Recipes: 3 easy, elegant appetizers

Recipe: Lacy parmigiano crisps - Two ways
"Lovely to look at, simple to make and yummy to eat, serve these pretty crisps with drinks before dinner or as a 'hat' to a salad," says Linda Haynes. "Your friends will think you have spent hours in the kitchen. Only you and I will know the truth."

2 cups finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
4 tbsp finely chopped walnuts
OR
2 tbsp minced chives and 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, toss the cheese with the walnuts (or the chives and black pepper). Place the cheese mixture on the baking trays in 2 tbsp mounds, about 3 inches apart.

Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crisps are flat and golden, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 1 to 2 minutes before carefully separating the crisps from the parchment paper.

The crisps are best eaten almost immediately but will keep in an airtight container for 24 hours.

Makes about 16 crisps (each 2 ½ to 3 inches)

Linda’s tip: Wrap your Parmigiano Reggiano in waxed or parchment paper, then in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator. Change the wrapping every four or five days to allow the cheese to breathe. Wrapped and stored this way, it will keep for up to 1 month.

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Excerpted from More From Ace Bakery, (Whitecap, 2006). Top photo by Douglas Bradshaw.

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