Attention, spur-of-the-moment hosts and lovers of simple gatherings: Our Assemble-Your-Own Barbecue Stacks are right up your alley. They're a spin on a fancy appetizer called blini, in which caviar and sour cream top buckwheat pancakes. Get our Southern version together by making mini-size Cornbread Griddle Cakes the day before. On party day, send a buddy to a favorite barbecue joint for the meat while you slice tomatoes, whip up White Barbecue Sauce, make the slaw, and ready the toppings. All that is left to do is to toss the meat with red barbecue sauce. Give assembly instructions (see Step 2 in Assemble-Your-Own Barbecue Stacks) after meet-and-greet time, and then turn your friends loose to enjoy making their own.

"Barbecue on the Spot" is from the Home for the Holidays 2007 issue of Southern Living.