Easy Holiday Appetizers and Baked Brie
Cocktail nibbles that ease stress and impress guests
Save yourself some time and energy, and try serving easy holiday appetizers this year. Here are my ideas, along with a perennial favorite recipe of baked Brie.
For a cocktail party, I sometimes make a few rounds of baked Brie using different glazes and place them around the house. Make sure to serve the Brie hot from the oven, when the cheese is warm, creamy, and at its best. Happy Holidays!
No-time appetizers
- Candied pecans or walnuts. Look for glazed or chili-spiced nuts and serve them with cocktails.
- Spanish Marcona almonds.
- Roasted pumpkin seeds.
- Edamame, roasted and shelled or in the shell, sprinkled with kosher salt.
- Hummus and yogurt-cucumber, blue cheese, eggplant and other prepared dips, added to a platter of raw vegetables.
- Onion or other flavored crackers topped with smoked salmon and cream cheese dip, caramelized onions, or kalamata olives and feta cheese.
- Mini toasts topped with different store-bought pestos, tapenades, and vegetable spreads.
- Olive bar. In small glass bowls, put together a colorful variety of different olives from around the world, including store-bought stuffed olives filled with blue cheese, garlic, or roasted peppers.
Slight assembly required
- Antipasto platter. Suggested items available at Italian delis include roasted peppers, small balls of mozzarella called bocconcini or perlini, mushrooms, olives, and artichoke hearts. Purchase these ingredients already marinated, or marinate them in your favorite vinaigrette. (Include sliced salami or mortadella on the platter. Arrange the ingredients in long rows and serve with flat bread, focaccia, or bread sticks.
- Belgian endives filled with smoked salmon and creme fraiche, sour cream and salsa, or a mixture of blue cheese and cream cheese topped with bay shrimp.
- Smoked salmon or gravlax thinly sliced and surrounded on a platter with pumpernickel toasts and honey Dijon mustard, or serve the fish on a platter with capers, lemon wedges, and buttered thin toasts.
- Toasted baguette slices topped with a slice of Brie cheese, a thin slice of prosciutto, and a dollop of fig compote.
- Fuyu persimmons, peeled and cut into 2-inch slices, wrapped in thin slices of serrano ham or prosciutto, secured with a skewer, and drizzled with Balsamic Glaze
- Fresh figs, quartered, topped with softened sweet Gorgonzola cheese, and drizzled with Balsamic Glaze
- One 6-ounce can tuna packed in oil puréed with 1 tablespoon each olive oil, sun-dried tomato pesto, and capers. Add 1 teaspoon balsamic glaze and season with fresh herbs. Serve on crackers or cucumber slices.
Baked Brie with Toasted Almonds and Cranberry Glaze
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- 1 (8-ounce) round Brie, chilled
- 3 tablespoons Orange Cranberry Sauce (page xxx) or store-bought chutney
- 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds
- Water crackers or thinly sliced French bread
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- Scrape the rind off the top of the Brie with a sharp knife. Cut the Brie in half horizontally so you have two circles. Place the bottom circle on an ovenproof glass plate. Top with 2 tablespoons of the cranberry sauce and spread evenly. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of the almonds. Top with the remaining circle and spread with the remaining cranberry sauce. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.
- Bake for about 7 minutes, or until the Brie is very soft but not melted. Place on a trivet to serve. Serve with water crackers or French bread.
Advance preparation
Make up to six hours ahead through Step 2, cover, and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
Simple swaps for the clever cook
- Use a larger 1-pound Brie to serve a crowd. Double the quantities of sauce or chutney and nuts, and bake for a few minutes longer, or until soft and warm.
- Try different combinations: apricot jam or fig jam and almonds, dates or walnuts, for example.
Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks, including “Seriously Simple Parties,” and a James Beard Award-winning radio show host. You can contact her at www.seriouslysimple.com.
© 2024 Diane Rossen Worthington. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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