the daily dine

Day 18

Quick Summer and Fall Party Ideas

I walked into a friends house who was hosting a party, with one hour to spare none of the food had been started....with a well stocked fridge and a few extra hands we were ready when guests arrived. Here are a few of the dishes we made.

Caprese Skewers:
Caprese Salad is so refreshing, but sometimes hard to eat, especially standing. For these skewers, start with cherry tomatoes, you can use red or yellow, fresh baby mozzarella balls, and basil. Use toothpicks for the skewers, and add each ingredient to each skewer. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper and serve on a platter.

Stuffed Peppercinis with Goat Cheese

This is a quick appetizer. Take pickled peppercinis (store bought in a jar) and slice small cut into them lengthwise. Stuff with the goat cheese. The combination of the cheese and pickled pepper are quite refreshing.

One way to feed a lot of people is with rice and beans. We made both black eyes peas with bacon and black beans with carrots cooked in water and soy sauce. Along with this make a large pot of rice. We served it will homemade salsa and sour cream.

Easy Greek Salad:
This is large and always feeds a lot of people. Start by making one box of couscous. When finished, tossed with one full bag of spinach (the heat from the couscous will wilt the spinach). Add kalamata olives, capers and feta cheese. Toss together and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Set in fridge before serving to cool off.