What is your go-to appetizer or side dish to bring to a cookout?

We were invited to a couple of cookouts this weekend and asked to bring an appetizer. I have a few go-to recipes that I rotate, but I get the most requests for my Whipped Feta Dip w/Charred Scallions. (Photo added. I’ll add pretzels to the plate before we leave. Pretzels are my favorite for dipping into this deliciousness)

What is your go-to appetizer or side dish?

The recipe is originally from the NYT, but I found the exact recipe without the paywall.

https://mealplannerpro.com/member-recipes/Lemony-Whipped-Feta-With-Charred-Scallions-2389999

Cha gio. My wife is originally from Vietnam and I can make these fairly decently now, but hers are better. A real crowd-pleaser. She uses chopped shrimp and ground chicken instead of the more usual pork, and jicama and taro along with the usual ingredients (shredded carrot, garlic, black mushrooms etc.) which gives hers a lighter filling texture.

You can use reader view with a lot of the NYT recipes to get around the additional paywall, which pisses me off a little since I want to feel entitled as a subscriber that I’d have to pay extra for the food section…like, what will be next.

Nice! I’ve only had vegetarian cha gio, and they are delicious. I’ve never attempted to make them.

Paying for the NYT Cooking and crossword… Don’t get me started.

A great one that I’m sure a lot of us have used or a variation of is Landreth’s corn recipe. I haven’t made it in years but I need to rectify that.

I would call that a side dish rather than an appetizer though.

I never saw this recipe. Looks awesome! Is OH sweet corn in season yet? I haven’t bought any yet.
I love Mexican Street Corn and have always wanted to make a street corn casserole (lots of recipes online).

That’s true, but clearly Abbie is asking for either type of suggestion. (Even if it was an edit to save me from mockery)

This dish is seriously good.

I make a good corn bread in a cast iron skillet as a side for a cook-out and depending on the people I’ll also do a blue cheese puff which is totally ghetto but also gets absolutely devoured. Just melted blue cheese with a bit of butter and brushed very heavily over unrolled pilsbury crescent rolls. It’s like crack but also looked down upon in some circles.

I like my corn more al dente, so consider that when looking at the times on the original.

She’s cooking it for you? How cool is that?

Conch salad. Always a hit and new to most peeps

Here in the south we don’t leave cookouts and potlucks to chance.
Someone trustworthy is assigned the deviled eggs.
Someone who doesn’t know how to cook or can’t be trusted to make it from scratch will be assigned ice and cups.
My go to is the smoked salmon pizzas I make, always requested and usually wiped out. I make them on a very high quality pita bread I get from the local Lebanese grocer.

Can u post in the recipe thread Milton?
Would love to try these. Have some kick A Turkish bakeries nearby and their flatbread is OOTW

I came here to list spring rolls as one of my go-to sides for gatherings, but Cha Gio is next level. It’s enough effort to make a large batch of spring rolls without the frying component!

We live in Texas and these are our go to appetizers:
Figs stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with bacon or prosciutto
Deviled eggs sprinkled with hungarian paprika
Caprese salad
Chili con queso

I use gorgonzola for my stuffed figs. It amps up the tanginess.

For deviled eggs, my secret ingredient is smoked trout. And I add a thin sliced cornichon on top.

Mississippi caviar - spicy black eyed pea mixture. Goes well with everything.

My friend made avocado wasabi deviled eggs last weekend. They were pretty awesome.

This can be a big appetizer hit sometimes. picture of big joint at DuckDuckGo