Lidia Bastianich knows how to shortcut even the simplest of recipes. When I asked the popular PBS cooking personality for holiday cocktail party tips during a Chow Town Facebook Live, she chose a trio of bruschetta from her latest cookbook “Lidia’s Celebrate Like an Italian.” 

Bruschetta is the Italian word for a popular appetizer served in restaurants. It’s a deceptively simple appetizer — one even non-cooks can prepare. “It looks like you’ve worked all day, and you can use leftovers,” she says. “Even the bread can be from yesterday. It will revive.”