Just as with any other food, you've got to gear your appetizers to the season. And when it's hot, summer appetizer recipes like the ones on this page are going to be a lot more appropriate for your average party, dinner party, barbeque, or picnic than, say, your favorite lobster-stuffed mushrooms. Sure, those rich and creamy mushrooms taste great. But they're bound to lay heavy in your guests' stomachs and turn the kitchen into a sauna in the summer heat.

Looking for some ideas fo summer appetizers that are just as tasty as your cooler-weather favorites? Read on for some of my favorite summer appetizer recipes, all of which will leave your guests satisfied and appeal to their overheated taste buds.

Gazpacho has always been one of my favorite summer appetizer recipes-- there's almost nothing as refreshing as this wonderful chilled soup in the heat: smooth, fresh, healthy, tangy, and wonderfully appealing. And it can be really fun to eat when you let your guests garnish it however they like.

The arrangement below is one of the most popular ways to serve gazpacho in nicer restaurants in Spain. Simply dish up small glass cups of gazpacho with little spoons (or your guests can just drink it) and offer a variety of different garnishes. Each garnish will make the gazpacho taste a little different, and bring out its ingredients in different ways.

One of my favorite gazpacho recipes is this watermelon gazpacho. But you can use whatever gazpacho you like. However, keep in mind that many North American gazpacho recipes are rather chunky and salsa-like. That's not what you want-- and not how they eat it in Spain. Go for a smooth gazpacho instead (like the watermelon gazpacho recipe I link to above) for the best results.

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Ingredients:
1 recipe prepared smooth (not chunky!) gazpacho, and

Your Choice of:
Chopped, peeled, seeded cucumber
Chopped green melon
Chopped seedless watermelon
Chopped, peeled peach
Chopped red pepper
Chopped young onion or green onion
Small garlic croutons (a must-have!)
Chopped green pepper
Chopped ripe tomato
Chopped ripe avocado
Salmon roe
Chopped hard-boiled egg
Chopped or slivered Spanish jamón
Chopped cooked shrimp
Creme fraiche
Flavored olive oils

Instructions: 1. Make sure the gazpacho is very cold. Keep the serving bowl on ice or keep each individual cup in a tray of ice.

2. Choose a variety of garnish options. You'll definitely want to include small garlic croutons, as they're wonderful with gazpacho. Set your garnishes out prettily near your serving bowl or tray of already-served gazpacho.

3. Let guests grab a small glass (even a shot glass) of gazpacho or serve themselves from a larger serving bowl. They'll pick and choose among the different garnishes to make this summer appetizer recipe their own.

Italian Antipasto is one of the best summer appetizer recipes you can possibly make. And a traditional antipasto platter is always a hit at a party or a dinner party. But it can also be messy and a bit difficult to eat.

These fun little antipasto skewers, however, are anything but. They taste wonderful, are quick and easy to make, and are fun to eat. Your guests can walk around with one of these in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other. A perfect summer cocktail party recipe! I always make a meat version for my carnivorous guests and a meat-free version for the vegetarians.

Makes 12 skewers, so you'll want to double the recipe for a larger party-- everyone will want to eat two!

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Ingredients:
12 wooden skewers
12 cherry tomatoes
12 oz. salami, cut into 1-inch cubes
12 bocconcini (Italian mini mozzarella balls)
12 slices of deli pepperoni, folded into a triangle
12 oil-cured black olives
12 marinated mushrooms (optional)
12 Italian pickled peppers (optional)

Marinade:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. minced fresh basil
1 tbsp. minced fresh oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: 1. Picking and choosing the ingredients you like, assemble your antipasto skewers as desired. I like to add cubes of provolone for a bit of extra cheese. Place prepared skewers in a resealable bag or appropriately-sized tupperware.

2. In a small bowl, combine the marinade ingredients.

3. Pour marinade over your assembled skewers. Let them marinate at least several hours (or overnight). Shake occasionally to assure marinade is well distributed.

4. Drain well and serve on a tray garnished with lots of arugula leaves.

This is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe, and is one of my very favorite summer appetizer recipes. It's fresh and cool and easy to put together. But the flavors are bright and really interesting. It's best served with thin, toasted slices of a rosemary bread, but if you don't have that you can use slices of ciabatta bread drizzled with a bit of rosemary oil and baked in the oven until crisp. Delicious either way!

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Ingredients:
6 oz. smoked salmon
1 small Granny Smith apple
1 tbsp. capers, drained
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions: 1. If your salmon doesn't come pre-sliced, cut it into very thin slices.

2. Cut the apple in half, remove the core, and slice very, very thin.

3. On a pretty serving platter, alternate even-sized slices of apple and salmon. Sprinkle capers over.

4. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste

5. Serve this summer appetizer recipe cold (keep on a tray with ice if necessary). Arrange the smoked salmon in a single layer on a serving platter. Lay the apple slices on top. Sprinkle the capers over the salmon and apple slices. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with the toasted bread.