Don't spend your whole day fretting over what to serve your guests tonight. Instead, ring in the New Year with these three incredibly simple yet impressive party appetizers. First, surprise your guests with an interesting take on a classic crostini- roasted grapes with creamy ricotta with toasted walnuts. When I first tried this dish, it was a total experiment, and yet, I was SO pleasantly surprised! Roasting the grapes brings out a beautifully sweet and deep flavour, and plus, it's a great way to use up grapes in the fridge that are no longer perfectly firm. I paired the grapes with a ricotta spread. You can make the ricotta yourself, but if you're running low on time, I like to just brighten up the storebought stuff with some lemon zest, good extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. So easy! You can prepare these crostini in advance, or just serve the grapes on the vine with ricotta in a dish, the way I did below. The presentation is beautiful, and it allows the guests to get involved. Click here for the recipe.
The next easy party appetizer to serve is a fresh lettuce cup. I find that party appetizers are usually quite heavy and rich, and so I like to serve up a bit of a brighter, colourful bite to offer some relief from the heavy stuff. Lettuce cups can literally be whatever you like- a mini classic caesar salad, or a bright mango slaw. These here are a simple take on a wedge salad, with gorgonzola, pancetta, and green onions. Served in a small Boston lettuce cup, alongside a lemon wedge for freshness. Voila! Click here for the recipe.
Not everything you serve needs to be some spectacular prepared appetizer! Who doesn't like some delicious nibbles like chips or candy at a party? I love popcorn, so the final dish I'm serving tonight is a huge batch of freshly popped rosemary parmesan popcorn. Flavoured popcorn is so easy to make, it's cheap, and you can make a huge amount of it! Don't be intimidated by popping fresh popcorn, it's so easy! Just heat up some oil on the stove, add the kernels, and then finish the popcorn off with butter flavoured with whatever you like! See below for the recipe.
Don't spend your whole day buzzing around the kitchen fretting over what to make. Try these three super simple appetizers to impress your guests, and give yourself more time to enjoy the final day of the year! Happy New Year!
Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn
Total cook time: 10 minutes
Hands on time: 10 minutes
Yields: 1 large bowl of popcorn
Ingredients
-1/2 cup popcorn kernels
-2 tbsp. canola oil
-1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
-3 tbsp. unsalted butter*
-1 tsp. salt
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
-1 tsp. of fresh lemon zest
*If you only have salted butter, don't fret! Just ensure to taste the popcorn after you add the butter before seasoning with salt accordingly.
Instructions
1. Select the size of pot you would like to cook the popcorn in. Generally, the size of the pot determines the amount of popcorn yielded. For a large bowl of popcorn, choose a large pot
2. Coat the bottom of the pot with vegetable oil and place over medium heat. Place one kernel inside the pot with the lid on and leave on stove. Once the kernel pops, you know the oil is hot enough. Remove the lid and add enough kernels to almost coat the bottom of the pot (thin layer) and put the lid back on
3. Shake the pot to ensure that all kernels are coated in oil, and continue to shake lightly until all the kernels are popped
4. Once the kernels stop popping, immediately pour the popcorn into a large bowl. Add butter and rosemary to the hot empty pot, and place back on heat until all butter is melted and just starts to turn slightly brown, about 1 minute
5. Pour the butter over the popcorn, add salt, and shake the popcorn well. Garnish with parmesan and lemon zest. Enjoy!
Labels: Appetizers, Party Ideas, Salads, Sides
