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.