Appetizer Recipes

The PTA Halloween potluck was in six hours and I’d completely forgotten. Every other parent would be bringing Pinterest-perfect mummy pizzas, graveyard dirt cakes with … Read more

My friend Jenna had refused to serve anything “themed” at her Halloween parties for years. A solid decade, maybe more. She’d roll her eyes at … Read more

I was standing in the frozen food aisle last October, staring at a box of cocktail wieners, when the fluorescent lights flickered and suddenly I … Read more

Jen wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by her place last October to pick up a book I’d lent her, and the smell hit … Read more

This was supposed to be a baked brie. I had it all planned out—a wheel of brie, some puff pastry, a little fig jam. I … Read more

I’m not supposed to play favorites with recipes, but this one has me completely hooked. Last November, my neighbor Kate asked if I could help … Read more

My sister asked why I couldn’t just put everything on one big board instead of fussing with a dozen little bowls and platters for Thanksgiving. … Read more

The holiday party was in four hours and I’d completely forgotten. Not just the appetizer—the whole thing. My sister-in-law’s annual winter gathering, where everyone brings … Read more

My friend Jen asked why I couldn’t just toss everything into small cups instead of wrestling with a giant, unstable board. I started to explain … Read more

There used to be a little wine bar tucked behind a bookstore in my old neighborhood, a place called The Gilded Grape, that made the … Read more