My Grandma’s 2-Ingredient Appetizer Is Still a Hit at Parties I Host

One of the most beautiful things about food and cooking is the power it has to completely transport us to different memories and moments in time. Whether it’s that adventure you embarked upon across the world, that road trip you went on with friends, the restaurant where you went on your first date with your partner, or that weekend away with friends and family, the sensory aspect of smelling, seeing, touching, and tasting our food holds such immense power, that it can actually make us feel as though we are back in that one place, at that exact time, savoring every little bit of the magical moment when we took that special bite.

Join me as we’re transported to Christmas Eves throughout my childhood, sitting on the floor around the coffee table in my Grandma Mary’s living room in Hoboken, New Jersey, snacking on this crunchy, creamy appetizer. We try our best not to fill up on it before moving to the dining room table for the pasta course. The particular food memory I’m evoking is centered around grandma’s simple, humble, and oh-so-satisfying celery sticks with cream cheese.

My Grandma’s Famous 2-Ingredient Appetizer

My Grandma Mary, G-Ma or G as we called her, was and will always be one of the great home cook loves of my life. From a very young age, she was the first person who taught me how to slice garlic paper thin and peel vegetables. To layer eggplant parmigiana properly so that each bite had the perfect ratio of eggplant, to sauce, to cheese, and the dish was bubbling to perfection. How to know exactly when that sliced garlic is perfectly cooked for aglio e olio, because it takes only a few moments to ruin the dish. 

Notice how all of these things included very sharp objects or piping hot oil and dishes? Hey, what are grandmas for…right? I wouldn’t trade any of those kitchen memories, my first kitchen scar, or the lessons I learned from her for the world. G helped me explore and discover the power of my intuition in the kitchen, and ultimately, in life, and I am forever grateful.

Another impactful lesson my Great Depression-era grandmother taught me is that you don’t need all the bells and whistles to make a really tasty and satisfying dish that will feed a group and be a hit on the table. Enter: G’s celery sticks with cream cheese. And it’s exactly what it sounds like. She made this appetizer every Christmas Eve, for any family gathering, and eventually, whenever she knew my brother and I were coming over. 

In fact, before she passed, she gave me the dish she’d serve the appetizer in, and I still have it today (along with the beyond dull vegetable peeler she used to teach me great things). This appetizer is nostalgic for my dad, for me—and maybe now it will become a wonderful food memory for you, as well. Shoutout to the home cook loves in our lives, bringing people together around the table, and creating lasting memories to transport us for generations to come. 

G-Ma Mary’s Celery Sticks With Cream Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 dozen celery sticks, clean, dry, and halved
• 8 ounces Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese (not whipped, not low fat—the OG stuff), cooled to room temperature
• Paprika (very optional—my dad made me add this ingredient because he and his sister liked it growing up)

Directions

1. Unwrap the cream cheese and allow it to reach room temperature.
2. Use a cheese spreader or butter knife to stuff each celery stick with a generous serving of cream cheese. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Place on a platter for serving. Store covered in refrigerator until almost ready to serve.
3. This is important (!): Serve slightly chilled. Not cold, not room temperature, not after sitting out for an hour. Remove celery sticks from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving for optimal celery crunch and luscious cream cheese flavor.