Simplifying the Holiday Party: Italian-Style Appetizers
Nothing makes me happier than the energy of a celebration with family and guests milling around with a plate of great food. The Italian meal, unlike many American meals, is served in courses. The appetizer course is followed by the primo (soup or pasta), the secondo (main course), and then dessert. Italian style appetizers are actually meant to stimulate the taste buds and start the gastric juices flowing with an assortment of flavors, textures, colors, and aromas prior to the arrival of the rest of the meal. When planning a holiday party the Italian antipasto also creates a time saving and delicious way of serving lots of different foods to your guests.
I always start my parties with dishes that require no cooking at all. A large serving plate with sliced, cured Italian meats like Prosciutto di Parma, together with Italian cheeses like Grana Padano are always favorites with my friends and family. And of course, you can’t forget the crusty Italian bread!
The next challenge for the holiday party is selecting appetizers that are quick, colorful and tasty but that also require little time to prepare. Choose two or three hot appetizers that you can work on simultaneously. In addition, use the oven when you can to avoid messy stove top cleanups. My Roasted Pepper Rolls Stuffed with Tuna is an easy choice. This colorful dish is traditional to the cuisine in Piedmont, and if you are running short on time, a jar of roasted peppers can be substituted. You can also serve some of the leftover tuna stuffing on crostini or on crackers--resulting in two great appetizers from one recipe.
Another quick, hot appetizer comes from another of my favorite regions in Italy--Puglia. The Baked Onions from Acquaviva are delicious and require little prep time. Any sweet onion like Vidalia, Walla Walla, or Maui can be used and are simply halved and sprinkled with thyme, olive oil, and breadcrumbs and popped in the oven.
While I love using the oven for hot holiday appetizers, it can be fun to have a little action going on in the kitchen. Italians and Americans love a great shrimp dish, and my Jumbo Shrimp Buzara Style are quick and fill up any kitchen with some great aroma.
As the guests are getting ready to leave for their next party or just to go home, serve a dessert that can be made ahead of time like my ricotta cake with almonds, a delicious recipe with a hint of orange and the crunch of toasted almond slices. Bowls of fresh seasonal fruits like clementines and other citrus add color to the holiday table and the work is left to the guests--pick, peel, eat, and most of all enjoy! Serve some dried figs and apricots and some walnuts and pistachios for a little added variety, and they’ll go home full, satisfied and full of holiday cheer.
*A note on holiday party drinks:
Wine is an important part of any Italian table and during holiday parties, I like to have at least three types available--a good glass of sparkling to begin, a versatile white wine like our Bastianich Tocai to follow and a medium bodied red like the La Mozza Morellino di Scansano to finish. Lots of sparking water is also a must and if the kids are around, they like it with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
Please visit my website for more recipes and information about my books, TV show, and restaurants: www.lidiasitaly.com.
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