Small Bites. Big taste.

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Sure, you’d love to have friends over. But you don’t love the idea of cooking, cooking and more cooking. Instead, entertain with ease, by serving tapas (pronounced TAH-pahs). Originating from Spain, tapas are tasty finger-food "bites" that make the meal. They’re also perfect for little hands. Here’s how to pull your party together:

• Create an atmosphere for friendly, relaxed conversation—create snack stations on your deck, a porch or a family room.
• A tapas menu can be as simple as drinks, nuts and olives.
• Figure 10 to 12 “bites” per guest and offer a variety of choices. Some ideas: Four Cheese Crescent Quiche, Mexican Confetti Pinwheels and Merry Meatballs.
• Give it a touch of Spain. Cubes of cheese—like Cabrales, Roncal and Mahón, thin slices of serrano ham (similar to prosciutto), chorizo sausages, almonds, fresh and dried figs and marinated olives are popular choices.
• Small-plate recipes can easily be adapted from meal-size versions by cutting a pizza, for example, into bite-size portions or skewering kabobs on shorter cocktail picks. Try Thai Appetizer Pizza.
• Fill a basket with thinly sliced baguette-style French bread.
• The sun-drenched Mediterranean is your color key. Have plenty of plates and napkins—paper will do—as tapas are finger food.
• Bring out those tall glass vases or hurricanes. Fill with clementines, lemons or limes.