We do this fairly often, it makes for a nice and quick meal. Thanks for posting fresh ideas.

My friends and I were debating this last time that picture on the right was used but WHAT is that stuff on the plate? Is it pate? tongue? A particularly spongy slice of ham?

Oh also my family does this all the time. Generally nachos, olives, hummus, bread, olive oil. Things like that. Around the holidays maybe a baked brie.

I do this frequently. Especially on Fridays. Triple cream brie, prosciutto, olives, bottle of wine.

I'm going to guess that the "stuff on the plate" is a liver pate?

This is one of my favourite things to do once in a while. A little salami, pate or prosciutto, sliced tomatoes and a good crusty baguette. Like a picnic, but in my living room.

I try not to do this at this time of year because I so frequently do it during the summer! I also find that when I dine this way in cooler weather I don't eat enough for a meal. Unfortunately, I can end up snacking without a plan and overindulging. Yup, best left to summer.

my hubby and I do this when the kids are away, it feels so decadent :)

We love to do this - a picnic lunch or tea, with baguette, hoummus, some good continental cheese, olives, chorizo & tiny cheese stuffed peppers. It also works well in the autumn and winter with a soup too.

It's a go-to meal in the summertime! A tin of sardines, some pate, or a salametti plus olives, cheese, and bread is always a great option when it's too hot to cook or I'm too tired to think.

@whalermeg: chicken liver pate

Oh, and I also love a meal made up of small plates or appetizers when I go out as well. I order a salad to go alongside and I'm a happy camper surrounded by a variety of little dishes.

We call it Nibbles @ Bits. One of my favorite meals, truth told! Works especially well when we eat with our vegetarian friends, so there's something for everyone.

Oops... Nibbles & Bits

I love doing this, but only with people who are good social eaters.

I have friends and family who are lovely people until you set food down in front of them. I'm always kind of waiting to get a fork to the hand when I cautiously try to move between them and the snacks.

We love doing this, but don't get to it that often. We also always seem to have appetizer recipes that we want to try before using them at dinner parties. The result? Every few months we designate a night as "appetizer dinner." We go through our recipes and pick out several of them that we try out and eat our way through them as we go. The next time we do this I think I'm going to invite friends to help cook and taste test.

This is my favorite type of meal: a little of this, a little of that....

This is actually a quite common tradition in southern Germany, called Vesper ("Fesh-burr"). The largest meal is eaten for lunch (usually a hot meal), and then the evening meal consists of bread, butter, cheese, meats (forcemeats and cold cuts), pickles, and maybe a few types of salad (bean salad, cucumber salad, beet salad). We did this all the time when I was a little girl, and it's really nice to have on a hot day!

I call this my "cocktail party for one" dinner. I'm single so it gets tiring cooking for one.

My favorite date-night-at-home dinner! Cheese, fruit, baguette or crackers. Maybe some grilled kielbasa with mustard. Chutneys, jams, charcuterie, and steamed or grilled vegetables also sometimes make an appearance.

One of my favorite New Year's Eves was spent at home with a bar food appetizer dinner: Cream cheese wontons, artichoke dip, buffalo wings, etc. It was great.

I was just discussing this with a friend the other day. I love this type of meal!

My mother and I refer to this as a "floor picnic" and it's usually consumed while we play cards. :) Granted, the food is usually on the coffee table to be out of dog reach, but the principle is there. :) Fruit (fresh and dried), veggies, cheese(s), crackers and/or bread, a head or two of roasted garlic, cured meats and cold cuts, pickles, olives, etc. Samples of things we saw at the store/deli we wanted to try. Little nibbles of lots of things.

Our floor picnics are almost always followed by 2am card playing tournaments with a pint of ice cream and two spoons. ;)

When I was younger we'd have dinners like this the day we went grocery shopping (about once a week).

The bread would be really fresh, and there would be cold cuts and pickles and cheese. Totally delicious.

I think next time I'm home I'll tell my mom we need to do it again.