I’ve officially found the easiest holiday appetizer ever — these adorable little skewers!

For my Christmas party this past weekend, my mom brought up a fantastic batch of grape tomatoes for us to use.  So a quick little appetizer, we pulled together these!  Seriously, it took more time to cut up the cheese and green peppers than it did to assemble them.

Cute.  Fresh.  Delicious. Popular at the party.  And of course, oh-so-festive.  :)  I may have to make these when tomato season rolls around again for “Christmas in July”….

Christmas Mini-Skewers (Tomatos, Peppers & Cheese)
(Original recipe)

Ingredients:

• cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 or 2 green peppers
• mozzarella cheese
• toothpicks

Method:

Be sure that your tomatoes and peppers are thoroughly washed.  Core the green pepper(s), and slice them into squares (mine were about 3/4″, but you can do whatever size you’d like).  Cube the mozzarella cheese (again, mine were about 3/4″).

Then take the toothpicks, and layer on one tomato, then a slice of green pepper, then mozzarella cheese.

Ali’s Tip:

To take these up another notch, feel free to drizzle on some fresh basil aioli.  Or let these soak for a bit in a favorite marinade.  Or, sprinkle with some fresh herbs or freshly ground black pepper.  OR, serve as they are.  :)

Some people have shelves full of cookbooks in their house.  Others have piles and files of recipes clipped from magazines.  Me?  I have ne-ver-end-ing columns of recipes bookmarked on my laptop!!  Seriously — my columns in my Firefox bookmarks are so long you have to scroll through them.  My oh my.  :)

So this week, decided to revisit some of my original favorites and bring them to life!  First up was this quick, delicious-sounding brown butter pasta recipe that I’d bookmarked from Miss “Everyday Italian” herself.  The short, common list of ingredients had caught my eye months ago, and the raving reviews made it sound even better!

Thus, I gave it a try today — substituting in tortellini instead of ravioli — and was completely impressed!  (This comes as no surprise, being that I heart Giada’s recipes!!)  The balsamic brown butter sauce was a total delight, full of wonderfully complementary flavors.  And then the extra crunch of the nuts mixed with the soft, cheesy tortellini was absolutely perfect.  I only had cheese tortellini on hand, but next time will definitely try mixing it up with some other flavors/varieties of tortellini or ravioli.

Definitely a fantastic option for a quick, inexpensive, yet classy dinner!!

Tortellini with Balsamic Brown Butter Recipe
(Adapted from Giada DeLaurentis)

Ingredients:

• 18 to 20 ounces store-bought tortellini or ravioli (pick your favorite flavor!)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup toasted, chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans or pine nuts)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Method:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the tortellini and cook according to package instructions (generally about 2-3 minutes until tender, but still firm to the bite), stirring occasionally. Drain the tortellini.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the foam subsides, and the butter begins to turn a golden brown (and begins to give off a nutty aroma) turn off the heat and remove from the burner. Let cool for about 1 minute. Then gradually (and very carefully!) stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Transfer the ravioli to the pan saucepan with the balsamic brown butter and gently stir until combined. Sprinkle nuts and Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately.

Ali’s Tip:

Feel free to of course add any favorite cooked meats or veggies to this dish as well!  Mushrooms and/or sausage come to mind as fun, easy ideas…

As much as I love creativity in the kitchen, and have no fear about testing out brand new recipes on a crowd (for better and worse!), there are days where I’m all about going with something tried and true.  :)  And when I found myself in need of a quick appetizer this weekend, happily reverted to this recipe.  It’s been my appetizer “default” for many years, and is always a crowd-pleaser.  Truly!  I’ve never thrown or been to a party where each of these did not disappear!!

So if you’re looking for classy, charming presentation with big flavor and minimal prep — these chipotle chicken cups are for you!  The original recipe was actually for chipotle shrimp cups, which I have made many times.  But I, and others who chose to weigh in, always thought that the other ingredients always overpowered the shrimp.  Didn’t seem worth it, so chicken it is.  :)  And while the original called for specifically chipotle-flavored salsa, I often just use whatever salsa is on hand and then add in a little chipotle powder.  Love the subtle smoky-ness that it adds!

So break out the mini-muffin pan and give these a try!!  Would love to hear what comments you receive on them.  :)

Chipotle Chicken Cups Recipe
(Adapted from MyRecipes)

• 24 wonton wrappers
• 1 cup shredded cheddar-Jack cheese (or other favorite cheese)
• 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded or small-diced
• 1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, diced (from the jar works well!)
• 1 cup favorite salsa
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Fit 1 wonton wrapper into each of 24 mini muffin cups coated with cooking spray, pressing the wrappers carefully but firmly into sides of cups.  Bake at 350º for 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Keep wontons in muffin cups.

Combine remaining ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  If it’s fairly juicy (depending on your salsa), it’s helpful to drain out some of the liquid before moving on.

Then add a pinch (about 1/2 Tbsp.) of cheese into each wonton cup, followed by about 1 Tbsp. of the chicken mixture.  Then top each wonton with another pinch of cheese. Bake at 350º for 6 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from muffin cups. Serve immediately.

Ali’s Tip:

These little wonton “cups” could be the inspiration for about a zillion other ingredient combinations!  Other fun fillings might be spinach+artichoke dip, taco fillings, brie+jam, tuna or chicken salad, hummus, etc., etc….  The possiblities are endless!  :)