Some days I don’t feel like making anything or I get home so late, it’s too late to start dinner. Saturday was like that. Justin and I went to a friends’ son’s 3-year old birthday (I always love little kids parties because there’s always a good selection of booze!) party. Afterwards, we did a couple hours of shopping for items for the house using gift cards and then stopped by Half Price Books to add more cookbooks to my already expansive collection (you can never have too many cookbooks). By the time we finally got home, it was six o’clock, and we were hungry. I motioned to throw together a cheese plate and Justin seconded it.
I almost always have good gourmet cheese on hand. My favorites are Havarti Dill, Cheddar, and Pepper Jack. I cut up Colby and Buffalo Wing Cheddar cheese (very spicy, very delicious) I bought at our local grocery store, and I grabbed whatever fruit I had on hand which happened to be apples and grapes. I made Caprese bites (granted I knew I was going to make this so the ingredients were ready to go–the recipe is below). I then added ham lunch meat I had leftover from the week and added an assortment of crackers. Voila, instant dinner. To wash it down, we drank Pinot Grigio wine with it. And to add a little class, we listened to Soft Jazz on Spotify. It was a great night!
Check out the Caprese Bites recipe. These disappear quickly at parties or dinner with the hubby.
caprese bites
We were turned onto balsamic glaze when we ordered a bruschetta appetizer at a Grapevine restaurant. The balsamic glaze has a similar taste to the balsamic vinegar, but it is thicker and less runny. We both prefer it to the vinegar.
Ingredients:
Cherry tomatoes
Mozzarella balls
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
balsamic glaze
salt and pepper
toothpicks
Instructions:
Assemble, tomatoes, basil (fold in half), and mozzarella balls on medium-sized toothpicks. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic glaze, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
the speckled spork 