Appetizer Recipes

The office holiday party was in six hours and I’d completely forgotten. Everyone else would be bringing those elaborate homemade cookies that take three days … Read more

My cousin asked why I couldn’t just use frozen puff pastry for the appetizer I was stressing over. I started to explain why that wouldn’t … Read more

My neighbor Karen wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to borrow a lug wrench—mine had mysteriously vanished after last weekend’s tire rotation—and the … Read more

Someone asked me last week why I always throw pumpkin seeds in the trash. I stopped mid-reach, holding a slimy handful over the compost bin. … Read more

My brother-in-law, Mark, had a firm rule for fifteen years. No themed food. No jack-o’-lantern-shaped pizzas, no mummy hot dogs, no “cute” Halloween treats of … Read more

The Super Bowl party was in six hours and I’d completely forgotten. Everyone else would be bringing those elaborate, multi-day preparations—smoked briskets that had been … Read more

I was folding laundry last October—a Tuesday, I think—when the smell of roasting pumpkin seeds drifted in through the window from a neighbor’s house. And … Read more

I was standing in line at the DMV—a place that feels like a black hole for time and happiness—when the man ahead of me turned … Read more

My nephew asked why I couldn’t just wrap the hot dogs in crescent roll dough and call it a day. I started to explain why … Read more

I was standing in the bulk foods aisle of my local grocery store last November, staring at a bin of dried cranberries, when the sharp, … Read more