4:24
Let's see,
4:26
I think I'll come over here
4:27
and use this bread that I already have trimmed
4:28
for triangles.
4:29
All right, so now we're ready to start filling 'em.
4:34
So I think I'll start with a cucumber.
4:37
Now you can put as much
4:38
or as little as you'd like in there.
4:43
Normally a tea sandwich is not stuffed full.
4:48
All right, now we're gonna go with a pecan.
4:51
I know this is boring as a mud fence
4:54
watching me do this.
4:56
I know that Jamie will probably be telling y'all this story,
5:01
and I hope I don't mess anything up by talking about it,
5:04
but he had been watching this young lady
5:08
probably for about six months.
5:11
He didn't know her name.
5:13
He knew that she had a job
5:17
because every day at 5:00 he would see her leave work.
5:22
Well months went by,
5:25
and somebody finally arranged a little cocktail hour
5:31
at our restaurant,
5:32
and Brooke came.
5:34
And she and Jamie were introduced.
5:36
And when he met the 5:00 girl he fell head over heels
5:43
in love with her.
5:44
He liked her as much close up as he did far away.
5:48
And they were inseparable from that first date.
5:53
Now I have several different garnishes for these sandwiches.
5:57
So I think I'm just gonna dust that one
6:00
with a little black pepper.
6:04
All right, so we'll put him right there.
6:06
Now this is a pecan.
6:08
I think I'm gonna roll the edges
6:11
of this one in the crushed pecans
6:13
that I've got here.
6:19
Now see how pretty that is?
6:21
All right, I think that I will do
6:25
the cucumber in the parsley
6:30
because kind of green and green.
6:33
Look how pretty that makes that little sandwich.
6:35
It took a boring sandwich and really kind of kicked it up.
6:40
All right, let's see now for the bacon.
6:43
Let's find a pineapple.
6:44
I think the sweet and salty will be just delicious.
6:50
Does that look good or what?
6:53
I think I'm gonna do this one in the poppy seed.
6:56
And I think I'm gonna coat him all over.
7:00
Look how pretty that is.
7:02
I gotta take a quick break,
7:04
and while y'all are gone,
7:06
while I'm gone,
7:07
I'm gonna finish up these sandwiches,
7:09
and I'm gonna show y'all
7:11
the most delicious shrimp butter.
7:14
I think I'm gonna steal one,
7:16
nobody will ever know.
7:19
Oh my goodness, bacon and cream cheese.
7:24
I so hope y'all are enjoying the show.
7:26
And if you do.
7:28
Be sure to click like, subscribe and
7:31
notification bell so you'll never miss a video.
7:35
And we'll be right back after the break.
7:41
Hey y'all, we're back,
7:43
and I'm getting our crackers laid out here,
7:46
ready for our next dish that we're doing.
7:49
And it's called shrimp butter.
7:51
We're gonna start with two sticks of butter.
7:53
And I'm going to take two cartons
7:55
of room-temperature spreadable cream cheese,
7:59
or you can use the block cream cheese,
8:02
it doesn't have to be spreadable.
8:05
All right, there we go.
8:10
Now I'm gonna put some house seasoning,
8:13
which is a salt pepper, and garlic.
8:16
I'm gonna put a little cayenne,
8:19
just to give it a little kick.
8:21
And I'm gonna put about a tablespoon of Sherry.
8:27
Mm, smells good.
8:29
Just enough to give it a little kick.
8:33
All right, pulse that until it's nice and creamy.
8:43
Now I'm gonna put a pound of shrimp
8:45
into our cream cheese and butter mixture.
8:48
And I'm using fresh shrimp that I've boiled.
8:51
And I'm just gonna pop the tails off.
8:54
If you don't have access to some good fresh shrimp,
8:58
just try substituting the canned shrimp.
9:01
They are packed with flavor.
9:04
All right, that gets our shrimp.
9:07
Now I'm gonna add about a teaspoon of lemon zest.
9:11
"Cause I don't have to tell y'all
9:13
how good lemon is with shrimp.
9:15
So that looks like about a teaspoon.
9:19
So we're just gonna throw that in there.
9:23
And I think I'm gonna do just
9:27
about two tablespoons of onion.
9:32
That should be a gracious plenty.
9:35
Like I said, cause I don't wanna overpower it
9:37
with the onions.
9:41
All right, it shouldn't take but just a second.
9:49
All right, I think that gets it.
