holiday 2008 party menu

well another holiday party has come and gone and it was SO great! the friends, the food, the cheer...we are truly blessed.

this year, i decided to do 95% new recipes from scouring online cooking sites. i do think 90% of them were a success.

so here goes!

parmesan, basil w/lemon wafers - this was a highlight of the night & SO easy to make! highly recommend the parchment paper investment...the first batch was a wee bit stuck....
french onion dip & chips - twist of reduced fat sour cream & lipton onion soup mix with lay's lightly salted chips. i take any short cut i can.
rolo poppers - on parchment paper, place a snyder's snap pretzel, melt a rolo for 5 min on top, toast any nut you like, place toasted nut on warm rolo, push down and let cool until set. delightful and we received as a gift, thanks KP - that's how yummy this sweet, salty, crunchy, caramel, nutty treat is!! these were just placed around the house in candy bowls for folks to nosh on
cheese spread - well this was specially ordered cheese and it arrived the day of (thank goodness). i saw this trio of artisanal cheeses offered on wine.woot.com and asked sweetie to get it. it included 1 lb winchester gouda, 1 lb point reyes blue cheese, 11 oz cypress grove purple haze chevre. i plated the 3 on a cheese slate and offered 4 different kinds of crackers. i did use some of the point reyes blue cheese for my next offering. i was hesitant abou the purple haze chevre, but it was delightful. i really enjoyed the combination of the goat, fennel & lavender - surprise, surprise.
elegant endives - these were delish and a total hit and again so simple to make! i did exactly what the recipe called for, using some of the point reyes blue cheese, honey & toasted & chopped pecans. what a success!!
crudite - french baby carrots (because i had to have the miniature carrots w/ tops on them - no need to have them again. what a pain to peel!!!) but they did look so cute on the tray....snap peas, cucs, celery, red peppers and of course the radish mice. the dip was a reduced fat sour cream and leek soup mix combo.
antipasto dish - summer sausage, salami, mozzarella balls, kalamata olives, green olives w/ garlic, dolmas & sesame breadsticks. this was just a combo that i have seen in numerous magazines and offers a lot of flavor for no cooking!
latkes!!! - my first time around they were pretty yummy. i did leave out the onions due to numerous friends you do not care for the flavor or texture. i did sub in egg white substitute and whole wheat organic flour. sweetie served them w/ apple sauce to offer a sweet flavor next to all the savory flavors on the table and other sour cream based dips.
mini reubens - i must admit i did not try one, i broke the first rule of sending a dish out of the kitchen...but i just couldn't do it. this was not a home run app, it was eaten, but not devoured like a lot of the other offerings...maybe that was the issue..too many offerings. i am glad i made them, maybe a different gathering..a sporting event or a family gathering and they would be better.
mini 7 layer dips (with only 4 layers) - so i absolutely adore the presentation of any appetizer in a wonton wrapper that has been cooked in the shape of a bowl. you take a mini muffin tin (or larger for a bigger cup base), spray w/ cooking spray, press wonton wrapper into muffin tin and crease until it shapes a bowl, spray all cups once full and bake at 350 for about 5 min (you be the judge on how crispy you prefer). plus, you can make these the night before, once cooled put them in a zip lock bag and you are good to go. i heated up vegetarian refried beans, place in the bottom, then layered avocado, shredded cheese & salsa.
panko chicken nibbles - who doesn't like meat on a stick? i cut up chicken breasts into 1" chunks, rolled them in panko/salt/pepper, sprayed a pan w/ cooking oil, baked at 350 for 15-20 min, turning once. i set these these up w/ 3 sauces for my guests to flavor to their liking: hot sauce, duck sauce, terriyaki sauce. i was hoping folks would flavor w/ hot sauce and grab a chunk of blue cheese and enjoy...they did, the panko nibbles were gone in a flash.
dalmatia fig spread & goat cheese in phyllo cups - so these were supposed to be wrapped in bacon, not phyllo cups, but i just didn't have the ambition to cut up the bacon, wrap, skewer, bake. i bought the already made phyllo cups at the store, let them defrost, scooped in some fig spread, crumbled some goat cheese on top and called it yumminess....these were loved.
sesame shrimp salad - i made this hoping to make mini lettuce cups, but it was a mess and figured folks wouldn't appreciate, so i set it out like a salad. i didn't add the watercress, but i did add snap peas. folks really liked the mint/cilantro freshness this dish offered...it's a bit odd for a holiday party, but it was a little something unexpected and not filled w/ dairy!

i did offer desserts too
cut up fresh fruit - pineapple, cantaloupe, star fruit & mango
cream puffs w/chocolate sauce & caramel sauce drizzle - so easy & really fun to eat.
mom's spiked cool whip w/ creme filled pirouettes - spike fat free cool whip w/ a touch of baileys and 10 oreo cookies. i didn't use the oreo cookies, i added 2 packages of crushed 100 cal oreo crisps. mix while frozen, keep frozen until you remove for serving. place pirouettes around the bowl or in a glass for dipping.

the party was a success with only a little bit of food left over.
i did use the leftover vegetables to make a ww creamy soup...that recipe is coming soon.

betcha wondering about the punch....ok,ok, ok i will tell you. it's a family recipe.
2 bottles of champagne - i used asti, don't judge, we like it sweet :)
1 bottle of white wine - use what you like
1 liter of seltzer - i used raspberry lime
1 can lemonade concentrate
1 can limeade concentrate
ice
float some lemon & lime slices

i made a double batch in the large bunch bowl.

happy holidays and enjoy!

yum yum