I’m so glad that hospitality is not always about me opening up my home, and that I also have very hospitable friends.
Last week my friend invited some moms and daughters to her beautiful back yard on a warm summer’s night. I think we were having such a good time, we lost track of time!
The next morning when I woke up, I counted the hours that we were together – seven hours! We started at 5:30 and left after midnight. And I think our daughters had a bit of fun, too. 
(Photo taken by my Abby)
If you’re a reluctant entertainer, remember sometimes the easiest thing to do is to have everyone bring an appetizer or salad. Especially if you’re entertaining women, they are perfectly content with a meal like this.
We had melon wrapped in prosciutto, homemade salsa and chips, bacon wrapped chestnuts, bread bowl filled with amazing spinach dip, and a sweet strawberry green salad. Yes, my friends are fantastic cooks!
Since our cherry tomatoes are in fully ripe right now, I knew right away what I’d be bringing when I said “yes” to the invitation.
Mini Caprese Bites on a Stick. Light and easy. The essence of summer.
When’s the last time you invited girlfriends over for a light meal?
Recipe: Mini Caprese Bites {ReluctantEntertainer.com}
Ingredients
- 16 ripe grape or cherry tomatoes
- 16 fresh mozzarella balls or chunks, about the same size of the tomato
- 16 basil leaves
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes. Pierce the tomatoes with the toothpicks and lay them out on a plate.
- Fold the basil leaf in half and push it onto each tomato, on the toothpick.
- Next, push the chunk of mozzarella onto the toothpick, under the basil leaf.
- Place each Caprese Bite onto a platter.
- Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning together.
- Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the tomatoes and serve!
Preparation time: 10 min
Number of servings (yield): 8
Hi, I'm Sandy. Five years ago I stocked up on beautiful glasses from the Dollar Store. As I started writing about dinner parties, I realized that this “icon” portrays a great message. 
