Appetizer Menu Ideas:
Chip It, Cone It, or Skewer It

Looking for fast and easy to grab and go appetizer menu ideas…

or dinner-by-the-bite menu items? Have your guest Chip it up, Cone it up, or Skewer it up. I’ve got some FUN recipes this month to use a chip without a dip, turn a tortilla into a cone, or stick a salad onto a skewer.

Chef Gerrie’s buffet at The Big House…aka WCHS Louisville, KY

I have shown American Saddlebreds and Hackney ponies for years with Ventura Farm, Shelbyville, Kentucky. Showing, working and taking care of these horses is long hours of dedication for the love these gorgeous animals. I am Ventura Farm’s in-house chef/customer. The Kentucky horse show circuit are held at the fairgrounds for at least a week. The problem: They located at least 30 minutes from any nice restaurant (except for the fast food joints, yuk!).

Exhibitors, trainers, and grooms are up at dawn getting ready to work or show their horses. You would be at the show all day long; then, go back to the hotel, crash for an hour or two…or not. And do it all over again for the evening performance until midnight!

Here I am with Baa-Boo, ready for the show!

You become a hostage to the evil, scary, food vendors…with their fried, nasty, greasy pork fritters on a bun with that mystery sandwich spread that squirts out both sides of your mouth and leaves you with its special odor lingering on you all day long. The burgers and chicken sandwiches would make Micky D’s a gourmet’s delight. And you can’t forget about the sticky, gooey, donut creations that would shoot your sugar level to the moon! Screw’um

This is what I did to avoid those nasty, greasy, calorie laden offerings…

I would pack up coolers and turn fresh colorful cut veggies, fruit, deconstructed composite salads into healthy treats that you could grab with one hand and still pet, sit on top of your horse, or behind your horse in your fancy show cart. Of course, we had to have our fine French and Spanish cheeses along with unique crackers to go along with our great wine and Modelo beer! Plus I would bring Laura’s horse cookies from Dorothy Lane and a big bag of puffy peppermints for our ponies. I’d buy 20 pound box every year from Windy Acres.

My answer to turning food into a community event

Kathy Snyder and I would invite the exhibitors from the other saddle horse barns to join us for camaraderie and great food. Just don’t eat the pork fritters! Establishing a relationship and engaging people with food is a way to make a community, or a tribe…is that what they call it now?

Isn’t this a riot? It’s a palm tree fruit display I made.

It has to be one-handed, easy and clean to eat and tasty! With all these sports gatherings on the horizons, and outdoor activities being planned, this is your time to enjoy food with your friends. I suggest these appetizer menu ideas: Cone it! Skewer it! Chip it!

When tailgating, water sports, or horse showing, keep this idea of fast and easy grab, take out food in your back pocket. This is when you want to pull these babies out…and not necessarily out your ass (LOL!) Everyone will love it! And I hear the applause right now…

Really, it’s the ultimate tailgate food for any sport that has a ball involved in it!

I am sure you already have chips, flour tortillas, skewers, and other fun stuff in your pantry. You just have to add a few delicacies that you love or maybe their already in your refrigerator or freezer…that’s what chef’s do. When they make a menu up, they think about how many ways they can sell a menu item or component that will lower their food cost and up their profits with a creative spin!

All righty then, pick and choose your favorite chips (they don’t have to be potato either), flour or corn tortillas, and skewers and let the fun begin! I’ll be posting some of my favorite combos and recipes this month. Be sure to check back (or follow me on your favorite social media platform: Facebook , Pinterest or Instagram).

Don’t you love cheap thrills? Get your creative flavor palette simmering…Food is art and you can eat it too!

Hail… to the People’s Art…One Handed Food!

–Gerrie

Want to see my recipes for Chipped, Coned, and Skewered Food?

Here is a video where I describe the ideas in this post.