Appetizer Recipes

The school Halloween party was in four hours and I’d completely forgotten. I mean, I’d remembered to buy the bag of candy for handing out … Read more

I was standing in the fluorescent glow of the party supply aisle last October, staring at a bag of plastic spiders, when the smell hit … Read more

My brother-in-law, Mark, had claimed to hate pigs in a blanket for over a decade. Swore them off entirely after one too many sad, soggy … Read more

My sister swore she hated charcuterie boards. For years. Every time someone brought one to a gathering, she’d pick at the edges, maybe eat a … Read more

I figured the creepy-crawly look would be the hard part. It took about five minutes of staring at a can of black olives to realize … Read more

My nephew, Leo, asked me why I couldn’t just use olives instead of piping the yolk mixture into the egg whites. I started to explain … Read more

The puff pastry is the thing. Not the hot dog, not the mustard, not even the little candy eyes. It’s the way the dough gets … Read more

My neighbor wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I’d stopped by to borrow a folding chair for a last-minute gathering, and the smell of garlic and … Read more

My car was making that weird rattling noise again—the one that usually means a costly trip to the mechanic. I was sitting in the waiting … Read more

My neighbor, a woman named Carol who keeps her Halloween decorations up until March, had refused to make deviled eggs for her annual spooky party … Read more