Name: Parmesan-Stuffed Dates
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 16 dates; 1/4-pound hunk of good-quality Parmesan; A little good-quality olive oil and arugula leaves or parsley sprigs if you want to be fancy

Editor's note: This recipe is from Erika Lenkert's book, The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining For Lenkert's tips on throwing a last-minute New Year's Eve party, click here.

A luscious combination of salty and sweet, these pop-in-your-mouth morsels look especially pretty when arranged on a platter and sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Recipe notes

Tater Tots Tossed in Date Butter

Put these out at a gathering, and we guarantee you’ll be hearing rave reviews for a long time.

Brussels Sprouts Latkes

Who says latkes have to be potato? Brussels bring a delicious cruciferousness.

Creamy Fondue Beans

All the cozy vibes of the classic gooey-cheesy dish, made into a 20-minute meal.

Yogurt and Cucumber Soup

This luscious chilled yogurt soup, packed with fresh and dried mint, is an incredibly refreshing and cooling appetizer during the summer.

3-Minute Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Consider every birthday cake, brownie, and cupcake covered (in this frosting, that is).

Chicken Croquettes

Rather than breaded and fried as you might expect croquettes to be, these are something more akin to a seared chicken salad patty.

Grape Dumplings

Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.

Tortellini in Preserved Lemon Brodo

A quick-fix dinner thanks to store-bought tortellini and chicken broth.