7 Easy, Elegant, Crowd-Pleasing Appetizers

• Buy frozen pastry cups and bake according to directions on the package
• When done, carefully remove the caps of the cups (can use or not)
• While pastry is baking, use half olive oil and half butter to caramelize sliced yellow onions
• Add a little salt and pepper
• Fill cups generously with caramelized onion and top with Arugula.

Looks elegant, but so easy. Yum!

• Cut figs in half length-wise. You may need to cut out a little of inside.
• Fill with goat cheese (plain, not herbed).
• Wrap with Prosciutto
• If necessary, use toothpicks to help hold it together.

Done!

Tomato Bread, Manchego Cheese Optional

• Get good tomatoes and a great rustic bread like sourdough.
• Cut bread into slices (not too thin).
• Toast up the bread in a little bit of olive oil in a pan (don't want to saturate it in olive oil, just want a bit of olive oil for toasting and slight color). 
• Season with a small amount of salt and pepper. (Can skip the salt if using the cheese, which is salty.)
• Cut tomatoes (roughly cut away skin) and blend to a nice pulp (not too liquid-y, just for a spread) in a blender or food processor
• Add a touch of olive oil into the mixture, and a little salt and pepper. (Again you can skip the salt if using cheese,)
• Spread tomato mixture onto the bread.
• Top with slices of manchego cheese (optional) but recommended.

You may want to cut this into squares for appetizer-sized servings and then add the cheese. I always worry about food being over-salted; since salt is added twice, go easy, though my daughter might tell you otherwise. I'm only the sous chef in our home.

Nigella Lawson's Sherry-Glazed Chorizo Coins

I recently heard Nigella Lawson on NPR. This appetizer sounds delicious and takes just 5 minutes to prepare!

"You slice [chorizo sausage] into coins, and then cook [it] until it slightly colors and scorches — and then at the last minute I splash in some sherry."

Lawson likes the "extra sweet note" cream sherry provides. She further notes, "The sausage is lightly glazed by the sugar in the sherry, and glistens attractively on the appetizer tray." She calls it the "unholy trinity" of sugar, salt and fat.

Bon appetite!