Make It Easy Cocktail Hour
Keep your cool when you’re entertaining by sticking to easy, throw‑together apps created with just a few ingredients you may already have on hand. Pair with no‑fuss, no‑muss cocktails and lighter sips.
Sweet Stone-Fruit Caprese Bites
The beloved caprese salad is turned into a sensational appetizer when you swap in juicy, sweet and luscious peaches and nectarines in place of tomatoes and serve the whole thing as individual bites.
Easily Flex Your Bartending Skills
Avoid getting in the weeds by offering up classics that have easy-to-recall ratios like a Negroni, Margarita or Paper Plane. Or whip up this big-batch twist on a classic Hurricane in advance so you have something ready to go. The bonus: guests serve themselves.
Hurricane Punch
Warm weather parties are much more festive when something juicy and summery is being poured — something like this NOLA-inspired rum punch. This sipper happens to be equally delicious served alcohol-free. Make it extra pretty by adding wheels of citrus to the pitcher or drinks dispenser.
Three-Ingredient Skewers Three Ways
Everybody loves a snack on a stick! Whip up one or all three of these simple skewered appetizer combinations when you want something quick for cocktail hour.
Plum and Capocollo Skewers with Balsamic Glaze
No-Cook Beet & Labneh Dip
Get all the flavour of fresh, earthy beets without all the work with this delightful, layered dip that comes together quickly, thanks to precooked beets.
Staples for Easy Apps
Summertime is all about impromptu hangouts. Keep these ingredients tucked in your pantry or fridge/freezer so you’re always prepared to throw together something delicious.
Store in the fridge
• Marinated feta in a jar (drain and serve)
• Hard cheese and honey
• Roasted artichokes
• Piquillo peppers
Keep in the freezer
• Flatbread (tuck it in the freezer, then bake up with
toppings you’ve scavenged in the fridge)
• Tater tots (bake ’em and top with cheese and green
onions)
Tuck away in the pantry
• Crackers and tinned fish, or conservas, such as
sardines or clams
• Goldfish crackers (it’s said these were a Julia Child
cocktail-hour favourite)
• Canned nut-, cheese-or lemon-stuffed olives
• Marcona almonds
