Quick & easy hors d'oeuvres

Last night we hosted a dinner party for friends from business school.  I was excited to have people over but was a little limited on time.  Wanting to put out more than just your standard cheese plate for hors d’oeuvres, I turned to Mark Bittman.  In December 2007, he published an article entitled “101 Simple Appetizers in 20 Minutes or Less”.   The article provides great quick, easy, and interesting appetizer ideas and is organized into several categories — bread & crackers, bruschetta, on toothpicks, on skewers, finger foods, little sandwich triangles, and things that might require a fork.

I made a couple of “toothpick” appetizers.  I bought some good quality chorizo and simply sliced it and cooked it in a frying pan.  The chorizo was a hit — it was almost all gone before all of our guests arrived.

I also made caprese salad on a stick.  I put a grape tomato, a bocconcini (a small nugget of fresh mozzarella), and basil leaf on a toothpick, sprinkled with salt, and drizzled with olive oil.

After reading through the 101 appetizers ideas again yesterday, I am excited to try many more of these easy but elegant recipes.