Olympic Themed Appetizers

Yucca, sometimes called cassava, is a starchy root that grows in very warm climates and makes supercrunchy chips. To remove the tough outer skin, use a sharp, heavy knife rather than a peeler.

These Brazilian cheese bread sliders are great for gluten-free entertaining. The dough is made from sour tapioca flour (starch), and the cheesy rolls are extra-delicious stuffed with roast beef, marinated peppers, and fresh arugula.

"We try to make a different menu every day, often using the same ingredients," says Pedro Miguel Schiaffino about the challenges of creating recipes for a cruise ship. Yucca, one of the most ubiquitous root vegetables in the Amazon, appears in many of his dishes. Here he turns pure yucca into a dough for fried empanadas, a typical street food in Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian rain forest.

This Brazilian three-ingredient appetizer couldn't be easier. Simply wrap canned hearts of palm with bacon and roast in the oven until the bacon is crisp. They're delicious with homemade pesto or chimichurri for dipping, and are sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Look for thick pieces of salt cod when you shop--they are easier to shred and are better quality than thinner pieces.

Arepas, fried or baked skillet breads made from corn flour, are eaten night and day in Venezuela (usually stuffed) and Colombia (usually not). Bernstein says they're also her favorite snack at street fairs and carnivals in Miami. Here, she makes mini arepas, or arepitas, to serve as canapés, adding cheese and chorizo to the dough. They're her answer to the corn dog.

F&W's Grace Parisi invented this smoky guacamole, then presented three ingenious ways to use it: in a soup, an hors d'oeuvre and a salad dressing.

Pao de queijo is a traditional Brazilian cheese bread made from sour tapioca flour. If you can't find the sour version, you can substitute regular tapioca flour. This recipe includes browned pork sausage that's mixed into the rolls. Cut them in half and fill with a fried egg for a perfect mini breakfast sandwich.

Linton Hopkins turns this slow-roasted pork shoulder into sliders. "Why are we so obsessed with the 30-minute meal?" he says. "I want to create a TV show called The 36-Hour Meal. The best things take a little bit of time."

These traditional Argentine empanadas are filled with a mixture of ground beef, smoked paprika, green olives and cumin, then baked until golden.

In this recipe, chef Peter Berley looks to Latin America, creating a sophisticated take on the ubiquitous arepa (corn cake) stuffed with feta cheese.