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Food writers offer their favorite New Year's Eve appetizers

 
Cheddar Horseradish Spread will bring the zing. Stir in lots of radishes just before serving.
Cheddar Horseradish Spread will bring the zing. Stir in lots of radishes just before serving.
Published Dec. 26, 2014

New Year's Eve is all about nibbles. And, no, I am not talking about the kiss at midnight.

Appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, little plates, whatever you'd like to call them, are the standard party fare for the last night of 2014. Chips and salsa, a cold shrimp ring and cheese and crackers are on the typical menu, but it seems like a little more effort is in order. After all, serious diet penance starts the next day. Or the day after.

To find some inspiration for the New Year's Eve party, I turned to food bloggers and cookbook authors across the country. They shared their favorite appetizers, some of which can be tossed together in a snap. (Others require a bit more time.) Most have elements that can be assembled in advance.

I am predicting that fennel might be the kale of 2015 (though I've heard cauliflower will be the veg of the year), and two submissions do have fennel. Southern culinary experts Matt and Ted Lee, the Lee Brothers of Charleston, S.C., sent in their recipe for Pickled Shrimp With Fennel, and cookbook author Jim Webster shared his Toasted Fennel Dip. Webster is the co-author with Mario Batali of America Farm to Table (Grand Central Life & Style, 2014).

"One of the advantages of this recipe is that the marinated fennel pushes the pickled shrimp into the cold-salad realm. It's easy enough to strew several of the shrimp and strips or rings of the fennel over butter lettuce to create a pretty appetizer salad," said Ted Lee, who can often be seen with his brother Matt on the Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

Webster, a former staffer at the Tampa Bay Times with a reputation as a fine entertainer, says his favorite place to hang out at a party is always near the dip.

"I'm happy with a store-bought brand or sour cream mixed with soup mix, but when I want to show off a little bit, I make a toasted fennel dip from scratch. It's classic enough to be immediately comforting, but just different enough to make you go back for more to figure out what's a little bit different."

He says the cream cheese makes Toasted Fennel Dip especially rich, but a mix of sour cream and Greek yogurt could substitute and trim the guilt a bit.

Speaking of decadent, Ray "Dr. BBQ" Lampe gives us his BBQ Bacon Brie, which can be made on the grill or in the oven. It's simple, but I think it might be one of the first offerings to disappear. Lampe of St. Petersburg, whose latest book is Pork Chop: 60 Recipes for Living High on the Hog (Chronicle Books, 2013), recently was inducted into the national Barbecue Hall of Fame. He has spent a lot of time this football season grilling and chilling as part of the NFL's game-day events around the country.

His BBQ Bacon Brie is thick, so make sure you provide the proper vehicle for guests to transport this beautiful mess to their mouths. You'll need a few knives and sturdy crackers.

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The same is true for the two dips I am suggesting, Muffuletta Dip and Cheddar Horseradish Spread. The former is a hot dip that's always a big hit, and the horseradish spread is a talker. Just before serving, stir in lots of shredded radishes, which provide cool heat at the same time. It's a surprising dish.

Amy Sherman, a pioneering California food blogger whose work can be found at cookingwithamy.blogspot.com, is jumping on the cauliflower bandwagon with her Warm Cauliflower Dip. The sesame paste called tahini and ground cumin give this dip a Middle Eastern accent. One of the best things about it? It can be made a couple of days in advance.

"Warm Cauliflower Dip is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and lactose free, so pretty much anyone should be able to enjoy it. It's surprisingly rich and creamy, considering it doesn't have any cream," Sherman says.

Another West Coast writer, Janet Fletcher, author of the "Planet Cheese" newsletter, shares a cheesy idea. (You can sign up for her complimentary email newsletter at janetfletcher.com.) One of her favorite simple hors d'oeuvres is Marinated Pecorino With Olive Oil and Herbs.

"I use either a domestic sheep's milk cheese like Bellwether Farms San Andreas, Spanish Manchego or an Italian pecorino that is young enough to slice. I cut the cheese into triangles about ¼ inch thick and layer them in a baking dish with fresh herbs (typically rosemary or thyme), cracked black pepper and strips of orange zest. I add enough extra-virgin olive oil to cover and let everything marinate in the refrigerator for about three days," she says.

Fletcher adds that the cheese picks up all the aromas of the seasonings. Lift the cheese out of the oil and serve it on a platter, perhaps with green olives and salami. The remaining oil can be refrigerated and used on salads for weeks to come.

Another food blogger, this one from the East Coast, goes cheesy on us, too, with Goat Cheese With Fig-Olive Tapenade. Anna Watson Carl just completed a successful Kickstarter campaign to finance her cookbook The Yellow Table: A Celebration of Everyday Gatherings. She blogs at theyellowtable.com.

"This tangy-sweet tapenade, served over goat cheese crostini, is one of my favorite pre-dinner snacks," she says. "Use leftover tapenade on sandwiches, roasted pork tenderloin or grilled chicken."

Isabel Laessig of Dunedin, who blogs at familyfoodie.com and is the founder of the #SundaySupper movement, takes us upscale with her Beef Tenderloin With Blue Cheese and Chorizo Port Wine Sauce. This is a showstopper, for sure, and you'll get 30 or so bite-sized appetizers from the recipe. Slices of the tender meat with the sauce and blue cheese are served on slices of French bread.

Food writer and teacher Monica Bhide of Washington, D.C., offers another small bite with the wow factor, Savory Mini-Cheesecakes With Red Pepper and Green Tomatillo Chutney from her book Modern Spice (Simon & Schuster, 2009). Bhide's culinary specialty is Indian cuisine, and her chutney shows off her mastery of spices. It can be made in advance, too.

Lastly, a trio of Southern food writers — Susan Puckett (Eat Drink Delta), Virginia Willis (Bon Appétit, Y'all) and Debbie Moose (Southern Holidays: A Savor the South Cookbook) show off their country party roots.

Willis' Classic Crab Cakes With Country Remoulade produces 24 bite-sized appetizers draped with a spicy mayonnaise dip. Several elements can be made in advance.

"I like crab cakes, not crab-and-bread cakes — there needs to be just enough binder to hold the crab together. Use jumbo lump or lump crabmeat, be sure to keep the crab very cold since it spoils easily, and carefully pick through the meat to remove any bits of shell," Willis says.

Moose came up with her Apple and Bacon-Stuffed Collard Roll-Ups while trying to think of a New Year's Day recipe that might induce her husband to eat collards.

"He typically hates them. He loved this one. And now we can consume all the luck we need for the new year," she says.

This is a great appetizer because it can be made ahead, is finger food and is an unexpected way to offer the usual collards. "I modeled it on the idea of Greek stuffed grape leaves. Use small or cabbage collards for the most tender leaves," Moose says.

And lastly, could any Southern New Year's Eve party go on without cheese wafers?

Puckett deconstructs the story of cheese wafers and cheese straws in Eat Drink Delta (University of Georgia Press, 2013). There are some variations on the theme, Parmesan versus cheddar cheese for one, but they are all buttery, rich morsels that can be popped in the mouth quickly.

Puckett's version includes puffed rice cereal — Rice Krispies to be exact — and that is what makes them lighter and crunchier than others.

Serve them with an ice-cold glass of French Champagne, Spanish cava or Italian prosecco. You might not need much more for an intimate evening.

Happy New Year's, y'all.

Contact Janet K. Keeler at jkeeler@tampabay.com. Follow @RoadEats.