Back when Martha Stewart connected with her fans for a live "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit, one user asked, "What is your go-to recipe for a party snack?" To that, Stewart responded, "I never serve snacks at parties. It's either hors d'oeuvres or a meal. Hors d'oeuvres are prepared foods one would serve with meals or wine. Snacks are something you get out of a box." Well, she's not wrong! But while Hot Pockets and Cheez-Its may serve as sustenance for the rest of us, if you're unfamiliar with hors d'oeuvres, the term is French for "apart from the main course," like an appetizer -- but an artfully assembled appetizer that typically involves a hand-held, two-biter finger food.

Taking the time and effort to create hors d'oeuvres to serve your party guests is far more impressive than serving something ultra-processed. This explains why Stewart is on team hors d'oeuvres. Whether she's cooking, gardening, or doing hard time, she certainly knows how to leave a lasting impression (like when Stewart allegedly made dessert in her prison microwave). In fact, Stewart is so passionate about hors d'oeuvres that she even authored three cookbooks specifically dedicated to hors d'oeuvres (because of course she has). Much of the same wisdom she shares in her cookbooks for making tiny sophisticated food can also be found on her website, where ironically, the hors d'oeuvres recipes can be found in the subsection titled, "Appetizers and Snacks." Maybe deep down Stewart recognizes that hors d'oeuvres are basically gourmet snacks.

Read more: 12 Kirkland Signature Foods Costco Customers Buy On Repeat

While hors d'oeuvres should never come out of a bag or box, according to Martha Stewart, many of Stewart's hors d'oeuvres recipes call for packaged ingredients -- if not the Cadillacs of packaged ingredients. Examples include store-bought puff pastry to stuff with Gouda and preserves, such as our favorite Bonne Maman flavor; caviar to spoon on top of twice-baked baby potatoes; and prosciutto to wrap around dried figs stuffed with goat cheese.

However, hors d'oeuvres certainly don't have to be created with elaborate or hard-to-find ingredients, like Stewart's. They can be as simple as using the same ingredients in a popular meal or dish -- and making multiple, mini versions of it. For example, tacos are easy to convert into a little nosh by preparing everything as you usually would -- minus the taco shells or tortillas -- and instead, filling the cavity of scoop-style tortilla chips with the meat (Sirloin and ribeye steaks are the best for tacos), cheese, lettuce, or whatever other tasty toppings you like.

As Stewart advised readers of her "Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook," "Hors d'oeuvres must be two things at once: delicious and attractive!" (via Eater). Well, no matter what you want to call the food served before the main course at a party, as long as it's tasty and eye catching, you'll get Stewart's stamp of approval.

For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more!