Tag Archives: easy appetizer

Rosemary Skewers (Simple Enough for New Mom Brain)

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Since it has been a while between posts, I’ll announce that A) Scott had a work Christmas party today, and B) I have New Mom Brain.  Two facts, one more fun than the other (I think the new baby is more fun, but I suppose there’s a case for free party food trumping late-night crying baby).  And now let me introduce you to a recipe that connects both of those facts: The Pioneer Woman’s Rosemary Skewers.

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photo by Ree Drummond

Okay, so the recipe is ALMOST New Mom Brain safe.  I made them last night for the work party today, and I may or may not have forgotten to use the artichoke hearts in the pantry.  Sigh.  That said, they did look delicious without the artichoke hearts, too.  Salami and mozzarella and olives, oh my!  I swapped regular black olives out in favor of Kalamata olives, because Kalamata olives have about ten times the flavor.  That’s the only change I made to the recipe on purpose.

I love using the rosemary from our yard, which brings me back to a favorite point of mine.  You should absolutely plant rosemary in your yard or have a pot of it in a window somewhere.  It’s so cheap to plant, and it’s almost impossible to kill.  That is an absolutely wonderful combo, and it gets you fancy food like rosemary skewers without having to buy dozens of rosemary stems with fancy food prices.

Also, may I introduce you to the source of my New Mom Brain.  I think he’s pretty cute.  He might keep me from making complicated recipes for a while, but that’s okay.

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Simple Italy: Prosciutto and Melon two ways

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We did some more “nostalgic eating” yesterday.  This time we chose prosciutto and melon to take us back to Italy.  Lucky us, we had a fresh cantaloupe from the garden, so it became a pretty cheap and easy appetizer for a Sunday night.  (Note: We do not normally make appetizers for ourselves, but it was a really tasty way to devour an entire cantaloupe in one evening.)

This is what easy looks like:

photoReally, just get a cantaloupe, cut it up any ol’ way you like.  Put it with some prosciutto slices on a serving instrument of some sort.  We went with the classic Virginia Tech platter and the Kik-Step stool.

I love that stool.  The library was going to throw it away, so I brought it home last week (with library permission), cleaned it up, glued some broken pieces back together (which is why it was being thrown away), and have loved it every second since.  I’ve kind of wanted to buy a Kik-Step stool ever since I started grad school to become a librarian.  Our stool is living its new life as a great “put your glass here” table for our couch.  Or for cantaloupe.  Whatever.

Okay, so that’s the easy appetizer edition.  We did something similar with a bit of extra flash for a party a few years ago, and it was truly wonderful.  Here’s what simple and fancy look like together:

photo and recipe from marthastewart.com

photo and recipe from marthastewart.com

Those few small additions of mozzarella balls, basil, olive oil, and a few types of seasoning do kick this up a significant notch.  It’s fresh, tasty, and with your desired level of crushed red pepper, it can have some real bite as well.