9:53
All right, so I'm gonna transfer this to my piping bag.
10:03
Now you could roll it up in a log shape
10:05
in some wax paper and refrigerate it,
10:08
or freeze it and make slices out of it
10:12
if you wanted to.
10:14
But I'm just gonna pipe this onto our cracker.
10:17
All right, I think I'm gonna put a little pinch of parsley.
10:21
And I don't know if this will work or not,
10:24
but I think I'm gonna sprinkle
10:26
just a little paprika,
10:28
just to kick up that color a little bit.
10:33
See how pretty,
10:35
and it was no trouble at all.
10:39
Mm.
10:43
Down South, every party we have,
10:46
you can usually find a lemon bar.
10:48
The recipe has been around for 100 years,
10:52
and they're so delicious.
10:54
So I'm gonna start this lemon dish with all purpose flour,
11:01
confectioner's sugar and a stick of butter.
11:08
And with my fork I'm just gonna
11:12
blend that butter into our dry ingredients.
11:15
And then I'm gonna pat it into our pan.
11:18
And we're gonna bake this for about 15 or 20 minutes.
11:22
All right, now I've got all this mixed up.
11:26
I'm gonna finish it off with my hands.
11:30
Just to make sure that our butter is all mixed in.
11:35
Now I'm gonna put mine into a pan.
11:37
And I don't think I'm gonna spray it
11:40
because you're so much butter in this piece of pastry,
11:44
plus I've got a non-stick pan.
11:46
All right so I'm just gonna press this down in here
11:49
and make sure I level it off good.
11:52
And I bring it up the sides of the pan just a little bit
11:56
so when I go to put my lemon filling in it, you know,
12:00
it'll kind of have something to wrap its arms around.
12:03
All right, so I'm gonna throw this in the oven
12:05
and let it bake for 15 or 20 minutes.
12:08
And when we come back
12:09
I'm gonna show you that luscious tart filling
12:12
that goes in the center.
12:13
And also honey bars.
12:16
So I'll see y'all back in a few minutes.
12:24
I hope y'all are enjoying the show
12:26
and I want to hear from you.
12:28
Tell me what recipes or videos you'd like to see me
12:31
make by just leaving a short comment below.
12:35
Now, let's get back to the show, y'all.
12:40
Okay, I don't know about y'all,
12:41
but I'm ready to finish up these lemon bars,
12:44
'cause I can't wait to get in them.
12:46
All right, now I've got my crust here.
12:48
It's baked for about 15 or 20 minutes.
12:51
I've pulled it out,
12:52
and we're gonna add sugar,
12:55
a little flour because this is gonna be kind of
12:58
a loose center,
13:01
but we won't just enough flour to bind it.
13:04
And we've got lemon juice and two eggs.
13:15
I'm just gonna give those a quick beat.
13:21
And then pour them in there,
13:24
and mix that together just like that.
13:27
I love making these 'cause you don't even
13:29
have to pull out a mixer.
13:32
So we're just gonna pour that on top,
13:34
and we're gonna run this back in the oven.
13:37
And while these are baking,
13:39
I'm gonna come over here
13:40
and show you a glazed honey bar,
13:44
and they're so good.
13:45
So let's throw this in the oven.
13:51
And we'll let that bake,
13:52
and we'll move on over here.
13:53
Now this is a dessert that I used to serve on the bag lady.
13:57
And I'm gonna start with a self-rising flour,
14:02
a teaspoon of cinnamon,
14:06
two thirds of a cup of oil,
14:10
an eighth of a cup of honey,
14:15
little sugar.
14:18
In fact, it's a half a cup of sugar,
14:20
and one egg.
14:23
And I'm gonna just give these a quick mix.
14:27
And then I'm gonna pour in a half a cup of nuts.
14:30
And we're gonna run this in the oven,
14:32
bake it in a preheated 350 degree oven
14:35
for about 25 to 30 minutes.
14:39
And I'm gonna give our pan a quick spray.
14:43
Whoops, was almost about to forget my nuts,
14:46
I'm in such a hurry.
14:47
So that's a half a cup of walnuts.
14:50
I love walnuts in this.
14:53
So we're just gonna pour this in here,
14:59
pop that in the oven.
15:02
So I want to show you how I finish 'em off.
15:07
And these are completely cooled.
15:11
This is the lemon bars.
15:13
Now all I do to these is just dust 'em with powdered sugar.
15:17
All right.
