I love appetizers. Have you ever ordered up several plates of appetizers in a restaurant to share with your girlfriends instead of a big ole’ meal? Fun isn’t it?
In the spirit of keeping the fun going in the kitchen as well as the rest of the party when I’m serving appetizers at home, I like to keep it simple, yet elegant.
These two darling appetizers are just the right mix of simplicity and sophistication. My friend Carmen made them for me as guest in her home one evening. (And yes the tomatoes etc. were straight out of the garden.) They are so easy to make, I feel like the picture almost says it all, but I’ll write out the instructions anyway.
The first appetizers are Basil Garden bites. They are perfect little veggie nibbles made up of a grape tomato, cucumber slice, a bit of basil leaf and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar then sprinkled with a lightly coarse sea salt.
The second appetizer is Prosciutto-wrapped Melon Balls. The saltiness of the pork and the sweetness of the melon are a perfect match. You can use either cantaloupe or honeydew melons.
This one requires no recipe. Just wrap small, thin slices of Prosciutto around melon balls and secure with a cocktail stick. Make certain to get one before they disappear off the plate.
I love that both of these appetizer recipes require no cooking of any kind. They can be made and plated up almost as quickly as they will disappear. Enjoy!
Basil Garden Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber long (English variety is good)
- 1/4 basil leaves stems removed
- 24 grape tomatoes
- 2 T. Olive oil
- 2 T. Balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt optional
- 24 food picks or toothpicks
Instructions
- Wash tomatoes, cucumber and basil leaves.
- Slice cucumber into 20 slices
- Tear basil leaves into pieces if needed so that it is no larger than the cucumber slice.
- Assemble by skewering a cucmber slice, basil leaf, and grape tomato.
- They can be kept covered in the refrigerator overnight after this step, if desired. Then:
- After Basil Garden Bites are assembled, arrange on plate and drizzle with oil and vinegar and sprinkle with salt, if using. Serve.
Here is the recipe for the Prosciutto Wrapped Melon Balls:
Prosciutto-wrapped Melon Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe or honeydew melon
- 1/4 lb prosciutto , thinly sliced
- 24 food picks (or toothpicks)
Instructions
- Cut open and seed melon.
- Using a melon-ball implement, make 24 melon balls
- slice prosciutto into strips to fit around balls.
- Wrap the pork around the melon balls and secure with a pick.
- Serve immediately.
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