Easy Appetizers

I have absolutely no idea how people make a three course meal for friends. No idea. I have one oven and two hands. I also have this wonderful quality where I drop things when flustered. When you have one dish in the oven, the vegetable needs to be on the stove and people can just forget the carbohydrate. That is only the main course! You can at least make the dessert the day before and put it in the fridge (cakes, cupcakes, etc.). Even if you have someone else helping you, there are only so many burners on the stove, and opening the oven too many times brings down the temperature of the oven and messes with what you had in there to begin with.

To solve this problem, I got this recipe from my friend Celine in college. Jordan, Downing, Jess, Celine, Emily and Steffi used to have the most amazing pot luck parties. I aspire to be able to cook like them. However, I will have to settle for imitation.

You can make these appetisers hours before dinner, as instructed below, and finish just before serving. This is the best combination of flavors!

CELINE'S GOAT CHEESE AND FIG BRUSCHETTA   Easy

1 loaf french bread, cut with a slight diagonal in 1/2 inch thick pieces
Goat Cheese
Sliced dried figs
honey

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover baking sheet with tinfoil. Arrange bread slices on baking sheet. Brush olive oil over both sides of bread. Bake bread until golden about 6 minutes per side. Spread toasted bread with goat cheese and top with slices of the figs. You can put these aside until you are just about to serve. When you are just about to serve, drizzle with honey and put into oven at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Done and done. Mmmmmmmm...

BLUE CHEESE APPETIZERS   Easy
NY Times recipe found on epicurious.com

1 loaf french bread, cut with a slight diagonal in 1/2 inch thick pieces
Blue cheese at room temp
butter
sugar
apricot preserves
cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover baking sheet with tinfoil. Arrange bread slices on baking sheet. Brush olive oil over both sides of bread. Bake bread until golden about 6 minutes on the first side. Turn over bread, cover the other side with blue cheese and sprinkle with sugar. Return to the oven or broiler until the sugar starts to bubble and brown. Put a small dollop of jam on top and a very light sprinkle of cayenne.