The Headlines:
Planning a Party?
Or even if you're not... these are some good eats.
Super simple.
Super Yummy!
And don't forget the Cranberry Cocktail (at the end)!
Every year, around December people all over the world start to plan parties. Many cater them, some go out, we do neither. To make matters worse, we do ours on the biggest Eve itself! Yup, Christmas Eve. It started out years ago because my family would come over for the holiday. We'd do cocktails and appetizers and it was always a fun celebration! Then I started inviting a few co-workers, a few neighbors. Pretty soon it was a party tradition. I figured if I'm making apps for 6 - I can make them 16. Then 26. Then 36, 46, so on and so on. Anyways, our party has steadily grown larger each year and we topped out in 2014 with our biggest guest list ever.
And the only reason I still do it all on my own is because I assemble the easiest recipes on the planet and use those!
Yes, we have some staples: a large "smoked" salmon, tri-tip, cheeses and bread. But the best part is all the other fun foods! Because at parties... people expect FUN food! Here are some of them:
1 - Guacamole with Pomegranate Seeds
Everyone loves guac, even during the winter. Throw in some Pomegranate Seeds and it takes the traditional dip up a notch. Plus, looks oh-so-festive. See above. You can even buy the guacamole and just add the seeds if you'd like... or you can find my recipe HERE!
2 - Bacon Wrapped Potatoes
It can't get any easier folks. Here you take small potatoes, the tinier the better. You wrap a piece of bacon around them, stick a toothpick in it and bake it at, I think it was like 400 degrees. For like a half an hour. It was so easy I forget! But I'm doing it again this year...
and you should too!
3 - Finger Salads!
At a party, you actually need some variety. People don't even know it but they want a little veggie taste thrown in, in some tricky way! So try this... because like many others, I am so over the boring veggie tray. This is way more fun!
You basically toss a head of radicchio, 5-10 chopped peperoncinis, 2-4 ounces of goat cheese with some red wine vinegar and EVOO (1 tspn each). You can add some pine nuts too if you choose. Then take a spoon full and roll it in a large piece of salami. Use toothpicks to fasten it together and you have a salad you can eat with your fingers! Told ya, tricky!
4 - Peppermint Red Velvet Cake
You must have a few sweets at Christmas time! A cake thrown in a party is never a bad thing! Try this one. It's a Red Velvet Cake with a twist. And it's so easy because you use a mix while adding some extra ingredients!
You Need:
Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil (or canola but coco is better for you)
1 pkg cream cheese (softened)
4 oz white choc
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla
1/4 tspn peppermint extract
1 cup heavy cream
Peppermint candies or crushed candy canes
You Do:
Turn oven to 350. Line 3, 8 inch cake pans with wax paper or heavily spray with non-stick spray or cover with butter. Prepare cake mix according to directions but sub buttermilk for water. Divi batter evenly among pans. Bake for approx 18 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. The remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
Microwave white chocolate until it melts (no more than a minute). Beat cream cheese and butter. Add white chocolate to mixture. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and peppermint. Beat until smooth. Then increase speed and beat until fluffy. Take first cake, place on cake plate, flat side up and frost top. Add the next cake, carefully frost top and then add final cake. Frost sides and then place in freezer for about 15 minutes. Save a little of this frosting...
Now, whip heavy cream and fold remaining frosting from last step into the mixture. Frost entire cake once more to give it the finished look. Add Peppermint candies to center or crushed candy canes on top, whichever look you prefer. People will LOVE! It;s really quite tasty and stunning!
You Need:
12 whole graham crackers
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups sliced almonds
You Do:
Line a baking sheet with foil. Place crackers in pan. In a sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stir constantly. Pour mixture over crackers. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes or until you see it bubbling. Cool in pan about 5 minutes, Cut each cracker into 4 sections. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Then get ready to dive into perfection!
There you have it - 5 of the easiest Christmas Party Eats a person could (barely) bake/cook/assemble on their own!
Oh, I almost forgot... if you're looking for a Christmas Cocktail - look no further - serve the CRANBERRY MARGARITA. Click HERE for the recipe. NOW, you're ready to Party!
Merry Christmas, good luck and may the force be with you... it's absolutely crazy around here too!
Planning a Party?
Or even if you're not... these are some good eats.
Super simple.
Super Yummy!
And don't forget the Cranberry Cocktail (at the end)!
