Snacks and Entertaining: Think Small Plates

A long time subscriber recently requested that we work on appetizer ideas for Super Bowl and entertaining.We set to work with the idea of tapas - or small plates - which are a tradition among many Mediterranean countries for meals.Small plates are easy and fun to make. And as we discovered in a party we gave, they generate a lot of interest and all vegetables consumed!Here is what we made:Chips and salsa - if you are going to serve chips, it may as well be with salsa so more vegetables can be consumed. We chose to make a quick home-made salsa with no-salt-added tomatoes.Fruit plate - use a variety of fresh and dried fruit for color and texture variety.A variety of dips and fresh veggie plates - choose about 6 or 7 different veggies and 2 different dips and make at least 2 different small plates. By mixing them up and serving on a variety of small dishes they generated interest and can be placed around the room.Pinwheels - we spread a flour tortilla with hummus and rolled it up with diced tomatoes in the center. Many more ideas came to mind - with peanut butter/fruit, black bean spread, feta/veggie and more being possibilities. Of course we served these with more tomatoes in the center for an accompaniment.You can make all of these options a day ahead of time and store covered in the refrigerator.