15:18
And from my glaze honey bars,
15:21
I'm gonna make a very thin glaze
15:23
using a little powdered sugar,
15:26
and one of my favorite condiments in the whole world,
15:30
a tablespoon of mayonnaise,
15:32
and a tablespoon of milk.
15:41
Teaspoon of vanilla.
15:46
And I'm just gonna give that a quick little mix,
15:50
and just pour that over our honey bars.
15:56
These are out of this world.
16:02
Let's just say we cut 'em.
16:07
And I'm gonna cut these in fairly small
16:10
little bite-sized squares
16:12
so that people feel like they have room for both.
16:19
You can see how they're kind of hard for me to cut
16:24
because of the chewiness of them.
16:27
Oh yeah.
16:34
And they're just popping right out
16:35
of my pan because it's one
16:38
of those non-stick type pans.
16:44
They're gonna just love 'em.
16:48
All right.
16:51
And you can see the way these are cutting.
16:53
They have a much softer texture to 'em.
16:57
You can kind of see that lemon custard kind
17:01
of oozing out of them.
17:03
Let's see how those are gonna do.
17:08
Oh yum.
17:09
See that gooey center?
17:12
I love the corners of a bar type cookie,
17:17
where they're really crispy and crunchy.
17:20
I think I'm gonna put
17:21
maybe a little lemon wheel just on the plate,
17:28
some fresh mint and some grapes.
17:33
Just a little bit of green for color.
17:38
And how pretty do those look?
17:41
I think maybe just a clump of grapes right there.
17:45
Look how pretty that looks.
17:50
Mm.
17:52
Oh my goodness.
17:54
Maybe my cooking will make up for my goofiness
17:57
that embarrassing Jamie sometimes.
18:04
Before I meet the parents,
18:06
I'm gonna be showing you all
18:07
how to make some beautiful
18:08
chocolate strawberry topiary trees.
18:11
So I'll see y'all in a minute.
18:14
In the meantime, I'm gonna clean up.
18:18
I so hope y'all are enjoying the show.
18:21
And if you do.
18:22
Be sure to click like, subscribe and
18:25
notification bell so you'll never miss a video.
18:29
And we'll be right back after the break.
18:35
All right, I want to share with y'all,
18:37
I'm in a big hurry because you know
18:39
I got to go meet those parents,
18:40
but I want to show you something that we do
18:43
for a party that we're wanting
18:45
to really make a big impression on,
18:47
and it's fresh strawberry trees.
18:51
And for this one
18:52
I'm using chocolate dip strawberries,
18:56
just to create a little interest.
18:58
I think you can see the chocolate is so pretty own 'em.
19:02
So all we're gonna do is start with a good hearty toothpick.
19:07
And I'm just gonna kind of slip that in at an angle,
19:11
and choose a strawberry of my liking.
19:14
And you'll want to try to make sure
19:17
that all of your strawberries
19:19
are about the same size.
19:22
It will just look a lot more uniform.
19:25
So you may want to go somewhere where you can
19:27
hand select your strawberries.
19:31
For the top row I think I'm gonna go with a smaller berry.
19:36
All right, now I'm just gonna come in here
19:38
and fill in with cement.
19:41
So I hope that when you have an occasion to impress somebody
19:45
you'll think back on this little tip
19:47
that I've given you today,
19:48
and I think you'll love it.
19:52
Well, y'all, it's finally here.
19:53
It's almost time to meet the parents,
19:57
and I hadn't gone to a great deal of trouble,
19:59
but I think the trouble that I went to
20:01
will really impress them.
20:03
And I think they'll appreciate it.
20:04
And I think all of this will get us in a very relaxed state.
20:09
I've got the assorted tray of sandwiches
20:11
and the lemon squares,
20:12
and the glazed honey bars,
20:15
and the shrimp butter.
20:17
Whether they choose to eat it on a cracker or a vegetable.
20:21
And the topiaries look beautiful, don't they y'all?
20:25
And if you're ever in a situation like me,
20:27
where you got to meet the bride's parents,
20:30
I hope that you'll try some
20:31
of these recipes,
20:33
or even if you just having friends.
20:35
So until next time y'all, wish me luck.
20:38
And I send y'all best dishes and love,
20:42
from my table to yours.
20:46
Hey, y'all, it's Paula Deen.
20:48
Now, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to like it
20:51
and click the subscribe button as well as the notification
20:55
and bell to be alerted when I post a video.
20:59
Love and Best Dishes Y'all.
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