The Christmas Party

Here are some shots of the Christmas Party I "catered". Again I took on the challenge of planning and making all the food for my coworkers party (it gives me something to do for 2 weeks) I host each year.

 In this one -Cocktail weiners in crescent rolls - called this 'cows in a blanket' since they were beef cocktail weiners. Vegetable crudites with a dill dip. Oreo truffles - half with sprinkles the other half with crushed candy canes. Easy pretzel turtles (pretzel square, rolo. pecan). Peanut butter blossoms. Fruit tray. Brownies with red and green chocolate drizzled  on top (consider it Christmas flare).

The great grape Christmas tree! This was a cool idea I thought of while in the craft store looking for decorations. Get one of the green floral foam cones. Wipe down the plastic it comes in, but leave the plastic on so the grapes can be eaten. Buy a bag of large green grapes and stick them in the floral foam with toothpicks. The star is a yellow bell pepper stuck in the top with a toothpick.

 The full spread.

Chips for the buffalo chicken wing dip. Italian Monkey bread. Taco salad. Christmas tree shaped cut out cheese, star shaped cheese and cut pepperoni for crackers (I used small metal Christmas shaped cookie cutters for the cheese - I've tried cutting the pepperoni in the past and it's a pain in the ass - I usually buy the large deli/sandwich pepperoni and cut it into fourths).

SBBS: Sweet Broccoli and Bacon Salad

Like I've posted before - Yum, BACON! Another salad that can be made ahead of time and easy to make. This one came from my Aunt Linda - another staple at the fourth of July party! I made this one for the Christmas party and my coworkers raved about - probably one of the most talked about dishes of the night!

4 cups broccoli florets (1 whole large broccoli)
1/2 cup celery - diced
3/4 cup raisins (soak in hot water for 10min and blot dry)
3/4 cup salted dry roasted peanuts
1 package of bacon - cooked and crumbled

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2T vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp curry powder

Mix dressing in small bowl and chill before serving. When ready to serve, mix all ingredients together.

Taco Salad

As you can see I am updating my blog after almost a year of not posting. I have several recipes and pics that that have been taken in the mean time and ready to be tasted by my viewers. With that said, there is nothing better in the summer (or anytime) than a hearty taco salad! This is my mom's recipe and it reminds me of every fourth of July party at my grandparents house when ~55 people trek in for the annual chicken BBQ. It's really easy to make and the best is you can prepare it all ahead of time!

1 head of lettuce - chopped in small pieces
2 tomatoes - diced
1/2 onion - diced
3/4 pound shredded cheddar cheese
1 pound hamburger
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 bag nacho cheese Doritos chips - smash the whole bag (it's fun doing this in the store and watching peoples reactions)
1 bottle of creamy Russian dressing (if you can't find creamy Russian, you can use Thousand Islands, but I think the creamy Russian is a lot better)

1) Prepare the lettuce, tomatoes, onion in small containers
2) Fry the hamburger, drain, season and cool
3) Just before serving: mix the ingredients and the dressing in large bowl, add crushed Doritos on top

Vegetarian? Skip the hamburger of course!

Eye-talian Monkey Bread

This dish takes on the bunt pan in a more filling and less sweet version of a monkey bread. It's pretty much pull apart pizza bites - hence the name Italian Monkey Bread. I owe this one to my sister for sending me the recipe the day before a party I made it for! I had never made it before and it turned out perfect.

1 pound block of mozzarella cheese - cubed
1 package of pepperoni slices
2 bags of pizza dough
1 stick butter
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 T each of oregano and parsley

1) Let dough soften/rise for a couple hours then preheat oven on 350 degrees
2) Melt butter, garlic, parsley, oregano in microwavable bowl on low heat
3) Rip off pieces of dough and flatten out (the size of the piece is going to accommodate 1 cube of mozz cheese and 2 slices of pepperoni. Fold and pinch the dough around the cheese/pepperoni.
4) Drop the filled dough balls in the butter/garlic/spice mixture
5) Place coated dough balls in bunt pan and drizzle any remaining butter mixture over the dough balls
6) Place in over for 45-55 min until golden brown (I usually place a cookie sheet on the rack beneath the bunt pan just in case of some over-flowage)
7) Flip on to platter and serve with marinara dipping sauce.

I wish the picture was better but this was at a party that only had direct lights from above over the food.

this is what just happened, recipe to be posted

Garden Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Whole Foods .... need I say more?! So on this weeks trip I was going to buy some feta cheese to stuff mushrooms for an appetizer I thought of, but I found a great alternative. They had this Garden Blue Cheese Spread which contains blue cheese, provolone cheese, cream cheese with peppers, and spinach I think. At the end I placed some of the "almost-burnt" cheese on top and a little leaf of sweet basil - it added a nice taste of the burnt cheese and sweet/citrus of the basil. Makes 1 small carton of mushrooms (~12). Next time I will be doubling or even tripling this reciple!!


1 small carton of baby portabella mushrooms
1 small container Whole Foods garden blue cheese spread
3 prosciutto slices, with fat cut off
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1 clove of garlic, minced


Preheat oven to 350
1. Wash the mushrooms softly, snip the stems and core out the middle. Set caps aside.
2. Mince up half of the mushroom stems and place in bowl. Mix in blue cheese spread and garlic.
3. Fill mushrooms with cheese spread.
4. Slice prosciutto into squares about 1x1 inch or small strips and press on to cheese spread. Place shredded cheese on top of each mushroom.
5. Place filled shrooms on baking pan and bake for 10min until cheese mixture is melted and mushrooms are slightly browned. You may want to put under broiler for a minute or two to get the tops brown and bubbly.

Vanilla Bean 'Hand'cakes with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

Do I have to say much I enjoy TJ Maxx with the Home Goods store in it? Pretty much TJ Maxx and Marshalls has decorated my house but also my kitchen – along with cooking utensil and items. One of my latest finds is whole Madagascar vanilla beans – 2 for $4. You bet your ass I grabbed all four remaining vials off the shelf. I scrambled for a good recipe using the beans in a ‘hand’cake. Now I’m sure everyone has had vanilla cupcakes in their life – but have you had real vanilla bean  ‘hand’cake with vanilla bean frosting?? I bet most of you are responding no. So for those who haven’t or those that are able to get your hands on vanilla beans, enjoy and try not to lick the batter out of the bowl at the end.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cups sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

pinch teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

1. Preheat oven to 360. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. 3. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. 4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Scrape out the vanilla bean seeds into the milk and stir. 5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk vanilla bean mixture and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry. 6. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Bake cupcakes for about 22minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. They turn golden brown early so make sure you test it and not go by color. Makes about 14 handcakes.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened

½ of a 8oz pack of cream cheese, softened

1 whole vanilla bean, split open with a knife and vanilla beans scraped out

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 cups confectioner sugar (I try and use as little as I can, but making sure it's pipeable)

Cream butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until texture is uniform. Add 2 cups of confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add 2 more cups and again mix on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add scraped vanilla beans and mix on medium speed for several minutes, occasionally scraping down sides. For creamy frosting (this one) I used the paddle attachment and not the whisk one so not a lot of air got into it.