Hi Gang-- Ryan here!
If your family is anything like ours, you divvy up food responsibilities for family parties and holidays. A few years ago, I was on appetizers for Thanksgiving, and I wanted to do something a little more than just your standard chips and salsa. (Much like on Friends when Monica puts Phoebe in charge of "
cups and ice" for Rachel's surprise party, I take any party related task VERY seriously...)
So, in addition to the usual cheese & crackers spread, I decided to fancy things up a bit with an antipasti platter. The best part? It's delicious, super simple and requires very little prep work.
First step, you need some antipasti staples like olives and gardinera. Our grocery store has a great selection of marinated cheese, olive assortments and other veggies near the salad bar, so hopefully yours does too. If not, you can usually find a pretty good selection in the Italian food aisle. I generally just put these in small bowls with toothpicks nearby so folks can just grab and go.
Next up...making the antipasti skewers. I can't overstate how much of a hit these are! You'll need a few different kinds of cheese (mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, provolone) and meats (salami, prosciutto, pepperoni). The best part is you can customize this however you want, so feel free to change it up and get whatever you and your guests like. I also get a few classic Italian ingredients such as fresh basil, Italian dressing, sun dried tomatoes and cheese tortellini. You'll also need toothpicks or small skewers.
A few of my favorite antipasti skewer ingredients
Cook and your tortellini according to the package. (Note: I usually do this the night before, but if you don't have the time, you can do them just before assembly, but rinse them with cold water.) Sprinkle the tortellini with the Italian dressing.
Next, cut up the cheese, meat and any veggies. I generally go with bite size pieces, but this will depend on how big of skewers you are using.
Finally, all you need to do is thread the ingredients on the toothpicks/skewers. Get creative! I usually try to mix up the ingredients so that there are some vegetarian options and some more traditional meat and cheese choices. I also try to make them as colorful as possible.
Hopefully this helps the next time your fam puts you in charge of apps! Please let us know in the comments if you come up with any combinations that we should know about.
