Holiday Nibble Time

These next two weeks are going to be filled with all sorts of parties from tree trimming to at home office gatherings. It's the time of the year to dust off all those hors d' oeuvre recipes and pick out what works. After all, a full blown sit down dinner is a bit too fusty for all that mingling. The best bet is to serve trays of nibbles, first savory and then sweet with coffee and liqueurs afterwards.

Savory appetizers are easy to serve and to make. They also go great with everything from non alcoholic punches and sodas to champagne. One of the easiest is bruschetta . This is just simply toasted rounds of sliced Italian and/or French breads with a scoop of chopped tomatoes , olive oil and spices. You can vary the recipe by placing slices of Italian cold cuts such as Genoa salami or soppressata under the tomatoes. For healthier fair try inch long celery bits stuffed with a mix of cream cheese and chopped hard boiled egg. These are tasty and fun without being oh so decadent.Another idea is getting trays of frozen nibbles. There are some great ones out there,especially from Target's Archer Farms brands. Try crab or chicken puffs which are easy to dip and easy to maneuver. Themed savories such as Japanese or Mexican also make for fun eating.

Nibbles aren't only relegated to the salty and savory. There's nothing like ending the evening with tiny bites of sweetness. A fun ender is stuffed dates. These are easy to make, with stuffing pitted dates with either creamy or chunky peanut butter and then rolling in granulated sugar. You can also make mini brittles which is forming small clusters or hills of nuts and then pouring a heated sugar syrup ove r them. Spiced nuts are also good. All it takes are any nut of choice and then dipping them in egg white. Later roll in a mix of cinnamon and sugar or for more zip and zing nutmeg and mace . Bake for twenty minutes for 25 minutes. Mini tartlets or galettes are a great dessert. These can be made with biscuit dough cut in small squares and filled with pie filling. Of course there are the traditional cookies and bars too. If you're serving these , then vary it with a melange of shortbreads, bars, sugar cookies and chocolate chips. You can add some sophisticated types such as madeleines and macarons.

This is the time for fun eating and fun parties. Try a night of nibbles to satisfy guests . Nothing beats a bize size treats to get a gathering going!