Appetizer Recipes

I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to grab a book I’d lent my neighbor, and the sight of her casually arranging cheeses … Read more

My brother-in-law, Mark, swore he hated cream cheese. For years. He’d pick it out of cheesecake, push it to the side of a bagel, and … Read more

I had refused to make themed food for Halloween for years. Eight years, actually. Every October, I’d watch my friends post photos of spider-web dips … Read more

My neighbor Karen watched me fumbling with a tube of crescent roll dough last October, my fingers sticking to the counter as I tried to … Read more

Hand me that flour tortilla, would you? I was standing in my kitchen last Tuesday, staring into the fridge like it held the secrets to … Read more

The Super Bowl party was in four hours and I’d completely forgotten my promise to bring appetizers. Everyone else would be showing up with their … Read more

I was standing in the frozen foods aisle last December, staring at a bag of little smokies like they held the secrets to the universe. … Read more

I wasn’t supposed to be staying for dinner that night. I’d just popped over to my neighbor’s house to return her hedge clippers—the ones I’d … Read more

My neighbor Carol watched me juggling a grocery bag, my keys, and a wobbly stack of takeout containers on her front porch last fall. She … Read more

I wasn’t supposed to be at the party. My neighbor, a guy named Mike who never seems to stress about anything, had texted me about … Read more