Christmas Party
Last Saturday was our annual Christmas party! This is the 17th year of our family hosting a Christmas party. When we lived in California, it was a "Cookie and Caroling Party". But when we moved here, it beccame a "Cookie Party". We don’t carol here, mostly due to the fact that I don’t want people slipping and falling on icy and/or snowy streets, AND it’s very dark out here in the country at night, AND it’s cold! Put all that together, and only the most adventurous would consider caroling. Most would rather stay inside, warm and cozy, sipping wassail. Another difference is that New Englanders just do not eat many sweets. We always had so many cookies leftover after the party, and last year I felt like people hardly ate anything. So this year we added savories to the menu. Surprise! People not only gobbled up the savories, but ate more cookies too! Win, win!
We made six types of cookies: gingerbread men (of course!), Chocolate-Mint Parfait Bars, Chocolate-Raspberry Bars, Scottish Shortbread, Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars, and Chocolate-Cranberry Brownies. Mmm.
For savories, I wanted to serve appetizers that didn’t require me to be pulling hot things out of the oven (and putting in another batch) all night long. I really do not like that degree of fussing in the midst of a party, as I'd rather devote time to my guests. So I made it easy on myself. We served:
-four different types of cheeses (set on a cutting board with cheese knives, so people could cut it themselves), served with assorted crackers
-Cowboy Caviar with tortilla chips with a “hint of lime”
-baked brie with a coating of brown sugar, maple syrup, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans, served with crackers (sounds better than it was)
-meatballs in sauce (Bought the meatballs, frozen, at Costco. Topped with a mixture of barbecue sauce and Hot Pepper Raspberry Chipotle Sauce…both available at Costco.) Positively delicious!
And Colette made her annual gingerbread creation for the party! This year’s was a tardis, a time-traveling device from the BBC series, “Dr. Who” (all my kids are fans).
We made six types of cookies: gingerbread men (of course!), Chocolate-Mint Parfait Bars, Chocolate-Raspberry Bars, Scottish Shortbread, Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars, and Chocolate-Cranberry Brownies. Mmm.
For savories, I wanted to serve appetizers that didn’t require me to be pulling hot things out of the oven (and putting in another batch) all night long. I really do not like that degree of fussing in the midst of a party, as I'd rather devote time to my guests. So I made it easy on myself. We served:
-four different types of cheeses (set on a cutting board with cheese knives, so people could cut it themselves), served with assorted crackers
-Cowboy Caviar with tortilla chips with a “hint of lime”
-baked brie with a coating of brown sugar, maple syrup, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans, served with crackers (sounds better than it was)
-meatballs in sauce (Bought the meatballs, frozen, at Costco. Topped with a mixture of barbecue sauce and Hot Pepper Raspberry Chipotle Sauce…both available at Costco.) Positively delicious!
And Colette made her annual gingerbread creation for the party! This year’s was a tardis, a time-traveling device from the BBC series, “Dr. Who” (all my kids are fans).