Entertaining for New Year's - Snacks of 2010

Pete and I love to cook, often just entertaining ourselves. Simple tinkering with the architecture of ingredients or combining different courses can yield a unique hybrid; once we transformed 3 parts of a meal into vegetarian/pescaterian nachos (artichokes, salad, and fish/veggie entree). 

This New Year's holiday we kept it simple, in hopes to provide a variety of satisfying flavors without overwhelming the gut. Although we only had one lovely guest for the NYE celebration this year, a medley of our favorite tapas were represented to provide a solid base for the holiday merriment. The following are so easy and basic that they really need no explaining. However, below those easy appetizer suspects, there are two dishes that deserve further discussion. Both are extremely simple to make, yet pack a noteworthy punch of savory taste. 

Act 1 - Standards

Artichokes (with a mayonnaise and lemon dip)

Caprese (mozzarella, basil, heirloom tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper)

Shrimp cocktail (over ice with cocktail sauce)

Avocado slices (drizzled with olive oil, balsamic, salt, and pepper)

Act 2 - Heavy Hitter: Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

One of Pete and my favorite treats to bring to parties or any family gathering is, hands down, this delectable treat. Somehow sweet but hearty, this recipe was stolen from the restaurant 333. Not only is it unique in flavor, it is unique in how utterly easy the dish is to prepare. It requires three ingredients, a toaster oven, and about 20 minutes cooking time. For those who are vegan or vegetarian, fear not, the bacon can easily be substituted for a faux bacon and still maintain the same mouth watering decadence. 

Ingredients:

Goat Cheese

Dates (pitted)

Bacon

Steps:

Slice open dates halfway. Stuff with goat cheese and press date halves back together. Wrap the stuffed dates in uncooked bacon, each date getting it's own slice of bacon. Place the wrapped dates onto a toaster oven rack wrapped in aluminum foil. Let them bake for 20 minutes or until the bacon is crispy. Pull out an let cool for one to two minutes. Serve warm. 

Because this treat is a little heavy and sweet, it is perfect for the chilly winter nights to serve as an appetizer or part of dinner. It is guaranteed to help cut down on hunger for any guests but give them a mouthful to sample and talk about. 

Encore: Introducing Morning After Pancakes

My favorite type of pancakes are wheat ones. I prefer the Krusteaz brand as it is not only the one I grew up with as a child, but they are also the easiest receipe that requires only water. While pancakes and Knott's Boysenberry syrup are an instant crack for my mouth, a lack of boysenberry syrup caused Pete and I to get inventive and take to fresher ingredients. 

Ingredients:

Pancake mix, wheat (Krusteaz just add water)

1/2 Lemon

1/2 tsp of Cardamom

Blackberries (one-two containers)

Goat Cheese

Maple Syrup of your choice

Bananas

Steps:

Mix the pancake mixture and squeeze half a lemon into the mixture. Should you desire, add a 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom. Pour desired pancake size mixture onto a Pam Baking covered pan. After this step, Pete added blackberries cut into halves and sprinkled them liberally onto the pancakes. Directly following, Pete sprinkled generous amounts of goat cheese onto the pancakes. 

Proceed with pancake flipping/cooking, but make sure cook thoroughly as the blackberries hide uncooked parts. After completed and browned to perfection, plate the pancakes and add maple syrup and bananas. The lemon provides a hint of tart to compliment the blackberries and wheat. 

These delectable bites helped us ring in the new year, offering a spread of our favorite snacks of 2010 and adding one recipe to the books. These are extremely easy yet popular and fresh recipes to make for a small group or a whole fiesta. Guten appetit!