Ricotta and Roasted Grape Crostini
Food & Wine
The humble crostini is the friend of anyone tasked with making finger food – whether you toast slices of a slim baguette yourself or you buy them ready-crisped from the shop. Easy to gobble in a single bite, the flavour possibilities are endless. But we especially like this one from designer and blogger Athena Calderone, which marries creamy ricotta with the sweetness of grapes and honey, and the gentle crunch of the pinenut. Small bite perfection. Get the recipe.
Goat Cheese and Salami Stuffed Dates
Epicurious
Tiny morsels are truly a flavour balancing art, and the best ones bring together contrasting flavours and textures into a single bite, like a whole meal in microcosm. These ones offer up the flashy sweetness of the dates to contrast with the spicy salami, the creamy goats’ cheese and the crunchy raw pistachios. They’re easy to wolf and, we warn, horribly moreish. Get the recipe.
Carbonara Arancini
BBC Good Food
In our books, arancini balls count amongst the food of the gods, whisking us away to Sicilian idylls in a nibble. Sigh. These miniature ones are absolutely ideal for a soirée – although do note, they do take 1.5 hours to prep and require chilling overnight, so they’re not to be undertaken lightly. However, they can be popped in the freezer, so simply get them out at the appointed party hour and fry them up to inevitable ooohs and aaahs of appreciation. Get the recipe.
Grilled (or Broiled) Oysters with a Sriracha Lime Butter
Food 52
Nothing will ever beat oysters for sheer elegance or glamour. They always look exquisite – and although they can be a little marmite on the palate, we’d suggest that when served up grilled, the texture is instantly more acceptable to those who would otherwise run a mile. As the editors at Food 52 note, ‘We wish more people would grill or broil oysters -- it's so easy and the quick blast of heat concentrates the oysters' brine and browns their tips without drying them out. Here you mash up butter with Sriracha, shallots, lime juice and cilantro and as the oysters cook -- we broiled them -- the flavourful butter melts and poaches the plump little bivalves.’ Served up with something sparkling, these are a truly special way to kick off an evening. Get the recipe.
Maple Glazed Sausage Blinis
Olive Magazine
Blinis: not just for smoked salmon and crème fraiche at festive gatherings, as it turns out. Making that case eloquently and tastily are these perfect examples topped with cocktail sausages, maple syrup, chives and wholegrain mustard. Sublime. Get the recipe.
Tandoori King Prawns
Olive Magazine
They take ten minutes to make, are endlessly tasty, and are easy to bite with a glass of wine in hand. Juicy, beautifully spiced and the perfect way to set the tone for an elegant evening ahead. Get the recipe.
