Along with sunburns, painfully long family vacations, and trying to keep the kids occupied, summer brings with it fresh fruits, vegetables, and assorted goodies perfect for making delicious summer appetizers.

Before digging into a stack of ribs or charred dogs, here are a few ideas to get your summer gatherings off to a great start.

10. Fruit-laden gazpacho

Along with the ingredients expected in this perfect summer treat, adding a few ripe fruits will add a summertime feel. Some diced mango, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe will take your gazpacho to never before seen heights. And for the daring, don’t seed the jalapeno for that extra summer kick.

9. Fried green tomatoes

Made famous for the rest of America after the movie of the same name, the folks down south have enjoyed the taste and texture of fried green tomatoes since before the last ice age. These delicious summer appetizers have everything you’d expect from a southern recipe; cornmeal, unripened fruit (or are they vegetables? I can never get that straight), and deep-fried in oil.

8. Tarragon chicken salad on croissant

No need to go overboard with the preparation time or work for this delicious summer appetizer. Just add 1/3 to ½ cup of fresh tarragon, snipped to perfection, to your favorite deli’s chicken salad and you’re just about done. Slap a spoonful or two onto your mini croissants and appetizers are served.

7. Lemon and garlic tiger prawns

The lemon gives this treat a hint of summer, but really there’s no time that’s a bad time for shrimp. And they’re as easy as they are delicious summer appetizers. Just brush the prawns with some garlic, lemon and butter, sprinkle a bit of parmesan, and broil them for about 4 minutes. Like any good appetizer, saving some extra butter for dipping makes them delectably decadent too.

6. Sweet and sour meatballs

Meatballs make perfect appetizers, and tossing in the sweet and sour oomph helps them make the perfect transition to summer. Some soy sauce, brown sugar, and, if you dare, a hint of pineapple juice is all it takes to change the ordinary run-of-the-mill meatball into a culinary delight.

5. Deep-fried wings

Most anything deep-fried, unhealthy, and the basis for frightening skin outbreaks will make a delicious summer appetizer, that’s simply a fact. But there may be no better way to prepare chicken wings than rolling them in flour, then the crumbs of your choosing, then eggs, and for good measure, once more in the crumbs of your choosing. That is just good, old-fashioned Americana right there.

4. Garlic French fries

Like Angel Falls or the Sphinx, french fries are truly one of the natural wonders of the world. Thick, thin, curly, or in big planks dipping a fry into a trough of ketchup can bring a grown man to his knees. Serve up a plateful of garlic fries garnished with a final toss of chopped parsley, and then step away; the devouring hordes may turn ugly.

3. Pepper jack cheese poppers

Room for one more deep-fried delicacy, pepper jack poppers make perfect and delicious summer appetizers. Another great idea for these tiny treats is combining a couple (or more if you’re in a daring mood) of cheeses, like parmesan with the pepper jack, into one mouth-watering fried concoction.

2. Sliders

These little beauties make #2 on our delicious summer appetizers list for one reason and one reason only; versatility. If it’s edible, it’s likely to taste great as a slider. Any full-sized sandwich works and virtually any meat or seafood – think mini lobster rolls. Try throwing a piece of grilled salmon on a slider and watch what happens. I once had a meatball slider that was akin to a religious experience; it still gives me chills to this day.

1. 7-layer dip

No summer is complete without diving headlong into at least one well-designed and perfectly executed 7-layer dip. Use homemade guacamole and fresh salsa with tomatoes from the garden – you’ll taste the difference. The temptation to make this more than an appetizer; to transition a 7-layer dip into an entrée is the reason this is #1 of all delicious summer appetizers. But please don’t try this at home, only skilled professionals are able to make this difficult transition without offending the masses.

Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru