Inventive Crackers

Your guests will do a double-take when they see the inventive crackers and chips you present alongside your appetizer spreads and dips. Water crackers make way for rice toast; pita chips move over for fruit and veggie chips; and bread sticks fall over for these new focaccia sticks.

Rice Toast. Edward & Sons' Exotic Rice Toasts are gluten-free squares created by milling colorful Asian rice varieties into nutritious whole grain flour, then steaming and kneading the dough. Slow baking gives these crackers their crisp, firm texture. They are wonderful with hummus and cheese. Flavors include Jasmine Rice & Spring Onion; Thai Red Rice & Flaxseeds; and Purple Rice and Black Sesame.

Veggie & Berry Tortillas. R.W. Garcia has been making premium tortilla chips since 1982, but it's only recently that they've broken the tortilla chip mold with these new and unusually good varieties. Veggie Organic Tortilla Chips are made of Spinach & Garlic; Red Beet & Onion; and Carrot Tomato & Sesame. In the bag of Berry Sweet & Savory Tortilla Chips, you'll discover Blueberry, Cranberry and Pomegranate corn chips. They all go well with goat cheese, gourmet dips and salsa.

Focaccia Sticks. Maker of Bagel Crisps, New York Style has kicked the bread stick up a notch with its focaccia sticks. To make these tasty snacks, they bake focaccia bread, cut the bread into sticks and then bake them again until they're crunchy. As a finishing touch, they are lightly seasoned with natural herbs and spices. Available in three savory flavors-Roasted Garlic & Herb; Rosemary & Sea Salt; and Quattro Formaggio, made with Parmesan, Romano, cheddar and blue cheeses.-Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.