Appetizers, Hors D’oeuvres, nibbles…. whatever you choose to call them, tasty little bite-sized foods are fun, easy to make and perfect to take along to holiday get-togethers.

This week I’ve made two little bites, the first being Cherubs on Horseback.

Cherubs on Horseback are so ridiculously easy to make, that you could ask one of your kids to make them while you’re in the kitchen. They only require two ingredients: dried apricots and bacon. After these have been baked you’ll be treated to a delicious mix of salty and sweet.

There are many recipes for this treat on the internet and they are all very much the same, so I’ll share a basic recipe here:

20 dried apricots, briefly soaked in warm water

10 slices of bacon

20 wooden toothpicks, presoaked in cold water

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the bacon in half crosswise. Run the back of a knife over the bacon to stretch it out a little (this will keep it from shrinking while it bakes). Wrap each apricot with one piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a baking pan and bake until bacon is crisp, 10-15 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

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The second recipe I tried was from my favorite hors d’oeuvres recipe book, simply titled:

Hors D’oeuvres, by Eric Treuille and Victoria Blashford-Snell.

I made Mini Cherry Tomato and Basil Pesto Galettes, which is just a fancy way of saying tomato and pesto on a puff pastry round. These were delicous, and wonderfully bite sized. Perfect for a quick, tasty bite.

You begin the recipe by creating fresh pesto, and since pesto recipes can also be found in abundance online,

I’ll share one with you here:

Simply take 1/2 cup fresh basil, 2 tablespoons pine nuts (I get mine in the bulk section of my grocery store. Pine nuts freeze well and thaw quickly.), 1 tablespoon olive oil and 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese; combine in a food processor or blender and pulse until the ingredients become a thick paste.

Done. You’ve just made pesto!

(Home made pesto – it’s easy!)

(I used a basic 2″ biscuit cutter. A fluted one would be even prettier.)

(I made galettes with pesto under the tomatoes and then some with the pesto on top. Putting the pesto under the tomatoes is the best way to go.)

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* Jenn’s Notes *

The Cherubs on Horseback can be wrapped in advance and popped into the oven at the last minute. They are best served hot or warm, but you can reheat them in a warm oven if you have leftovers.

You can make as many Cherubs at a time as you’d like – these work as both a nice snack for two or an hors d’oeuvre for a large group.

I once made celery sticks stuffed with a cheesy filling for a party I was having. When I went to plate them, since the celery is rounded, they all wanted to roll over on the plate. What to do? I had to think of a way to prevent them from rolling, so I looked through my cupboards, found a bag of lentils, covered the bottom of the plate with them and ta-da!, the celery stayed upright.

Plating your little bites is easy and fun. You probably already have things in your pantry that you could use. Just look at the things that you have in a new way. Lentils are really great because they are pretty, come in a variety of colors and can be cheaply purchased at your grocery’s bulk section. Split peas work well. Rice and beans can be used, too.

Make sure that what you’re serving isn’t too sticky, or you’ll have little pieces of rice/lentils stuck to the bottom.

Here I’ve used plain rice in one dish and a combination of lentils and rice in the other:

It’s party time!

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Let’s see what Ginny’s been up to over in her * Two Spoonfuls * kitchen!

Best,

Jenn : )