Last-minute appetizers can still be fancy and fun

It’s the night before Christmas, and you have people stopping for a little caroling and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s an impromptu holiday get-together: You need party food, and you need it now.

So what can you do when you barely have enough time to get in the kitchen let alone run to the store?

You have to be creative. It’s time to think about your appetizer game like a holiday grab bag.

One of those classic, elegant mainstays of a festive party can be a brie en croute. If that sounds stuffy and confusing, maybe you know it by its more accessible name — baked brie. A wheel of the French cheese topped with a fruity jam, all wrapped in pastry and baked to crispy, melty perfection is hard to beat.

The question is this: Do you have puff pastry, brie and some nice jam all ready to go in your fridge? Yeah, those aren’t necessarily staples. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the fancy apps. There are more accessible cousins of all those ritzy ingredients.

Replace the puff pastry with a can or two of crescent roll dough, phyllo or some plain pie pastry. (Go pre-made for convenience if you have it. If you don’t, pie dough is just flour and fat and seems more impressive than it is difficult.)

Brie can be swapped for lots of cheeses: Monterey jack, pepper jack, mozzarella. Those all just need to pair with the right topping to make a standout snack. But the easiest substitution is cream cheese. Not only is it a great melt, it’s also a blank canvas that will work with absolutely any flavor.

So what toppings can you use? That brie is a star with a big bright berry compote or caramelized onions. Do you have a can of cranberry sauce left over from Thanksgiving? Now’s the time to break it out. A jar of chutney or tapenade or honey and nuts work beautifully, too.

But try a dollop of mustard and crumbled bacon with Monterey jack or colby. Top pepper jack with salsa — particularly a fun version like pineapple and mango or black bean and corn. Mozzarella is great with giardineira or pesto, or just embrace the pizza vibe and use chunky Italian-seasoned canned tomatoes and a little pepperoni.

The cream cheese might work with anything, but its very best friend is a zingy pepper jelly. For that matter, it’s hard to beat the delicious simplicity of just pouring pepper jelly (raspberry chipotle jam is amazing) right over cold cream cheese and serving it with good crackers.

And hey, these ideas are all flexible. That’s what happens with last-minute parties. Got the cheese and jelly but no pastry? How about white bread? Cut circles, squares or fun shapes and bake or fry them up for elegant toasts. Or build your ingredients into sandwiches. Grill, trim and you have hot canapes.

There’s pizza dough? Spread it in a sheet pan, smooth with jam or other toppings, layer on the cheese and bake a catering-worthy appetizer pizza.

Waffles, tortillas, dinner rolls, hash browns (or smashed tater tots), bagels or even corn muffins can step up to the literal plate. You would be surprised how fancy your most overlooked kitchen staples can become when last-minute entertaining demands.

Bacon jam baked cheese

1/2 pound bacon, chopped

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pastry (puff pastry, phyllo, crescent roll dough, pie dough)

8 ounces cheese (Brie, Camembert, cream cheese, Gouda, Monterey jack, etc.)

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees for puff pastry or phyllo; for crescent roll or pie dough, set to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove. In same pan, saute onions for about 15 minutes, until translucent and soft. Add bacon back, along with garlic, brown sugar, syrup, vinegar, paprika and cayenne. Cook for about 20 minutes on low heat, until thickened and jammy. Set aside to cool slightly.

Spread dough on a cookie sheet and place cheese in the middle. Top with jam. (You won’t need all of it. Save what you don’t use to top burgers, add to a grilled cheese sandwich, or have on toast with a fried egg for breakfast.) Bring your dough up to seal the cheese and toppings in. Brush with beaten egg. Bake about 30 minutes for puff pastry and 20 to 30 minutes for other doughs, until golden brown.

Serve with crackers, bread, apple slices or other dippers, or as part of a charcuterie board.

Shortcut: Replace jam with store-bought version, hot pepper jelly, cranberry sauce, chutney or honey with dried fruit and nuts.

Asiago pesto tarts

1 package phyllo tart shells

4 ounces diced Asiago cheese (or whatever cheese you have on hand)

2 tablespoons pesto

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place tart shells on a cookie sheet. Divide cheese between tart shells. Top with pesto. Bake 7-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and shell is lightly golden.

Remove and serve hot.

Checkerboard cheese pizza

1 refrigerated pizza dough

4 ounces cheddar cheese, sliced

4 ounces Monterey jack cheese, sliced

2 ounces sliced ham (or cooked bacon)

Candied jalapenos

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a cookie sheet, spread dough in a rectangle, rolling up sides to create a crust. Arrange cheese slices in an alternating pattern to create a checkerboard of different colored cheese. Top each square with ham or bacon and a jalapeno. Brush edges with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and melted.

Mix mayo and mustard. Drizzle over hot pizza. Slice in squares to serve.