Anthony Bourdain Believed You Could Never Go Wrong With This Humble Frozen Appetizer

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Anthony Bourdain may not be the first person that springs to mind when you think about where to seek out advice on hosting, but the beloved chef and TV host knew more than a thing or two about catering, and he often spoke about how meticulously he would plan out his dinner parties to avoid stress. One thing he focused on was figuring out what he could do in order to spend more time with his guests than in the kitchen, and a great way to do that? Sticking to easy, crowd-pleasing appetizers — like frozen pigs in blankets.

Bourdain discussed the timeless snack in his 2016 cookbook "Appetites," where he said that the "single most important lesson" he learned over his career was that no matter what plates you put out, people will stick to what they know. He writes, "What everybody wants, what they will be all over like a swarm, every time, is commercially-made freezer-case-sourced pigs in blankets. It doesn't matter who your guests are. They will eat them, and they will love them."

It's pretty easy to make pigs in blankets from scratch if you want to try it, but you may as well do yourself a favor and buy the frozen ones like Bourdain advises. Potato skins are another great option, and Trader Joe's always has a big frozen appetizer collection on offer.

Bourdain recommends keeping some bags in the freezer at all times so you have them on hand in case guests come last-minute, or if anything goes wrong in the kitchen. Another key piece of hosting advice he stuck to was making lists, and he liked to have all his ingredients laid out and measured before people arrived.

Finally, he always tried to drive the point home that you need to have realistic goals in terms of the menu. Make something you know will turn out correctly and in the right amount of time. He told The Globe and Mail, "Do something you're very familiar with, you know you do well, you're comfortable with." And if that's pigs in a blanket, so be it.