Although she'd be the last person to call her kitchen professional, the dishes that Hasselbrink whips up for The Year in Food imply otherwise. She's constantly creating fresh, colorful and deliciously simple dishes. "I love to cook with seasonal produce, so that's usually my starting point," she says. Hasselbrink made this fig and blue cheese crostini in August, the peak of fig season. Tip: Get good tools. If you feel confined by your small kitchen, try investing in a few new kitchen tools to inspire the culinary genius within. A new baking dish or cookbook might be just the thing to push you beyond the microwave.

6. Get guests involved in the meal. Break the ice (and ease your workload) by inviting guests to assemble their own crostini, knead pizza dough or shake up cocktails at a DIY bar. Pitching in will help your guests feel at home — and when everyone has a stake in the dinner, you don't have to feel terrible if something doesn't come out as planned.

cafe food display

using my figs from the garden

kl

Yum yum

Crostini

figos

6. Get guests involved in the meal. Break the ice (and ease your workload) by inviting guests to assemble their own crostini, knead pizza dough or shake up cocktails at a DIY bar. Pitching in will help your guests feel at home — and when everyone has a stake in the dinner, you don't have to feel terrible if something doesn't come out as planned.

Make your own crostini

Fun idea for family at our house, pizza bar or DIY cocktail bar assemble for ur way

looks yummy

actually saving a recipe!! blue cheese/fig/basil crostini

Food

Fig and blue cheese crostini

looks delicious

Inviting presentation

For party