Summer sipping during a hot-weather homemade happy hour is a no-brainer. Ice — whole cubes or crushed — is the name of the game, whether you are enjoying a tipsy cocktail with pals or a non-alcoholic concoction with your kids. Tasty tidbits, though, are another story.
Chips 'n' dip are de rigueur at patio parties, but traditional happy hour hors d'oeuvres are more special and fun than that. Put a summer spin on them and your head just might spin from all the compliments you are likely to receive.
Splashy seasonal ingredients (like fruit) and twists on technique (like serving traditionally cooked items chilled) are the keys to summer success. Let some of the following stretch your imagination and serve as diving boards. All ingredients are to taste.
WINGS WITH WOW
To the marinade and glaze for your favorite chicken wing recipe, add finely diced pineapple and juice, chopped macadamia nuts and shredded coconut. For a dipping sauce, puree chunks of pineapple, combine with salsa and mix into nonfat plain Greek yogurt (which is a tasty and higher-protein substitute for sour cream or mayonnaise).
NAB THESE NACHOS
Atop sweet potato chips, sprinkle shredded cooked chicken breast, diced peaches, small squares of pepperjack cheese and peach chutney.
SLIDERS THAT SWIM
Prepare white albacore tuna salad with red wine vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, minced red onions and celery, diced sweet gherkin pickles and a dab of low-fat mayonnaise. Form into small patties and serve as sliders on Hawaiian bread rolls.
SALAD CITRUS CUPS
Slice oranges in half, shave bottoms slightly so they will sit flat, but will not leak. Remove pulp, cut into sections and stir sections into dressed Caesar salad. Scoop salad back into citrus serving cups, top each with one medium-sized grilled shrimp and drizzle with bottled chili sauce.
FRUITY SMOOTHIE SHOTS
In a blender strong enough to chop ice, blend hulled strawberries, blueberries, coconut milk, dark chocolate and ice. Pour in shot glasses and add a rounded teaspoon of rainbow sherbet or fruit sorbet to each shot just before serving.
AFTER-WORK GOURMET COOKBOOK SHELF
Looking for your kids to get more interested in reading and cooking? The "Next Best Junior Chef" series, either as a single "entree" or sold as a three-book set, deliciously can do the trick. All ("Lights, Camera, Action"; "The Heat Is On"; and "The Winner Is...") run under the "Next Best Junior Chef" banner. They follow (in the aforementioned order) four fictional "tweens" through a televised cooking competition, right along with all the drama, life lessons — and fully described cooking techniques — learned along the way.
Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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