Surprise your buffet guests with this twist on a Greek salad, prepared with cheese curds instead of feta cheese. And to ensure it keeps the texture you love, serve the salad at room temperature.

Combining the flavours of leek and cheddar, this warm dip takes inspiration from our slow cooker warm artichoke dip. Serve with raw veggies, saltine crackers or any other cracker of your choice.

For a bold and texture-rich appetizer, try this yogurt and dill dip served with a bright garnish. Cherry tomatoes and celery bring freshess, whereas the seasoned cashews add a nice surprise, creating the perfect bite.

This cheese flatbread that can be dipped in sour cream is the perfect appetizer to enjoy with friends. It’s also the perfect bread for getting into bread-making, given that it requires no kneading. To avoid this step, a technique of pouring boiling water over the flour is used, which allows the starch to develop. Then add the rest of the flour and the yeast so that the dough rises. In most cheese breads, chunks of cheese aren’t visible because they melt when baked. That issue is solved by using cheese curds, which don’t melt. Simply pan-fry them in a skillet for a few minutes, allowing you to stretch happy hour a little further.

At a buffet, puff pastry tarts come in all forms and can be made in advance. Served warm or at room temperature, they can be topped in so many ways. In this version, we went with mushrooms, both chopped and cooked, and fresh and thinly sliced.

These spiced pumpkin seeds are perfect for adding texture to a salad or to be served during happy hour. Simply toss them in a blend of spices and brown sugar, to give them a barbecue flavour, before baking in the oven. Even the kids will love them as a snack.

This ciabatta recipe has a poolish dough base, which can be compared to a sourdough starter, giving a nice structure to the dough. The poolish is made of a mixture of flour, water and yeast that must double in volume before adding more flour and water. Just stretch and fold the dough, which becomes smooth and elastic, over itself three times until it becomes beautifully shiny, soft and dense. The ciabatta tastes great plain, but don’t hesitate to add the bold, punchy flavour of olive and chilies. It’s a dream sandwich bread!

White Rum and Grapefruit Cocktail

These chips seasoned with za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend, go perfectly with a warm homemade or store-bought dip. Served alongside raw veggies during happy hour or at a buffet, they’re delicious with a slow cooker warm artichoke dip.

This recipe is halfway between a scone and a croissant. The dough is made with yeast, thin slices of butter and buttermilk. Create layers of flour and butter that bake up wonderfully flaky by rolling and folding the dough over itself. To go with the scones, make a caramelized honey butter, whose texture is similar to soft caramel as it cools. This is a very straightforward recipe that’s perfect for brunch.