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!

Sundae Kind Of Love

Nothing beats an ice cream sundae even when the temps dip below freezing. There's something downright decadent about th e blend of ice cream, whipped cream and syrup. It may be good out but it's even better at home when you can customize with it all sorts of toppings too.

What sort of ice cream is the best base for a sundae? I prefer a gelato which is lighter than regular ice cream simply for that reason. You want something to be part of the treat,not overpower it. If you're still craving ice cream then stick with a basic vanilla or chocolate (you can try strawberry if you want however realize that you'll be limite d with toppings) You could also go with a chocolate chip or fudge swirl .These are always fun and provide the best foil for a choclate or fruit sundae.

As far as for syrups you can buy them or make your own. Purists may want to create their own which is easy to do these days. You can buy Droste baking powdered chocolate (you can also use Hershey's too) mix in with butter and sugar to create a fudgy, rich glaze. Also Fox's and U-Bet are pretty good and come close to creating that ice cream parlor taste. For whipped cream yes you can make your own going whole hog . I usually like the Cool Whip in a can because it's lighter and blends well with theother flavors. As for other toppings. go ahead and top it with a maraschino cherry or dust with chopped nuts. You can also layer chopped Spanish peanuts between the ice cream and syrup to create the famed Tin Roof sundae.

There's nothing like an ice cream sundae for the definitive treat. Make it as big or as little as you want. Start with a simple base, then add syrups along with fruit and nuts. As long as it tastes good to you and is as decadent as possible.