Having a porch party? Is it girls' night? Need a light lunch, snack or simple summer appetizer? Here are three ideas that have worked well for us recently. Each one is deceptively elegant, utterly easy, relatively inexpensive, and of course, absolutely delicious.
Brie 'n Berry Bites
Ingredients:
4 ounces brie
1 pint berries
balsamic glaze, or reduced balsamic vinegar
Preheat oven to 350. Lay phyllo cups on a cookie sheet. Fill each cup with brie, top with a berry and bake for about 10 minutes, until heated through. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and serve warm.
Idea plus: Try it with apples or peaches drizzled with honey.
Caesar Salad Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
1 head romaine lettuce
1 pint grape tomatoes, diced
1 English cucumber, diced
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
Caesar salad dressing, to taste
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup croutons
Peel off the outer leaves of the romaine and discard. Wash and allow to dry the remaining leaves of lettuce. Gently mix the diced tomatoes, cucumber, mozzarella cheese and Caesar dressing in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set the croutons aside for garnish. Place everything on a large platter and allow guests to make their own wraps.
Idea plus: Add grilled chicken or shrimp to make it a meal.
Tomato and Basil Bruschetta
Ingredients:
1 baguette, sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 pint grape tomatoes, diced
olive oil, to taste
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Lay out the sliced baguette on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown. Rub each toast slice with raw garlic. In a small bowl, gently mix the diced tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spoon tomato mixture onto the bread and drizzle with additional olive oil.
Idea plus: Need it quicker? Buy pre-made crostini at your local market.
