New Year’s Eve Appetizers to Graze On All Night Long

2020, don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

If you’re in a position to safely celebrate the start of 2021, perhaps you want to sip on booze (or zero-proof drinks!) and nibble snacks at home. Perhaps on Zoom, with festive backgrounds? Keep it low-impact in terms of effort with hefty payoff, taste-wise. Graze on these snacks, which go as beautifully with bubbly as they do with martinis or seltzer, throughout the evening. Whether you’re watching a movie, playing Scrabble, or zoning out with a great novel, these are the celebratory treats that you, deserving person, need right now.

1. Caramelized Onion and Apple Tarts

We quite love snacks you can enjoy any time of day, and caramelized onion and apple tarts more than fit that bill. If you’ve never enjoyed these French-as-all-get-out flavors together, today’s the day to learn how well caramelized onions, Gruyère, sautéed apples and thyme can be in one bite. (Even better: The base is just frozen puff pastry! 2021, we can’t wait.)

2. DIY Ham Sliders

There’s something just so darn abundant about setting out a glazed ham with a few fistfuls of buttery Parker House rolls. Have mustard and pickles, if you can. Don’t have them? Don’t sweat it. The smaller the roll, the more little mini sandwiches you can feast on all evening long. We know folks who set a ham platter out all the live-long day during the holidays. No judgment here, so long as you keep it safe!

3. Pintxos Gilda

As is true of Italians and the French, the Spain know their snacking. Their pintxos, such as these pintxos Gilda, are proof. These are the pantry-pinch hitters you both need and deserve to wind down this bananas year. They involve three ingredients: olives, anchovies, and pickled guindilla peppers, if you’ve got ’em. Why the name? Apparently the film Gilda was a hit in post-WW II Spain, so that nation’s residents coined a snack for its “little bit spicy, little salty” heroine, one Rita Hayworth.

4. Gougères

We love gougères so much we devoted a whole post to their glory. Here’s the thing: You can make dozens of these in advance, throw them in freezer bags, then break them out as you need them. We defy you to find something that’s tastier with cold bubbly (at any price point!) then warm, meltingly satisfying gougères.

5. Shrimp Cocktail

Optimism on a platter: shrimp cocktail. Talk about something you deserve. There’s something gloriously decadent about it, even if you found shrimp on sale. We’ve got ideas for how to prepare it, plus the sauce you’re gonna love. Live somewhere temperate? Then do shrimp cocktail differently: grilled. Because 2021 should be about finding pleasure and joy where you can. Happy New Year!