Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
There are lots of ways to change up this recipe–with dipping sauces and even scallops. You can serve it in martini glasses for a holiday sit-down dinner or dinner party: layer shredded lettuce in the bottom of a martini glass, top with cocktail sauce, hang the shrimp around the rings of the glass.

Warm Marinated Olives
This recipe starts with a stove-top preparation method, but then you can transfer to little baking dishes to make it ahead and then just before a party begins warm it up in a little oven safe dish… it’s hands off and easy.

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella and Basil
The olive bar at the market has a ton of helpful items to serve at parties. Instead of doing prosciutto and mozzarella, you could do a cube of feta, a wedge of soppressata, and a chunk of cucumber. Then you can add a bowl of marinated artichokes or a bowl of stuffed grape leaves.

Hot Bacon Cheese Dip
Everyone loves a warm dip; it’s always the most popular thing on the table. Try spreading it over two small oven-safe dishes so you can bring out a fresh, warm batch after the party gets rolling.

Read more by Robin Horrigan

Robin Horrigan writes the column Cooking from the Carpool Lane. She lives on Boston’s south shore and is a stay at home Mom to Ryan, seven, and Maegan, three. Her fascination with cooking sprouted from watching Julia Child cook on a little black and white TV; Robin helped her Mom in the kitchen until she was old enough to ask Santa for her very own copy of The Joy of Cooking. She experiments with all kinds of cooking and baking, from quick weeknight dinners and easy cookies to long simmering weekend stews and complicated, fancy desserts. Ryan thinks if his Mom will ever be famous, it will be “for her awesome cookies.” Her friends say it will be for the cocktails. Either way, if she’s not doing volunteer work or shopping for shoes, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen. Robin’s favorite recipe.

You don’t need to have a big Halloween party to enjoy these adorable, sweet and savory treats. I have some terrific recipe ideas to get you started on your own wonderful love affair with October.

Putting out Skeleton and Brain Dip for an after school snack means they might eat like to eat their veggies instead of Goldfish crackers or cookies. Serve Yummy Mummy Meatloaf for dinner and you won’t get any complaints about “mealoaf again.”

If you’re in the mood for a party, try hosting a “trick or treat dinner” before the main event. This year, Halloween falls on a Sunday, which is a perfect day to try a party like this. Another idea for earlier in October is to host pumpkin carving. Set up tables in your driveway or garage, make some treats to serve, and make it BYOP (bring your own pumpkin).

I like to serve something hearty such as Chicken Soup with Dumplings or Route 66 Chili and cornbread for the adults. Halloweenies were introduced to me by a good friend and now they are an annual tradition. Treat the adults to a cup of Apple Pie Cider (if it is a chilly night) or Apple Pie Punch (if the night turns out to be warmer or you live in a warmer climate) to accompany the trick or treaters or pumpkin carvers, and they’ll be doing the Monster Mash in no time.

Read more by Robin Horrigan

Robin Horrigan writes the column Cooking from the Carpool Lane. She lives on Boston’s south shore and is a stay at home Mom to Ryan, seven, and Maegan, three. Her fascination with cooking sprouted from watching Julia Child cook on a little black and white TV; Robin helped her Mom in the kitchen until she was old enough to ask Santa for her very own copy of The Joy of Cooking. She experiments with all kinds of cooking and baking, from quick weeknight dinners and easy cookies to long simmering weekend stews and complicated, fancy desserts. Ryan thinks if his Mom will ever be famous, it will be “for her awesome cookies.” Her friends say it will be for the cocktails. Either way, if she’s not doing volunteer work or shopping for shoes, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen. Robin’s favorite recipe.

Appetizers are to entrees as dating is to marriage. You can have an awful lot of fun before committing to one specific dish.

So it’s ironic that as a married mother of two, I’m finding entrees are all but off the table when creating a menu. Dinner parties are often reduced to inviting other families over for takeout, and hoping none of the kids has a meltdown before dessert is done.

But appetizers—usually homemade—are always on the menu. Over the last few years, I’ve gathered numerous recipes for fast and delicious spreads and appetizers.

Dips and spreads are one of the easiest ways to stave off hunger while waiting for the main course. (Or in my case lately, while waiting for the takeout guy to arrive.) The recipes below are centered around ingredients that you can stash in your pantry or fridge, so it’s easy to whip up a couple of these starters, then relax and chat with your guests.

So don’t let a busy lifestyle interfere with hosting a dinner party. Open a bottle of wine. Serve lots of apps. Chat with your friends… and wait for the takeout guy. No one will mind. Really.

Branch out and try more complicated appetizers—you’ll soon become as big an aficionado as I am. See you by the catering station.

The actual football was never my thing. I’m competitive and like sports, but I never quite understood the appeal of men tackling each other. But with the help of my husband’s enthusiasm and the obvious appeal of players like Tom Brady, I’ve come to appreciate the game and even find myself owning an official NFL jersey.

So what if I want to host a Super Bowl party, watch the game, see the commercials, and serve good food?

My solution is to use recipes I can make ahead. Looking through my recipes, I found a few things I can make on Saturday, so all I have to do on Sunday is put on my jersey, take the food out of the fridge, and serve it to my hungry crowd.

And although my team isn’t playing this year, I’ll be able to watch the whole game, critique all the commercials, socialize with my guests and enjoy the spread of food I’ve prepared. Especially the Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes (what’s a football game without beer?).

And using Plummelo, I’ll easily be able to find these recipes again next year. I just hope we’ll be watching the New England Patriots.

Photos by Melissa Devereaux