Every year, around December people all over the world start to plan parties. Many cater them, some go out, we do neither. To make matters worse, we do ours on the biggest Eve itself! Yup, Christmas Eve. It started out years ago because my family would come over for the holiday. We'd do cocktails and appetizers and it was always a fun celebration! Then I started inviting a few co-workers, a few neighbors. Pretty soon it was a party tradition. I figured if I'm making apps for 6 - I can make them 16. Then 26. Then 36, 46, so on and so on. Anyways, our party has steadily grown larger each year and we topped out in 2014 with our biggest guest list ever.
And the only reason I still do it all on my own is because I assemble the easiest recipes on the planet and use those!
Yes, we have some staples: a large "smoked" salmon, tri-tip, cheeses and bread. But the best part is all the other fun foods! Because at parties... people expect FUN food! Here are some of them:
1 - Guacamole with Pomegranate Seeds
Everyone loves guac, even during the winter. Throw in some Pomegranate Seeds and it takes the traditional dip up a notch. Plus, looks oh-so-festive. See above. You can even buy the guacamole and just add the seeds if you'd like... or you can find my recipe HERE!
2 - Bacon Wrapped Potatoes
It can't get any easier folks. Here you take small potatoes, the tinier the better. You wrap a piece of bacon around them, stick a toothpick in it and bake it at, I think it was like 400 degrees. For like a half an hour. It was so easy I forget! But I'm doing it again this year...
and you should too!
3 - Finger Salads!
At a party, you actually need some variety. People don't even know it but they want a little veggie taste thrown in, in some tricky way! So try this... because like many others, I am so over the boring veggie tray. This is way more fun!
You basically toss a head of radicchio, 5-10 chopped peperoncinis, 2-4 ounces of goat cheese with some red wine vinegar and EVOO (1 tspn each). You can add some pine nuts too if you choose. Then take a spoon full and roll it in a large piece of salami. Use toothpicks to fasten it together and you have a salad you can eat with your fingers! Told ya, tricky!
4 - Peppermint Red Velvet Cake
You must have a few sweets at Christmas time! A cake thrown in a party is never a bad thing! Try this one. It's a Red Velvet Cake with a twist. And it's so easy because you use a mix while adding some extra ingredients!
You Need:
Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil (or canola but coco is better for you)
1 pkg cream cheese (softened)
4 oz white choc
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla
1/4 tspn peppermint extract
1 cup heavy cream
Peppermint candies or crushed candy canes
You Do:
Turn oven to 350. Line 3, 8 inch cake pans with wax paper or heavily spray with non-stick spray or cover with butter. Prepare cake mix according to directions but sub buttermilk for water. Divi batter evenly among pans. Bake for approx 18 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. The remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
Microwave white chocolate until it melts (no more than a minute). Beat cream cheese and butter. Add white chocolate to mixture. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and peppermint. Beat until smooth. Then increase speed and beat until fluffy. Take first cake, place on cake plate, flat side up and frost top. Add the next cake, carefully frost top and then add final cake. Frost sides and then place in freezer for about 15 minutes. Save a little of this frosting...
Now, whip heavy cream and fold remaining frosting from last step into the mixture. Frost entire cake once more to give it the finished look. Add Peppermint candies to center or crushed candy canes on top, whichever look you prefer. People will LOVE! It;s really quite tasty and stunning!
5 - Graham Cracker Toffee
This next and final recipe needs it's own blog post, I swear. Why? It's ridiculous. I got it from a court clerk by the name of Karen. She worked at the city courthouse in Spokane, WA when I was a reporter trolling the halls looking for news in that town! She made some, handed them out and my life's never been the same since! It's like you're eating real toffee from a candy making metropolis but you're not and it's made with 4 ingredients. BAM - my kind of recipe! Unfortunately, when I made it last year I only snapped this quick picture before it was even put in the oven. I guess after it came out - it was eaten too fast!
You Need:
12 whole graham crackers
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups sliced almonds
You Do:
Line a baking sheet with foil. Place crackers in pan. In a sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stir constantly. Pour mixture over crackers. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes or until you see it bubbling. Cool in pan about 5 minutes, Cut each cracker into 4 sections. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Then get ready to dive into perfection!
There you have it - 5 of the easiest Christmas Party Eats a person could (barely) bake/cook/assemble on their own!
Oh, I almost forgot... if you're looking for a Christmas Cocktail - look no further - serve the CRANBERRY MARGARITA. Click HERE for the recipe. NOW, you're ready to Party!
Merry Christmas, good luck and may the force be with you... it's absolutely crazy around here too!
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