Cold appetizer recipes are a fantastic addition to any event, particularly one where electricity or a way to warm or cook food isn’t available. Depending on the weather and the location of your event, you just need to be careful about keeping anything that’s heat-sensitive cold for the duration. You can also try to use foods that can be served as they are at room temperature (olives and seasoned nuts come immediately to mind).

Keep Cool!

If you decide on cold appetizers that need to stay cold, there are a lot of simple ways to accomplish that. For example, you can make a block of ice using a cake pan, un-mold it quickly in hot water, and place the ice on a cookie tray. Lay waxed paper or aluminum foil over the block and use it for displaying your appetizers. It will take several hours for the ice to melt, particularly with the aluminum on it - yet the aluminum neatly transports the cool to your edibles.

Ideas for Easy Cold Appetizers

If you find you’re fresh out of ideas, how about taking cubes of cheese, cubes of ham (or salami), and tortellini and marinating them in Italian dressing in the fridge? Just before serving you can put these on long toothpicks or skewers for tasty finger food. Think of it as deconstructed antipasto! Other interesting options include:

-Crab stuffed cherry tomatoes (hint: use a melon baller to hollow out the tomatoes)
- large olives stuffed with herb goat cheese (use a plastic bag with a small corner cut open to fill the olives neatly with the cheese)
- meatballs (barbecue, Swedish, taco flavored, Tai -you name it!)
- Deviled eggs (add a little red pepper flake so they live up to the name!).
- Fresh salsa and chips (mince up banana pepper, tomato, sweet pepper, garlic and onion and you’re done. Or add some mango or pineapple for a tropical treat).
- Flat bread roll ups (avoid sliced tomato - that will make these soggy)
- sesame noodle salad (with green onion and soy sauce).
- Melba toast pizza (use pizza sauce, a slice of cheese and slice of pepperoni).
- dilly beans (pickled with garlic)
- shrimp sprinkled with lime and ginger
- pineapple stuffed ham slices
- fondue

The list could go on for pages. If all you’re having is cold appetizers (i.e. no main dish) you definitely want to diversify so that there’s some with meat, some with vegetables, some fruit, and something sweet. You’ll find lots of ideas for appetizer recipes, party planning, and more at Divine Dinner Party.

Nowadays coffee grinders vary in price from under $50 to thousands of dollars and it can be confusing knowing how much to spend and why. There are quite a few differences between grinders. The first difference is the blade that is used to grind the beans. The cheaper models tend to have a blade like that in a food processor. Some machines have a superior burr mechanism which actually slices off bits of the beans and exposes a greater surface area meaning there is more potential for all of the flavour of the bean to be extracted in to the drink. The cost of the machines reflects this difference with a burr grinder being more expensive.

With a burr grinder it is also possible to buy a model where you can set how finely you want the coffee to be ground. This is a useful feature if you have different types of coffee machine as an espresso machine needs a different grind than a drip filter machine and also you may find a big difference in flavor between different grinds. Some machines allow you to choose exactly how course the grind is and others just have several settings to choose from the former usually being more expensive than the latter.

Another difference between machines is the speed of the motor. Many people prefer the high speed ones because they do the job more quickly and do it well. However the low speed grinder doesn’t get as hot and therefore the coffee doesn’t get overheated. This is important because exposing the coffee to heat begins to release some of the flavor.

There are differences in the machines as to how the coffee is dispensed. Some have a hopper on the front and you can then put your portafilter in a special slot and dispense the amount that you need directly in to it. Some machines allow you to vary this amount and some do not. Others have no hopper and you dispense into a container or carafe. These grinders tend to be a bit messier.

It is a good idea to consider all of the features of a coffee grinder and decide which are important to you and this will give you a start to your decision making. With a list of required features you will be able to eliminate certain options. It is also a good idea to have a budget in mind too. Keep in mind how much space you have as some models are thinner and taller and others shorter and fatter and depending on where you are putting it you may not be able to fit certain models in. Brand name could be important to you and obviously there are many different companies that make coffee grinders. You may prefer the same brand as your coffee maker as it is likely to match better style wise and you will know how good that brand is already.

If you now have a short list of models then it is worth finding everything that you can out about them. Go to the manufacturer’s website and read everything that you can about them. Then go to review websites and see if anyone has reviewed them to find out what others think. If you know anyone who grinds their own beans then talk to them about what they use and how they find it.

If you want to see the different grinders then go to a shop and do not be afraid to ask for a demonstration. This will show you how it works and also let you know how noisy it will be. Do not purchase right away though as you are likely to find that it is cheaper to buy a machine online than from a brick-and-mortar store.