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Make Simple Appetizers In A Jiffy

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By MARK BITTMAN, The New York Times

Published: December 26, 2007

You want good food at a holiday cocktail party and you want to impress people? You don't want a caterer, you refuse to heat up frozen food and you want to show that your expertise extends beyond buying perfectly ripe hunks of cheese and juicy olives? Then spend a little time in the kitchen.

Here is a collection of party foods that are as easy to eat as they are to make. Each can be produced in 20 minutes or less. Many can be served at room temperature. And none requires a plate. (Few people can juggle plate, wineglass and fork successfully, let alone gracefully.)

1. Red peppers and anchovies: Drizzle piquillos or other roasted red peppers with olive oil, and top with a good anchovy fillet. A caper or two on each is not amiss.

2. Top rye flatbread with thin slices of crisp apple and pickled plain or schmaltz herring (not herring in cream sauce).

3. Sear skirt steak to medium-rare, not more than 8 minutes. Cut into chunks 1/2 -inch to 1 inch, first with the grain, then against it. Spread bread with coarse mustard and/or butter. Top with steak and coarse salt.

4. Toss high-quality crab meat with minced shallots, a little tarragon or a lot of parsley and/or basil, and enough mayonnaise to bind. Also good on lettuce leaves.

5. Mash together best-quality tuna, minced anchovies, minced garlic, chopped oil-cured olives and olive oil as necessary.

6. New York comfort food: Spread cream cheese or creme fraiche on small bagels or bagel chips; black bread is also terrific. Top with sturgeon, sable or lox.

7. Slice soft goat cheese and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped herbs, then with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees until soft, about 10 minutes, and serve hot.

8. Might not be the new ketchup, but great stuff: Puree skinned roasted peppers or piquillos with some of their liquid, salt and olive oil. Serve alone or with other foods - a piece of cheese, even.

9. Top buttered bread with shaved country ham, prosciutto or regular deli ham and bread-and-butter pickles.

10. Chop shrimp fine, then saute in a minimum of oil, or poach quickly and drain. Mix premade pesto with mayonnaise so that it is gluey. Combine cooled shrimp with sufficient pesto to bind; chill.

11. Tapenade: Combine about 1 pound pitted black olives in food processor with 1/4 cup drained capers, at least 5 anchovies, 2 garlic cloves, black pepper and olive oil as necessary to make a coarse paste. Can also be a dip. Use sparingly; it's strong.

12. Chop fresh mushrooms. Cook slowly in olive oil with salt and pepper until very soft. Stir in minced garlic and parsley. Cook a few more minutes until garlic mellows. (Especially good if you add reconstituted dried porcini.)

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