Mini Caprese Bites

When planning any party menu, we like to make sure we have a couple of vegetarian options available for those who are living la vida meatless, or just trying to be extra disciplined. The trouble is that the veggie appetizers we find are often boring and uninspired. That's why, when we saw the image accompanying Mini Caprese Bites (Cooking Light, May 2008), we knew we had found a winner.

Sure, a caprese salad isn't mindblowingly unique, but it's definitely a step above a crudités platter. And showcasing brilliant red cherry tomatoes, it adds a whimsical pop of color to any buffet table.

A pint of cherry tomatoes is halved, then each pair of halves is threaded onto 4-inch skewers, with a slice of a mozzarella ball placed in between. The Popsicle-like presentation wowed our guests; we stood some up in a glass just as the photo editors at Cooking Light did, then fanned and stacked the rest out across a platter. With all the skewers assembled, we drizzled them with a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and fresh basil.

Aside from the color, the most beautiful thing about this dish is that the preparation can easily delegated to a random house guest. You know how it is - you're doing last-minute set-up, and the doorbell rings. Your guests rush in, chatting, and offer a well-meaning, "What can I help you with?" Rarely is there ever an easy answer, but from now on, just hand them a package of skewers and a pint of tomatoes, and say, "I've got just the thing...."

Tiny Twice-Baked Potatoes

Our next recipe comes from an appetizer issue of Fine Cooking that we picked up in the grocery line one day: Tiny Twice-Baked Potatoes. As we skimmed through the pages for inspiration, these tiny taters caught our eye, perfectly evoking the home-style appetizer theme of our party.

Regrettably, we only managed to capture a single picture, but it should give you an idea of the scale you'll be working with before you begin. Our grocer was out of small Yukon gold potatoes, so we grabbed some new red potatoes instead.

First, the potatoes are roasted in olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Once out of the oven, they're cooled to room temperature and the top one-quarter to one-third of each potato is removed. (Try not to eat the tops as you slice them off - we dare you!)

Scooping out the potato flesh is a time-consuming operation. We did it with a tea spoon, but we'd be willing to bet that a melon baller would have been much easier to work with. The flesh is reserved in a small bowl and, once all of it has been collected, it's mixed with bacon, chives, and sour cream (or creme fraiche, which is the path we chose). The mixture is spooned back into the potatoes, topped with grated Parmesan, and baked for about 10 minutes in a 450-degree oven.

As the recipe suggests, you can do most of this prep ahead of time, provided that you diligently wrap the potatoes and filling separately in plastic so they don't dry out. We wrapped out filling bowl a little too loosely, so it was a little difficult to work with when we went to spoon it into our spuds.

We've had several guests from our party call and e-mail us for this recipe, some of them planning to use it for their own holiday meals. We'd guess that makes it a success, although we couldn't provide a ruling ourselves - by the time we made it to our buffet table for a sample, the potatoes were already all gone! So we're relying on reviews from our critics as we proudly bestow upon this appetizer the label of "YTK Favorite"!

Mini Roast Beef and Horseradish Panini Triangles

First off, we'd like to apologize for the lack of pictures on this particular recipe. It was about this time that our first guests arrived, and in the midst of all the commotion, we simply forgot about blogging!

In search of hearty appetizers to prepare for this year's Christmas party, we ran across Mini Roast Beef and Horseradish Panini Triangles from Williams-Sonoma. We were enticed by the quick prep work, bulk quantities (we doubled our batch for even more), and flavorful ingredients - and our guests just lapped them up!

These tasty little sandwiches take very little work to assemble, but you'll be best served to prepare them assembly-line style, with 2 or more people. We broke up our workload by having Mrs. Yuppie prepare the sandwiches for the panini grill, and our new roommate, Tom, handle the pressing and slicing. Working in such a way, we cranked out about 40 of these suckers in less than half an hour.

A side note: Although the recipe says to serve these warm, they were still delicious at room temperature. Actually, the next time we make these, we may try to prepare and refrigerate them a few hours to one day in advance, then warm them up quickly in the oven before placing them on a tray for service.