Holiday Party - Part 1 (The Apps and Sides)
We decided to throw a holiday party this year. It seems like every year in December we rarely get to see our friends. With the shopping and family events we are pretty worn out and we know it's the same thing for everyone else as well. Since we have been experimenting with new recipes we thought it would be perfect to try new ideas as well as see some friends at the same time.
Our original plan was to do a Thanksgiving/Christmas theme with both holidays represented with food. After finishing the menu and actually preparing everything, it seemed to be leaning heavily in the Christmas camp so we had to ditch the theme. Jennifer made a goose (something she has wanted to do for sometime but the only crowds we have cooked for have been family and our families are more traditional when it comes to parties). I'll get more into the goose in the next post. We made 9 different recipes so I thought it would be easier to break it up into two posts. Here is a list of what we made for appetizers and side dishes:
Shepherds Bread Spinach Dip
Green Beans with Fennel and Onion
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon
Mashed Red Potatoes with Green Onions
Caprice Salad
Click the link below for the recipes and what I thought of everything.
Shepherds Bread Spinach Dip
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup of Mayonnaise
1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
1/2 can (8 oz.) of drained and chopped chestnuts (optional)
3 green onions chopped (optional)
1-2 loafs of shepherds bread
- Combine all ingredients and chill about 2 hours.
- Take a loaf of shepherd's bread and hollow out the middle. Serve the dip inside using the loaf as a bowl. Use the bread that was taken out for dipping.
Green Beans with Fennel and Onion
1/2 - 1 lbs. of fresh Green Beans
1 Onion
2 Fennel bulbs
Kosher salt for seasoning
- Take the green beans and snap off the ends and snap in half for small bite sizes, rinse under cool water. Place in pot with water and bring to a boil on the stove. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until desired consistency (I like them soft)
- While the beans are cooking, chop the fennel bulbs and onion up finely. Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté the fennel and onions sprinkling them with kosher salt. When onions and fennel are translucent and starting to brown they are ready, take them off the heat and set them aside.
- Then take the boiled and drained beans put them in a serving dish and toss the fennel and onion with them. Sprinkle with kosher salt if desired.
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon
2-3 bundles of green Asparagus
Kosher Salt for Seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Seasoning
1/2 Lemon
- Rinse the asparagus and snap the ends off. You hold them across and then start to bend them, wherever the end snaps off you know that's where the freshness of the asparagus is. Put them on a roasting pan and sprinkle with olive oil and toss to coat. Then sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Put in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or when they have desired doneness. Take them out and transfer them to serving dish. Take half of lemon and squeeze juice over them.
Mashed Red Potatoes with Green Onions
2 1/2 lbs. of red potatoes
Heavy cream
1/2 stick of softened butter
1/4 cup of green onions (Optional)
Kosher salt for seasoning
- Wash the potatoes. You can either remove the skin or leave it on, I leave some... meaning that I will peal away all the blemishes only. Cut the potatoes in half so they will cook quicker. Place the cut potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Season the water with kosher salt and boil the potatoes at least for 15 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes into a strainer and give them a few good shakes then transfer them back into the hot pot so the moisture can evaporate.
- Add butter and start to mash them with a masher.
- Use a hand mixer to mix the potatoes slowly adding the cream until you get the consistency you want. Add the green onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper to season. Use mixer one last time for only a couple of seconds until well blended. Serve in a serving dish.
Caprice Salad
3-4 large tomatoes
1 block of mozzarella cheese
1 bushel of fresh basil
Kosher salt for seasoning
Extra Virgin olive oil for seasoning
- Cut the tomatoes into round slices.
- Using a wire cheese cutter, cut the mozzarella cheese into slices.
- On a large round plate first sprinkle with olive oil and then place a slice of cheese, then overlap with a slice of tomato and then a leaf of basil. Repeat until you have gone all around the plate making a colorful wreath. If there is room in the middle do the same overlapping series there or you can place something else there such as a dressing.
- Sprinkle with some more olive oil and some kosher salt to season.
Wow! It's a wonder we didn't explode before we even had a guest show up between cleaning and cooking. My hands are perma-prunded from doing dishes on Saturday.
I didn't try the dip because I am not a fan of sour cream and mayonnaise, but it is usually a hit at parties. We made the green beans last Christmas and I liked them then and I liked them now as well. The asparagus was great and I find it to be one of my favorite vegetables these days. I always feel like a giant eating trees when I get to eat them. The mashed potatoes were great as always. Mashed potatoes are something that we make often. I didn't try the Caprice salad either because even though I don't mind tomatoes, I tend to not eat them whole. Just one in the line of many of my odd foibles.
I'll get into the goose and the desserts in my next post (I'm shooting for tomorrow).