Foodie Finds: Easy Summer Appetizers

I’m offering up easy, breezy summer appetizers to try without heating up your kitchen. As a bonus most of them use ingredients from local farmers markets. Don’t forget to check out the farmers market in the library parking lot on Monday mornings. Easy parking, all on pavement so easy walking, plus you’ll probably see familiar faces!

Tea Sandwiches

First appetizer is a combo of tea sandwiches that work well for light starters to a summer meal. One is a traditional cucumber open-faced sandwich. I started with marbled rye bread, slightly toasted so it would hold up to the spread and toppings. Then I made mixture of whipped cream cheese with seasoning – I used garlic powder and ranch dressing seasoning.  Spread on the toast and top with thinly sliced cucumbers and sprinkle with fresh dill.

The second sandwich is also open faced and starts with toasted wheat bread. You can use any bread but I like something that is more thinly sliced. I spread chive butter on the toast, topped with thinly sliced radishes, then sprinkled more chives on the top. Finish with flaky salt. Both sandwiches are so good with the crisp vegetables and the fatty cream cheese and butter.

To make the chive butter, just blend in lots of fresh chives into softened butter. I froze some in logs for later, but have been using it in scrambled eggs, roasted cabbage and corn on the cob. So good!

Side tip for the summer herbs 

After you’ve harvested or bought fresh herbs and used what you need in a recipe, take what is left and divide into an ice cube tray. Cover with just a bit of olive oil and freeze. When solid, remove from tray and put them in a labeled bag in the freezer. Add to any recipe that would call for fresh herbs. Don’t let a single summer herb go to waste!

Savory Fruit Appetizers

Little bite-size skewers are the next summer appetizer on my list of faves. Thread cherry tomatoes, little fresh mozzarella balls and a basil leaf on a skewer. Drizzle with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar or glaze. For the other skewer, I wrapped melon bites with slices of prosciutto. I prefer cantaloupe but honeydew is also good.

Watermelon makes a headliner appearance on a bed of whipped feta and some cream cheese. Sprinkle with Tajin or any chili lime seasoning. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh basil sliced thin. Serve with toothpicks or small forks so your guests can scoop up the creamy cheese with the watermelon.

And just for fun, I tried the viral frozen tomato appetizer that is all the rage on social media. Place a ball of burrata cheese in the middle of the plate and gently cut open the top. Generously shave a frozen tomato over the top of the cheese, then top with balsamic glaze and sliced basil. Serve with toasted slices of baguette. My take-away on this viral recipe was the frozen tomato had very little tomato flavor. It was much more flavorful after I let it sit out about 10 minutes, but I found that it was best to just grate a fresh tomato on top of the burrata and skip the frozen part.

So there you have summer on a plate with light appetizers. Check out some of the other books I found at the library featuring appetizers plus a couple of food related books I’ve recently read and enjoyed.