Come Over for a Glass of Wine

On my last evening in kelowna I invited two of Kelowna’s food bloggers Val and Laura (www.morethanburnttoast.com and www.anuneducatedpalate.com, respectively) for a glass of wine on the patio. It’s fun to be with foodies who can talk about food and blogging. There are a few food people I’d like to get to know better in Kelowna and I hope to have more of these evenings as time goes on. I was busy enjoying other company until just before they came and had no time to prepare food so I put together an appetizer tray to serve with a bottle of wine on the patio. I arranged everything on a single large antique pizza paddle that I bought at the fabulous Mission Hill Winery this summer (see image above and below).

Luckily it was a lovely, warm evening and we sat outside until late, exchanging stories, information and ideas. I find food people to be warm and generous and spending time with Val and Laura confirmed this impression. Food bloggers work hard to provide others with good recipes, images and information. The creative process has its own rewards and, for bloggers, rewards are also found in readers comments and relations we develop with other foodies that make us feel connected out there. We do have the stats that show how many visitors we have on our sites, how many page views, what countries the visitors come from and how long they spend on the blog. However, without the comments and personal relations in the blogging community these stats remain faceless and nameless. So it is nice to read your comments, connect with other bloggers and create a community of like-minded individuals sharing the same passion for food and related interests.

Musings aside, I thought you may appreciate an image or two of an appetizer tray that you can put together in no time at all and share with your family and friends over a good bottle of wine. Everything can be purchased from a good store and assembled at the last minute.  Of course you can elaborate and make all kinds of other things. This is just meant to be a last minute put-together for an informal gathering. You want to come over? There is always room at the table.

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Suggestions:

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Cheeses:

Tripple crème Brie

Saint André

Goat cheese

Blue cheese (Roquefort or Gorgonzola)

Semi hard cheese (Comté, Cheddar, Emmental)

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Dips and spreads:

Red pepper hummus

Artichoke and asiago dip

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Fruits:

Grapes

Fresh figs

Pears

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Raw vegetables:

Endive spears

Red and yellow pepper sticks

Carrot sticks

Celery sticks

Bruschetta made from cherry tomatoes

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Pickles and condiments:

Marinated olives

Italian mixed pickled vegetables

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Dried fruits and nuts:

Walnuts

Dried cranberries

Dried cherries

Dried figs

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Breads:

Baguette slices

Grilled baguette slices

Crisp bread crackers with fruits

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Directions: 

Arrange your selection from the items suggested above on one large tray or a few smaller ones. Pile the breads in a couple of baskets.

Serve with a bottle of wine and enjoy your company.