Probably the most frequent questions I get have to do with appetizers and finger foods. "What can I use as an appetizer with.....?" "I'm having a party and need ideas for finger foods." "How can I make a buffet more interesting?" And so forth.

The easiest way to create an interesting appetizer platter is to study the art of the miniature. Take your favorite entre, and see how you can reduce it in size, and make it visually appealing.

For instance, I often serve miniature Kentucky Hot Browns---one of the greatest open-sandwiches ever devised.

The original uses two slices of bread, laid out in a serving dish. Over this goes sliced turkey or chicken. Over that a Mornay sauce. Then criss-crossed cooked bacon strips. Nowadays it's often garnished with tomatoes, but, originally, mushrooms were used.

So, how do I miniaturize it? It's really simple. First I toast the bread lightly. I prefer homemade oatmeal bread for this, but anything you prefer will do. I then use a fluted cookie cutter to cut out the base.

Next, using the same cutter, I cut 1/2" thick slices of turkey or chicken breast. One of those gets laid on each piece of toast. I then cut a round out of the fowl, smaller than the base, and stack one of them on each appetizer. I then cut several very small discs, and lay them on top.

Mornay sauce is made very thick. Each appetizer gets a dollop of Mornay over it. The sauce is sprinkled with crumbled bacon bits, and topped with a carved, sauteed mushroom cap.

Really quite simple, when you think about it. And you can do something similar with most entrees.

Keep in mind that cookie cutters often are you're best friends when preparing appetizers.

Another example. I have a really nice recipe for chicken breasts with mushrooms and munster cheese in a wine sauce. For a party dish, I merely cut the flattened breasts into equal-sized pieces, using a cookie cutter.

Visual appeal, btw, can always be achieved with a vertical presentation. Example, on another thread I mentioned using won ton wrappers to make miniature versions of egg rolls. You can merely lay them out on a serving platter, and I guarantee they'll disappear. But try this instead: Cut them, diagagonally and slightly off-centered. Lay the longer piece flat, and stand the short piece upright, next to the long piece. Visually, this is much more appealing. Works even better if you start with full-sized eggrolls, and cut them as described.

Here's another example. Let's say you're going to put out a platter of cold cuts and cheeses. You can lay out each component in rows, with the slices slightly overlapping. For more interest, lay the components in concentric circles.

Even in circles, though, flat is, well, flat. So try this. Roll slices of salami into cones. Depending on type you might have to pin it with a toothpick. Fill the cone with pimento cheese spread. Arrange the cones in a circle, alternating large and small ends.

Cut ham and Swiss into cubes, and alternate them on a small bamboo skewer. Cut a slice from the base of an orange (so it will sit flat), and arrange the skewers in the orange. Put one or two of them on your platter.

Layer a slice of smoked turky and a slice of provolone. Roll it tightly. Trim to even them up, and arrange these in a pinwheel, around a hill of green olives.

What we've done is used texture and height to make the same foods more attractive.

Sometimes you do have to make a hard twist to the original recipe. For instance, you could make Reuben sandwhichs, remove the crusts, and cut them into triangles. Good enough as far as they go.

But you could make gougeres, instead, using rye flour and adding Swiss cheese to the batter. Then make a spread with cream cheese, diced corned beef, drained chopped saurkraut, and a little thousand island dressing for flavor.

Split the gougeres, fill with some of the corned beef mixture, and, voila! Miniature Reubens.

Gougeres, themselves, make a great presentation, because, by using a pastry bag and large tip, you can pipe them out in various shapes. Discs, triangles, crescents, etc. Make up four or five shapes and use different fillings in each one.

What, you ask, are gougeres? They are merely pate choux paste. When used to make sweets it is called, variously, puff paste, profiteroles, or by the finished product, such as cream puffs. When made savory, they are called gougeres.

Here, again, don't merely line them up on a platter. Instead, use height and texture to create interest. Example: Take four small, round gougere. Arrange three of them in a triangle, with their sides touching. Center the fourth where they come together. Maybe add a garnish of some sort; perhaps a deep fried sage leaf as a flag.

Edible cups always appeal. We've talked about presentation cups made from won tons. But consider veggies as the carrier. Boats made from baby zuchinni, undersized peppers filled with your favorite stuffing, miniature pumpkins as soup bowls.

The possibilities are endless when you think small.