New Year’s Eve is a holiday fraught with indecision. Where do you go? What do you do? Who do you spend it with? How do you manage to squeeze out the last drops of happy times from the old year in preparation for the new year?
Well just like the rest of you, we don’t have all the answers to the eternal conundrum of how to have a good time this New Year’s Eve. What we do know a thing or two about is what delicious things you can EAT while you ring in 2016.
(You knew that was coming.)
So we say begone lame-o chips with salsa! Away with your spinach dips and frozen pizza rolls! Ring in the new year with style, verve, and a killer appetizer menu! Here’s a list of some of our favorite New Year’s Eve appetizers for your own party–whether they be enjoyed with family or with friends, in big groups or small.
Click the photos to go to each of the New Year’s Eve Appetizer recipes!
New Year’s Eve Appetizer Recipes
A Trio of Pinchos
The perfect ticket for intimate gatherings and more genteel cocktail hours is our trio of pinchos (a kind of Spanish snack, similar to tapas): garlicky shrimp, juicy slices of steak with Chimichurri, and perfectly charred peppers and pork belly served on toasts. Just add wine. Lots and lots of wine.
Tostones with Tomato Salsa
We say swap those lousy tortilla chips and jarred salsa for these tostones and homemade salsa. You won’t be sorry! You can pre-fry the first round of tostones and then do the second round right before your guests arrive.
Homemade Scallion Sesame Crackers
If you’re planning on putting together a smattering of fruits, cheeses, and dried sausages, try fanning out some of these homemade scallion sesame crackers on the side. Make a huge batch to cover your bases for New Year’s Eve AND snacking for New Year’s Day.
Lemon Manchego Toasts with Green Olive Tapenade
These toasts are deceptively easy and extremely tasty. Perfect with a cocktail and a bit more interesting than your traditional bread + olive medley combo.
Curry Lime Chicken Phyllo Rolls
These phyllo rolls are crispy and crunchy, with a deliciously spiced and fragrant filling chicken lime curry filling. The best part is that you can grab store-bought phyllo AND a store-bought rotisserie chicken to knock this one off of your list quickly and efficiently!
Fried Wontons
For those of you who are more ambitious, Fried Wontons are delicious and festive. Bonus? If you throw some of the uncooked wontons into the freezer, you’ll have the perfect start to Simple Wonton Soup to treat any…::ahem::..libation-induced headaches on New Year’s morning.
Kimchi Fries
Another appetizer for those looking to ring in the New Year with adventure. These Kimchi Fries will make you forget any silly mistakes or missteps of 2015 and get you feeling optimistic about all that 2016 has yet to offer!
Sausage Balls, 2 Ways
These sausage balls may have been the MVD (Most Valuable Discovery) of all of our 2014 culinary adventures. These look deceptively simple and–dare I say–boring, but the traditional version and our Asian spin are seriously epic. We’ve made them for a few parties now and they always disappear. Enjoy these before all those killjoy diet resolutions set in in January!
