New Year's Party Appetizers

Arrange chile, avocado, and tomato-topped oysters on a bed of crushed ice for an elegant appetizer.

Get the party started with these mini appetizer pizzas topped with vegetables, herbs, and cheese that bake in only 12 minutes.

Serve a savory tart appetizer like this classic topped with onions and olives.

Endive leaves serve as little cups to hold lobster, avocado, and grapefruit in this noteworthy appetizer. You could also use crab or shrimp as a substitute for the lobster.

These dumplings make elegant hors d'oeuvres when served in individual Chinese soup spoons. Fill them with broccoli rabe or stuff them with ricotta, Parmesan, prosciutto, and parsley.

Pass around trays of this grilled asparagus and beef tenderloin appetizer at your New Year's bash.

Top thin squares of fresh, raw tuna with a creamy sauce made from rice-wine vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, soy sauce, and mayonnaise. Serve on thick orange slices.

Based on a classic French recipe, these warm hors d'oeuvres are filled with Black Forest Ham and melted Gruyere.

Perfect for a New Year's cocktail party, these showstopping crab cakes can be made and frozen up to six weeks before your event.

Arrange shrimp along the rim of an ice-filled bowl (or on a platter) accompanied by lemon slices and cocktail sauce or lemon aioli.

Coat fresh Italian mozzarella balls in a mixture of breadcrumbs and dried thyme to create a crowd-pleasing appetizer. Serve with tomato sauce for dipping.

Creamy and delicious, these cheese balls are sure to please at your New Year's party. We prepared them in three different flavors: Goat cheese with scallion, cheddar and cranberry, and Roquefort with walnut.

Saute kale with garlic and lemon juice and arrange on toasted baguette slices topped with thin curls of Parmesan for a rustic appetizer.

Store-bought frozen pastry makes the buttery base for this leek tart appetizer.

Serve sweet-and-spicy nuts for guests to munch on before the main course. They can be made up to a week ahead of time.

B'steeya, a Moroccan specialty, is usually baked as one large "pie." Here, individual ones make delicious finger food. B'steeyas can be assembled ahead, frozen, and then baked as directed, straight from the freezer.

Parsley and lemon zest add freshness to this creamy dip.

Jazz up purchased olives with citrus slices and fresh herbs for an easy New Year's appetizer.

Make your own pickled shrimp in a glass jar and refrigerate overnight. Serve with toothpicks at your party.

Prepare this simple spicy-chickpea appetizer in under 15 minutes for your cocktail party.