Phew! It is HOTT with two T's out there and my poor oven is feeling awfully abandoned these days. But, who wants to turn on the oven when the A/C is running full blast and we are still sitting in a pool of our own sweat? My awesome neighbor recently had my husband and I over to their apartment for a "no cook" summer dinner with fresh veggies, fruits and charcuterie. She really inspired me to say goodbye to the oven for the last few blistering weeks of summer and embrace a fresh "no cook" style of eating for a little while. One of my favorite vegetables this time of year are radishes. I love the classic American round radishes and the French long and skinny ones alike. Serve this dish/ appetizer with a baguette and sea salt and encourage your guests to spread the dip on the bread, pile with radishes and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Add a charcuterie plate and some fresh slices of cantelope and your "no cook" dinner is complete!

Katie MilesSeptember 11, 2013Appetizers, Vegetarian, SummerComment

Parmeson and Cracked Pepper Popcorn

Arghlarghlarghlarrr.....popcorn....... I'm pretty sure that this was all I said the entire night of the movie party as I stuffed my face with handful after handful of Parmeson and Cracked Pepper Popcorn. This stuff is so tasty and addictive that I pretty much ignored all the guests and just kept chowing down on it.

Katie MilesSeptember 3, 2013AppetizersComment

Heirloom Tomato Tartlets

This past weekend Ruby had a play date with an adorable little boy named Stellan. He and his lovely parents came over to our house and the adults pretended it was a play date by listlessly looking over in the general direction of our children every once in a while and and saying "oh, look how nicely you two are playing together." In reality, the play date was just a guise for the adults to drink white wine, eat the most luscious heirloom tomato tartlets and enjoy the gorgeous summer day. After a while, I think Ruby and Stellan were on to us and so they began to try and capture our attentions by looking impossibly cute in Mr. Potato Head's glasses and drinking out of our empty wine bottle (not sure if I should have let the wine bottle drinking continue, but it was cute, right?). We remarked on how adorable they were, snapped a photo and then just went right on ignoring them. The tomato tartlets were unbelievably, melt in your mouth, delicious with fresh from the farmer's stand heirloom tomatoes in 3 different varieties, goat cheese from a local dairy, fresh garlic and basil picked from the plant on my porch. They make perfect summer afternoon hor d'oeuvres and couldn't be easier to whip up.

Katie MilesAugust 13, 2013Appetizers, Vegetarian, SummerComment

Grilled Watermelon and Shrimp Salad

My husband recently told me that he read about grilling watermelon and I was like, wait, what??? You can do that? Then my mind began to ponder all the amazing ways you could serve up some grilled watermelon. All summer long, I've been trying to think of a creative way to serve grilled shrimp. But grilled shrimp with grilled watermelon? Oh lord, I think we found a winner. I was super nervous about the dish turning out because we had invited guests over for dinner, but it was fan-f-ing-tastic. I added Thai inspired spices to counter the sweetness of the watermelons and bring out the flavor of the shrimp. If your looking to wow your guests at your next cook-out, give this salad a whirl.

Katie MilesJuly 17, 2013Appetizers, Dinner, Summer, SaladsComment

Spicy Bluecheese Celery Boats

So, I have a confession to make.... I didn't actually live in the 70's. But, my husband did live through the 70's and when I asked him what he would consider to be a quintessential 70's appetizer he said, without hesitation, celery boats. Celery boats! I immediately started visualizing ants on a log and celery with that disgusting canned pimento cheese spread on top. Yuck! But then Emily and got to thinking and we came up with a gourmet version of the old celery boat. With quality blue cheese and a little spice, this boat is sure to float any party.

Katie MilesFebruary 26, 2013Appetizers, VegetarianComment

Vegan Party Dip

Katie MilesJanuary 3, 2013Vegan, Appetizers, Healthy Comments

Mushroom, Pine Nut and Goat Cheese Crostini

Katie MilesJanuary 3, 2013Appetizers, VegetarianComment