Recipe: Holiday entertaining? Start with a box of crackers

Planning for a crowd this holiday season? Grab of box of woven wheats.

That's the generic name for Triscuits, those kind-of-weirdly-woven-esque wheat crackers that are delightfully salty-crunchy-savory.

This year, I've decided they are the perfect on-demand base on which to build any number of crowd-pleasing holiday appetizers at the last minute.

Because none of us has time for elaborate apps.

It works kind of like this. Line a baking sheet with foil. Coat the foil with cooking spray. Cover the tray with woven wheat crackers. Top the crackers with delicious stuff. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Serve. Done.

It really is that easy. I've topped the crackers with slices of cheddar and an anchovy.

I've topped them with Parmesan and strawberry jam. I've topped them with fresh goat cheese, a dried apricot and fresh chives. I've topped them with slices of salami, sun-dried tomato and manchego cheese.

I've topped them with brie and fig jam and a hunk of ham. You get the idea.

The lesson is simply that so long as you keep a box or two of crackers on hand during the holidays, it's easy to scramble a platter of appetizers in minutes, pretty much no matter what else you have on hand. To help get you rolling, here is a simple recipe for my favorite variant of this holiday entertaining appetizer.

But you really should take it in any direction that inspires you.

This Nov. 17, 2014 photo shows Triscuits with dates and bacon in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/MatthewMead)This Nov. 17, 2014 photo shows Triscuits with dates and bacon in Concord, N.H. The woven wheats can be the perfect on-demand base on which to build any number of crowd-pleasing holiday appetizers at the last minute. (AP Photo/MatthewMead)

Recipe: Holiday entertaining? Start with a box of crackers

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