Elegant Appetizers: Ham, Melon, & Mozzarella Bites

Ham, Melon, and Mozzarella Bitesare tasty, elegant appetizers that will elevate any holiday party table! We'm proud to partner with Smithfield once again to create this simple, tasty recipe We know you and your guests will love.

It's December and officially holiday party season. Hooray!

Are you throwing any holiday parties this year, or attending any? If so, We've got a mouthwatering, elegant appetizer recipe that is also super simple to make.

Elegant Appetizers: Ham, Melon, and Mozzarella Bites

When it comes to holiday entertaining, We like to take classic dishes and mix things up a little. We'm a big fan of the classic prosciutto and melon flavor combo, but parties this festive winter season beg for a beautiful holiday ham dish.

Since holidays and Smithfield Ham go hand-in-hand (their Spiral Sliced Ham is a classic, yummy holiday centerpiece!), We decided to make bite-size party appetizers using Smithfield's Anytime Favorites Quarter Boneless Sliced Ham. It's perfectly cooked and evenly sliced, which makes pulling together this appetizer fast and simple!

You simply need five ingredients for this appetizer:

• sliced ham
• cantaloupe
• mozzarella cheese
• basil
• balsamic vinegar

Look how adorable these appetizers are! We love that they are simple to eat – you can easily mingle with guests while holding a glass of wine in one hand and skewer of ham, melon, and mozzarella bites in the other.

The sweetness of the melon balances so beautifully with the savory, salty ham, while the chopped basil gives each bite a fresh, bright flavor.

Presentation Ideas

Food presentation is part of the fun at holiday parties. We love that you can plate these ham, melon, and mozzarella bites in so many different ways.

If it's a smaller dinner party, We like giving each of these elegant appetizers its own little container, like the photos above.

If you're making these for a larger holiday party, you could lay them in alternating directions on a serving platter, like the photo below.

So that the cheese stays fresh throughout the party, We like to put out half of these appetizers while keeping the other half in the refrigerator. Then, when these delectable party bites start to disappear, We simply replenish with the remaining fresh appetizers.

Sweepstakes

During the month of December, Smithfield is giving away a prize every day to members signed up for their rewards program, Smithfield Rewards. As part of 31 Days of Smithfield Cheer, there will be daily and weekly prizes as well as a grand prize of $5,000 to pay off holiday debt!

All you have to do is log-in or create an account, and visit the holiday hub page, to be entered for the chance to win any of the sweepstake prizes, including gift cards, a shopping spree, and night out for the New Year.

Use the secret word URBANBLISS when you register before December 31, 2017 and you'll be entered for a chance to win a trip for four to Beaches All-Inclusive Resort – Jamaica! See Official Rules for more details.

Ham, Melon, and Mozzarella Bites Recipe

Elegant Appetizers: Ham, Melon, and Mozzarella Bites

By Marlynn Schotland Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 15 mins Servings: 20 Ham, Melon, and Mozzarella Bites are elegant, simple appetizers – perfect for any party!

Ingredients

• Smithfield Hickory Smoked Boneless Sliced Ham
• 1 small cantaloupe, cut in half, seeded
• 1 8- ounce container fresh mozzarella cheese balls, *
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions

• Start with about 6-8 slices of the pre-sliced ham. Slice into 1″ wide strips until you have 20 thin ham strips; slice up more ham if needed. Set aside.
• Using a melon baller, scoop out 20 round cantaloupe bites and set aside on a plate.
• Take one skewer and slide one mozzarella ball onto the skewer. Then, fold a 1″ slice of ham into a nice neat little rectangle and slide through skewer. Slide a cantaloupe ball through the skewer. Sprinkle some basil over the mozzarella.
• Repeat until you have finished about 20 skewers.
• Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the ham, melon, mozzarella bites.
• Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Notes

* If you can find mozzarella cheese balls marinated in herbs, that's the best! Otherwise, any tub of mozzarella cheese balls soaking in water or oil will do.
* You will likely have leftover ingredients. Simply use as many slices of ham, mozzarella, and cantaloupe as you need to make enough for your party!
MAKE AHEAD NOTE: you can make these appetizers as much as 4-6 hours in advance. Simply refrigerate in a covered dish until you are ready to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 43 kcal, Carbohydrates: 3 g, Protein: 3 g, Fat: 3 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.001 g, Cholesterol: 5 mg, Sodium: 18 mg, Potassium: 46 mg, Fiber: 0.2 g, Sugar: 2 g, Vitamin A: 944 IU, Vitamin C: 3 mg, Calcium: 49 mg, Iron: 0.1 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Leftover Ham Recipe Ideas

Since this recipe doesn't use up all of the ham in the package, here are some other ideas for the leftover ham:

• ham and cheese frittatas (use this recipe, but add the ham!)
• ham, mushroom, and spinach omelettes
• savory ham, cheese, and herb biscuits
• breakfast hash with ham and eggs
• ham fried rice

And be sure to check out the Smithfield website for more recipe ideas!

What are YOUR favorite ways to serve ham at the holidays?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield. All opinions, recipes, and
photos are, as always, the own.