Go ahead, spoil your appetite
A little planning and some small plates and you've got an evening meal made of appetizers. Russ Parsons leads the way:
An amazing variety of small bites can be put together quickly and on short notice if you keep some basics in your pantry and refrigerator. Stock up on harder-to-find ingredients at occasional trips to specialty food stores. Though most of these items can be found at mainstream groceries, for food lovers this would be a wonderful excuse for a field trip to a couple of slightly out-of-the-way treasures.
For a shopping list and some unexpected recipes, check out Russ' full story here. And no, that's not a monarch butterfly appetizer, just part of the somewhat off-putting (to me, anyway) design of the plate.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times
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