Today’s January dreaming post is about the very simple but enormously satisfying routine of having pre-dinner appetizers in our backyard space called the Tree House (with food pics!).

Joy comes from connecting with other people, especially when you get to participate in their special moments, like my recent opportunity to contribute a vegetable grazing board to the menu for a 95th birthday party. Check it out and learn from my experience.

We love an appetizer platter here at Glover Gardens, and this one with cold-smoked salmon and caviar was elegant, quick to assemble and delicious. Get the recipe here.

Bright green herbs with lemon juice and zest make this white bean spread a very fresh-tasting condiment that goes perfectly on a vegetable grazing board and can be used in a myriad of other ways.

Chimichurri is a great sauce for fish, chicken, shrimp, steak, pork…you name it. It’s great as a dip for crudités. It’s a perfect condiment for a panini.

A well-timed comment from another blogger helped me realize that it’s ok to be a foodie-blogger-storyteller person with a unique and real message – even though my food isn’t art.

Jalapeno-Bacon Poppers have a great balance of spicy-tart-salty flavors and the wonton is a great delivery device for this tasty appetizer.

Bruschetta is so simple, so summery, so garlicky-good. Ripe red tomatoes meet their life partner in soft green basil, with garlic and oil to seal their commitment.

Here’s an easy, foolproof, delicious and quick way to cook shrimp: roasting it in a very hot oven. And then you can use it in a variety of dishes, like this lovely salad.

Food is art! These beautifully arranged culinary exhibits at a workshop in Paris made me feel satisfied before I even took the first bite.

An easy-peasy smorgasbord is the treat-yourselves antidote to Friday night cooking.

A well-worn family cookbook, Great Tastes from the Texas Coast, provides my late Mom’s guidance for antipasto success.

One of our best protocols so far is the Travel Day Dinner Plan. No cooking!!!

Road-weary bodies and hungry souls are quickly rejuvenated with a travel-day smorgasbord.

For us, Family Smorgasbord is a mashup of little bites of stuff we like. They don’t have to go together or have the same culinary roots. They just need to taste good.

Garnishes and condiments are a supporting cast that add color and texture and provide complementary or contrasting flavors that highlight the main dish and make it a star.

Why, why, why is hospital food sooooo bad??? Why do they feed patients high-fat/high-sugar dishes?

European colleagues of mine took potluck to a new level when they invaded my kitchen and created a marvelous vegan lentil soup.

I am very blessed to have an extremely diverse “village” of friends, co-workers, family, extended family and virtual acquaintances, and I love to enjoy their experiences vicariously. This one is about a hot pot dinner for two in Shanghai.