Appetizer Recipes

My sister-in-law, Jenna, swore she wasn’t a “baked brie person.” For years. She’d push the cheese board my way at every family gathering, muttering something … Read more

My neighbor Mark asked why I couldn’t just roll the stuffing into balls and bake them instead of wrestling with a hot baking dish. I … Read more

I was standing in the middle of a hardware store last November when the smell hit me. Not sawdust or paint thinner—someone had set up … Read more

The holiday cookie swap was in three hours and I’d completely forgotten. Everyone else would be bringing those elaborate, multi-tiered cookie tins—the kind with the … Read more

My friend Jen asked why I couldn’t just use the rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I started to explain why that wouldn’t work — … Read more

My friend Leo watched me staring at his cast iron skillet for what felt like a full minute. I was trying to figure out how … Read more

I used to think charcuterie boards were for people who had their lives together. You know the type—the ones who fold napkins into swans and … Read more

My sister had claimed to hate cheese balls for as long as I can remember. “They’re just cold globs of cream cheese rolled in nuts,” … Read more

This was supposed to be a cranberry sauce. A last-minute, throw-everything-in-a-pot, kind-of-desperate attempt to bring something homemade to a friend’s holiday gathering. I had the … Read more

I wasn’t trying to make anything special that Tuesday. Honestly, I had about fifteen bucks in my wallet until payday and a hungry family staring … Read more