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Tag: Appetizer

Happy Hour Appetizers…

…When There is No Time Last Friday, Gary and I had our neighbor and dear friend Natalie over for Happy Hour. It had been months since we had some quality time with just her. But On Friday, the planets aligned and we had nothing on our schedule, and she was kid and boyfriend free. Now don’t get any ideas her kids are amazing, and we love them like our own, and we like her boyfriend too, but we were craving some “Nat time.”  So the three of us got comfy in our three season room (aka Church of the Screened in Porch)…

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Dinner for Six Part One: First Course

This past weekend Gary and I had two couples over for dinner. I had several recipes I wanted to try and needed a few guinea pigs. Enter Bryan & Craig and Shawn & Michael. For me, this was an all-day affair as I just decided what yo make on Friday morning and I needed to get to the store asap. But my Friday was a hot mess with a wine delivery by UPS that I had to sign for so I could not leave the house until it arrived. And that was at 4:30p and I had to pick Gary up at…

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Crispy, Crunchy, Easy, …, Swiss Fondue Bites

If you have been following me for very long you have quickly learned that I love cheese and bread. I can never get enough of either. And they both are perfect with wine. While I do not eat it often the epitome of this pair is fondue. But I never eat fondue because it is a big pain in the butt and can be very messy. Decades ago at a party, had an appetizer that was a baked cheddar bread bite that was amazing and I have never forgotten it. I never was able to find a recipe so it…

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Pickled: An Appetizer and Me, Part 1

I have to admit; I got a little pickled at this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration. If you ask my non-drinking sister, this is the norm for all of us (except her, of course) on NYE, but I really tried to drink a lot of water this year.  I guess I failed by the magnitude of my headache the next morning. Maybe we should not have started so early. But more on that when I blog about what we drank which will be part 2 of Pickled: An Appetizer and Me. So the other pickling was an incredible appetizer. I had…

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Biscuit Bites: Pizza or Gruyere – Caramelized Onion

Last Sunday, we got together for Happy Hour with our fave neighbors Michelle and Natalie. Michelle hosted at her house which was perfect because both families of kids could all play together in another room and toys were aplenty to keep them occupied. I volunteered an appetizer to help out. I have been daydreaming about making a gruyere and caramelized onion tart, but I was too exhausted from Saturday’s wedding to deal with and make a crust so I decided that Bisquick biscuit bites would be the way to go. For some reason using Bisquick for a drop biscuit is acceptable in my brain…

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Appetizer Platters, Wine and Great Fun

Today was our neighbor Natalie’s mother’s birthday, and her parents were in town. Gary and I have grown close to Nat and her parents, so she invited us over for happy hour to start the celebration before they had dinner. I promised to make a couple of appetizers, and of course, we would bring a bottle of wine. We were prepared to stay for an hour or so and then allow the family to have a dinner celebration. Appetizer Platter I knew I wanted to “bring it” since Natalie always makes such fab appetizers to bring to our house. It…

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Sun-dried Tomato “Tartar”: Intense & Flavorful

Years ago when I lived in Chicago, there was a natural foods store that competed against Whole Foods and for what ever reason that is where I shopped for my organics and natural foods. They had this incredible spread made with sun-dried tomato and some cheese as well as other ingredients, and it was so incredibly good. A container of this spread was always in my fridge. The flavors were intense and rich and creamy and absolutely delicious. Then Whole Foods bought this chain of stores, closed them all and the spread disappeared, never to be seen again. I know it…

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Bell Peppers Stuffed with Cheese & Tomato

This is a recipe I made up ages ago.  It can be part of an antipasto platter, as a stand alone appetizer or as part of a salad course if you add some salad greens dressed with olive oil and salt. It is served at slightly warm to room temperature, so you need to prepare this ahead of when you wish to eat. I figure a half pepper per guest no matter the way you choose to serve it.  I buy bell peppers of different colors because it makes for a prettier presentation, but you can go with a single color if you wish,…

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