Fun with Appetizers

Last night, we joined friends for dinner. It was great fun, especially because everyone brought something and many of the somethings were delicious. For instance: broccoli casserole, baked sweet potatoes (with crumbly brown-sugar top *and* marshmallows), banana bread, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin-cheesecake-chocolate brownies (!). Our hostess made turkey, stuffing, green beans, and mashed potatoes.

I brought appetizers, and since our little dinner strained the available silverware, I brought some knives for the cheese. The knives came from this lovely set passed on to me by my parents.


One member of our party enjoyed the appetizers more than most. Check out those cheeks - talk about storing nuts for winter!

Here's the spread: a platter with sliced bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and carrots. A platter with 5 or 6 different kinds of olive (on a piece of pottery given to us by Mary Ellen for our wedding - thanks, ME!). A platter with a slice of Comte, a slice of Beemster (aged gouda), a slice of Camambert, and a slice of St. Andre plus mozzorella balls and proscuitto. Some crackers in the bowl went with that, as did the little bowl of almonds. Over on the right, a bit hard to see, were little hot Italian peppers in a bowl. Finally, a platter with seedless globe grapes, clementines, and dried candied pineapple. In the other room, there were chips with salsa and chocolate pretzels.

I should have photographed the dinner table, but by then I was busy anticipating the eating. Let's just say that when you rub a turkey with a mixture of butter, sage, garlic and salt you can't go wrong.