New Year's Eve Appetizers

 

The last party of the year is upon us!  Bring on 2014!

Time to throw together some easy but tasty appetizers for you, your family and any guests you may be having over for the big countdown.

MGG and I love to have small bites to much throughout the night and these are so easy to put together you'll want to serve all of them!

First off is one of my favorites!  Garlic Rubbed Toast with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil is a take on the Roman classic bruschetta al pomodoro.  My mom and I ate this every night as our appetizer when we were in Rome.  These are such basic fresh ingredients, that you will be amazed at the brilliance of putting these simple items together will bring such flavor.

Use a good ripe cherry tomato, which should be available this time of year, along with a good loaf of country or italian bread.  I slice mine on a bias to give it that pretty look.  The rest is history, as they say.  Simple.  Flavorful.  Wonderful.

Garlic Rubbed Toast with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

serves 6

1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved
16 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped or julienned
12 slices of country or italian bread, sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
4-6 T extra virgin olive oil

Bread may be toasted in the oven at 350 about 8 minutes.  Once toasted rub a whole garlic clover over the toasted bread.  One garlic clove should cover about 3 slices.

To assemble:  Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on the bread, dividing evenly. Drizzle with olive oil and top evenly with basil.  Serve immediately.

I also had the pleasure yesterday of assisting my friend at Williams-Sonoma in preparing quite and array of finger foods.

We made several items, beginning with Three Cheese Filo Triangles. (shown above) Super yummy, but a little labor intensive.  TIP:  They can be made ahead and frozen before cooking.  We also made some quick and easy bites that were right up my alley for putting together multiple appetizers for serving that are easy to put together.  All of these featured their line of "Entertaining Dip Starters".  Boy oh boy are these good!  Included are: Rosemary Garlic Crostini with Roasted Red Pepper Dip and Shaved Roast Beef. (Killer!)  Hot Spinach and Artichoke Crostini, and Crostini with Caramelized Onion topped with Roast Beef.

(Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip served on top of Crostini.  Just follow the directions on the jar! Done in 30 min.)

(Roasted Red Pepper and Roast Beef Crostini.  Using a garlic rosemary oil on the crostini before toasting.  This is the bomb!)  Trust me, I ate at least 4...

(my 4th one..!)

(I noticed I forgot a pic of the Caramelized Onion Roast Beef Crostini...hmmm.  Easy as pie, just heat up the jar of the dip starter and use as the base on the crostini)

All were fabulous but I'm most partial to the Red Pepper version!  So much so I bought a couple of jars of the dip to experiment with at home.  Woohoo!

So I hope this brings you some great ideas for quick serving snacks for your New Year's Eve plans.

Have a safe and Happy New Year!