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The holidays are a prime entertaining time. You love getting together with friends and family to celebrate this magical season. Unfortunately television advertisements, the magazines you read, and store displays convince you that throwing the ultimate soiree means spending a fortune on fresh décor, fine china, and table linens. All of this is before you even get to the food. Stop chasing an idea of perfection that will land you broke long before Christmas arrives. Here are tips for high style holiday entertaining on a budget including an easy and budget-friendly Asiago-Parmesan Fig Crostini Appetizer!
Décor
Instead of rushing out to buy new swags and lights, use the décor you already own to decorate. If you don’t have much décor, concentrate the pieces you do have in one area (like the dining room). This will give the appearance of a full and festive party.
Another easy and inexpensive way to beef up your décor is to use Christmas wrapping paper. Wrap the pictures on your walls to look like presents. You can also wrap your food tables and even your doors to easily coordinate all of you entertaining décor elements.
Choose a Neutral Tablecloth
Create an upscale dining table with a gorgeous fabric tablecloth. The trick is to choose one that is a solid color such as green or white that can be used for multiple holidays throughout the year. Personalize the theme of your table with place settings and centerpieces. By choosing a tablecloth that can be used year-round it makes this a splurge worth investing in.
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Buy Disposable
When hosting a large holiday gathering the cleanup us a nightmare. Make it easier this year by purchasing disposable serving ware and utensils. These no longer have to mean a cheap-looking gathering with paper plates and napkins. You can buy plastic utensils and serving trays that look like silver as well as gorgeous plates in every color and style you can imagine. Take it a step further by getting plastic wine and champagne glasses that only look like crystal. Finally, no more worrying about kids breaking glasses or being forced to compromise your style.
Rock Your Food
The most memorable part of holiday entertaining is the food. If your guests don’t like it, or worse, have not gotten enough to eat they won’t be focused on the awesome memories being made. Don’t let your high style décor go to waste by underwhelming guests with food. Make sure that you have more than enough to eat and drink to keep guests happy all night.
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Appetizers are a must whether you’re serving a full meal or not. Luckily, this doesn’t have to be hard. Before you reach for that bag of chips to unceremoniously dump in a bowl, make this decadent Asiago-Parmesan Fig Crostini appetizer. With the help of Stella Cheeses creating a high style appetizer is easy and budget-friendly.
Ingredients
Step 1
Cut 28 small circles out of your French loaf using a metal cookie or fondant cutter.
Tip:
If you don’t have one of these cutters, a regular medicine cup will work also. This is what I used and they turned out fantastic!
Step 2
Place 1/3 cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute or until melted.
Step 3
Pre-heat your oven to 350º.
Step 4
Brush melted butter on butter on both sides of your bread circles and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
Step 5
Bake bread at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Step 6
Thinly slice 28 squares of Stella Asiago cheese roughly the size of your circles.
Step 7
Place toasted bread circles on spoon rests and stack a square of cheese on each circle.
Step 8
Place a dried fig on top of each stack and drizzle with honey.
Step 9
Grate a small amount of Stella Parmesan over each honey-drizzled fig.
These delicious Asiago-Parmesan fig crostini appetizers are a perfect marriage of savory and sweet. The presentation is effortless and instantly bumps up the style of your appetizer table. This year you can wow your guests with high style holiday entertaining on a budget! What are your favorite budget-friendly entertaining tips? Let me know in the comments! Next, check out the amazing contest Stella is having for your chance to win a $5000 trip to Napa Valley, CA wine country!
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Additional Time
5 minutes
Total Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
-
Sliced French Loaf
-
Stella Aged Asiago and Parmesan Cheeses
-
1/3 Cup of Butter or Margarine
-
Dried Whole Figs
-
1 tbs. Honey
Instructions
- Cut 28 small circles out of your French loaf using a metal cookie or fondant cutter.
- Place 1/3 cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute or until melted.
- Pre-heat your oven to 350º.
- Brush melted butter on butter on both sides of your bread circles and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
- Bake bread at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Thinly slice 28 squares of Stella Asiago cheese roughly the size of your circles.
- Place toasted bread circles on spoon rests and stack a square of cheese on each circle.
- Place a dried fig on top of each stack and drizzle with honey.
- Grate a small amount of Stella Parmesan over each honey-drizzled fig.
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