Favorite New Year Appetizers—Four-cheese Margherita Pizza and Mini Crescent Dogs

Four-cheese Margherita Pizza

On New Year’s Day, serve your family this pizza that’s overloaded with cheese and flavored with olive oil, Roma tomatoes and basil for an Italian appeal.  The pizza crusts are pre-baked for your convenience.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 8 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 2 (12-inch) pre-baked pizza crusts
• 8 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 4 ounces shredded Fontina cheese
• 10 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
 

Directions:

• In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, garlic and salt and then toss with tomatoes.  Allow mixture to stand for 15 minutes. 
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Brush each pizza crust with some of the tomato marinade.  Sprinkle Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses on top of pizza crusts.  Arrange tomatoes on top of the cheeses and sprinkle with shredded Basil, parmesan and feta cheeses.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
 

Mini Crescent Dogs

This easy-does-it appetizer dish serves a crowd and lends a visual charm to your table.  When baked, the crescent dough becomes a flaky, toasty crust while the sausage gets a smoky aroma and taste.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Yield: 48 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 (8-ounce) cans Crescent Dinner Rolls
• 48 cocktail-sized smoked hotdogs or link sausages
 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
• Unroll the cans of dough and separate into 16 triangles.  Divide each triangle lengthwise into 3 narrow triangles.
• Place the sausage on the shortest side of a triangle.  Starting at the shortest side, roll up the triangle towards the opposite point.  Repeat procedure for remaining sausages and dough triangles.
• Place the crescents point side down on 2 ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Halfway through the baking, switch the positions of the baking sheets.  Remove crescents from the cookie sheets and serve warm.