Noshing: Traditional Bar Snacks
I love to entertain in the summer, sitting in the garden in sun, in the shade or under the stars. What a breath of fresh air (pun intended) from the by now very stale atmosphere of our dining room.
In typical form, my husband and I will invite friends last minute for dinner, to soak of the good weather, and I will be overwhelmed with the task of getting everything ready. But no more. I've learned over the years that dinner will always be served later than I have planned, so I've built in a no-fail solution.
I now offer guests, upon arrival, a few simple snacks, easy finger foods that take no time to prepare and require no plates or cutlery. This means no dips or spreads, no homemade cheese straws, no house marinated olives. As a guest, I must admit, if I'm hungry a can of Planters tastes great when dinner looks to be more than an hour away. So I simply open a bag, a jar, a can and go.
On a recent visit with my sister and her fiance to BLT Steak in Washington, DC we were served a perfect assortment of bar snacks, and they will most likely be my default nibbles for the summer. A trio of small wooden bowls included Cajun popcorn, mixed olives and smoked almonds. I loved that a tiny stainless steel ramekin joined the three bowls, set out for pits.
Over the years I've filled bowls with chunks of cheddar cheese or marinated (by someone other than myself) boccacini, baby carrots, sugar snap peas, dolmas, and assorted olives, nuts, and chips, with Kettle Brand Spicy Thai and Tim's Cascade Style Wasabi as longtime favorites. If you have some favorite bar snacks of your own, I hope you will share them with me. I'm going to need them this summer.
dawn on June 03, 2009 at 06:08 PM
interesting, nice tips