Easy Appetizer Plate

It’s been quite around here I know — mainly because it’s #October <– yes October gets a hashtag. In the world of photography this is the time of year where you’re torn between being excited to be this busy and crying, huddled in a corner because you’re this busy. Between shooting weddings, engagement sessions, editing and meetings with new brides + grooms,  I’m all kinds of tired — but I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Which is part of the inspiration for today’s post! When I get this busy and life gets this chaotic one of my favorite things is what I call a plate of nibbles — or you know, an appetizer plate. It’s literally nothing more than a plate of what I have in the fridge that doesn’t need to be cooked and can be eaten in one bite. The creative in me also demands that it’s pretty, because it provides a bit of inspiration and fuels my creativity a little. 

This also does double duty and is a great plate of sorts to have out for guests and with it being almost the holiday season {umm P.S. where has the year gone?}. There is literally no right or wrong way to make this – you just put stuff on a plate and boom – appetizer. I mean you can most certainly get fussy and get expensive cheeses and the most expensive fruit or vegetables you can find but I like using what I have or what’s on sale. Saves me and my wallet a few headaches!

Let’s first talk about this in relations to having a get together with friends + family:

On that really, really rare occasion we have someone over and I want to slap one of these together I like to pre-think of what is going to go on it and buy ingredients that I can use in multiple ways. Both for what I’m cooking that day and what I can use in the event of leftovers. And trust me, leftovers always happen so make sure whatever you’re adding onto that plate you like it or you can send it home with someone. For instance, if you hateeeeeeeeeeee walnuts, don’t add walnuts. If you can’t stand apples, don’t add apples. 

If I’m making something like this on Thanksgiving I might buy double of whatever nut I’m using in the stuffing or if I’m making a pie of some sort I can get extra of the fruit for it and serve that on the plate {Note: If it’s apples, after you cut them make sure you toss them in either freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice so it doesn’t turn brown!}. Then chances are I have carrots and / or celery in the fridge or another veggie, so I’ll add that to the plate. And we all know I’m a cheese lover so it’ll always be on the plate 😉 My favorite thing to do is a pair a softer cheese and a harder cheese. In the picture I have KerryGold Dubliner cheese and a Goat Milk Brie.

Tip on a cheese: Anything that comes in a wheel like the brie in the picture, I like to let people cut it themselves and just start the slice like I have here. But for a harder cheese cut all of it into cubes and store whatever isn’t on the plate in the fridge and add more onto the plate as needed thorough out the appetizer portion of your day!

Or if it’s a salad kind of week for me and I’ve got friends coming over I’ll buy extra cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, baby carrots and put those on the plate! And mix it with whatever stuff looks good at the grocery store or is on sale – boom, inexpensive appetizer plate that everyone will love!  

For decorating the plate: I used an Ina Garten method and added some big sprigs of fresh herbs I had on hand and them tucked into the plate. It makes it look festive and pretty without any extra work! 

As for how much? You know your crowd better than I do — for instance at family get togethers I know my crowd goes straight for cheese, meats {salami or pepperoni is always great on these things too!}, and sweeter fruits like cherry tomatoes and apples or strawberries so I’ll have more of those on hand to keep refilling as needed. I’m never too worried about having too few carrot sticks because I seem to be the only one {both with family and at weddings …} that goes straight for them! So know your crowd and buy extra of what you know they’re going to go for and less of what might be a lesser favorite! 

Now let’s talk about this in relation to me during the week:

The Liz Method: If it’s in my fridge it’s fair game. Literally I’ll just put whatever fresh veggies and fruit I have on hand and put it on a white plate and boom, it looks pretty and special. It takes minutes to put together and doesn’t involve any cooking. Basically lunch in 5 minutes. If I’m feeling extra fancy that day I might quickly cook up a few Applegate Farm Chicken Apple Sausages or something similar – but that’s really just heating it up instead of actually cooking! 

And honestly this is also a great way to get some good food in me when I get to the “I’m so busy I’m over cooking” portion of October. Because as we all know when the going gets busy the going doesn’t want to cook. Plus any time I can spare during working hours I like to use walking the dog or hanging out with Mr. POAB!

As a note: The plate you see in the pictures wasn’t a single serving by any means. I made a big, big plate and then after I was done with the photos made us each a smaller plate and then packed up the rest in the fridge so we could have leftovers of sorts!

To Sum Up:

• This is the easiest and cheapest form of an Appetizer plate I can think of and it requires zero {yes, ZERO} cooking. Which means you can put it together whenever you want and tuck it in the fridge to use as needed.
• If you have Paleo + Non-Paleo people coming over, you can easily add a smaller second plate of crackers or what-have you for them without compromising your awesomeness! 
• It makes for a quick and pretty lunch for those times that you just can’t be bothered to cook and you need a plate of food that dazzles you!
• I only use what I have on hand when it’s for me and Mr. POAB so I rarely if ever spend extra money on it! 
• Did I mention zero cooking?

In the next post I have an actual appetizer that you have to cook! So this Holiday season you can pair this plate with the other really easy {but cooked} appetizer and have a really well balanced display! 

xoxo
Liz-