Daily Party Dish

Winter Wonderland Votive Table Decorations

Check out these easy and fun snow covered votive candle holders. These are perfect for a Winter Wonderland theme party, or as a holiday decoration.  They’re pretty, festive and could actually be used all winter.  Easy and fun to make – what could be better?

Snow Covered Votive Candle Holders

Supplies - these can all be purchased at a craft store

• Plain glass votive candle holders
• Decoupage medium, such as Mod Podge
• Paintbrush
• Imitation flaky snow
• Paper plate
• Votive candles

Directions

1. Shake out the imitation snow onto a paper plate
2. Coat the candle holders with a thick layer of decoupage medium and then roll them in the snow
3. Allow candle holders to dry.
4. When dry, repeat the above steps.
5. Allow to dry.  After a day or 2, the decoupage medium will turn clear instead of white giving a beautiful frosty look to the candle holders.
6. Place candles inside holders, light and enjoy. 

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Easy Holiday Wassail Recipe

I have always loved the holidays and the traditions that go with them.  Needless to say, I am “all over Christmas!”   Every year I try and incorporate an old custom, or food, or even a type of ornament into our family’s festivities. I like the idea of linking past and present.   One year we strung yards and yards of cranberries and popcorn and wrapped them around our tree instead of garlands or tinsel.  It looked so pretty! 

This year I decided that instead of our usual holiday beverages, I would make wassail.  I love the idea of wassail, not only because it has wonderful ingredients that make your house smell amazing, but because there’s a story behind it. The tradition of wassailing (pronounced like fossil-ing) began centuries ago when people went door to door singing and drinking to their neighbors’ health.  This eventually turned into Christmas caroling which is one of my favorite holiday activities – despite the fact that I can’t carry a tune.  So share this wonderful beverage with your family and friends and together raise a glass of warmth and cheer.

 

Traditional Wassail

Ingredients

• 1 gallon of apple cider
• 2 cups of cranberry juice
• ½ cup of honey
• ½ cup of sugar
• 2 oranges
• Whole cloves
• 1 apple peeled and sliced
• Allspice
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• 3 cinnamon sticks (or 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon)
• ½-1 cup brandy (optional)

Set your crockpot to its lower setting (a large pot on the stove will work just as well), and pour apple cider, cranberry juice, honey and sugar in, mixing carefully. As it heats up, stir so that the honey and sugar dissolve. Stud the oranges with the cloves, and place in the pot (they will float in it).  Add the diced apple.  Add allspice, ginger and nutmeg to taste – 2 tablespoons of each is usually plenty.  Snap the cinnamon sticks in half and add in. 

Cover the pot and allow wassail to simmer for 2-4 hours on low heat.  Add brandy about a half hour before serving.

 

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Chocolate Peppermint Patty Brownies: The Perfect Winter Dessert

There’s nothing worse than being invited to a party, which is clearly a holiday party, and being told to please bring a festive dessert but not a “Christmasy” one as it’s a mixed crowd.  My first reaction was wow, and that leaves what….?  So, no decorated sugar cookies (my personal favorite) or gingerbread, a yule log is delicious but clearly only for Christmas and did anyone ever see plum pudding in July?  Probably not. 

On top of it all, the dessert was supposed to be bite-sized pieces because the whole meal is finger food.  Yikes!  I like baking but this was getting way too stressful, small pieces, chocolate (my requirement), fun, seasonalish, did such a dessert even exist?  Suddenly it came to me, chocolate mint brownies!  These were the perfect solution because I could cut them into small pieces and the layer of mint made them more interesting than regular brownies.

I decided to do a “dry run” and gave some brownies to the hostess just to be sure they were what she wanted.  Well, she absolutely loved them and asked me to double the recipe so that she could have a batch for her family.  Make these wonderful winter brownies for your friends, your family or yourself and the only comment anyone will have is, are there more?  Enjoy! 

Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Ingredients

• 1½ cups softened butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package (13 ounces) chocolate covered peppermint patties

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Spread about 2/3 of the batter in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan.

Arrange a layer of peppermint patties on top of the batter.

Carefully spread the remaining batter on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (top may look uneven).

Cool completely before cutting.

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Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Menu and Apple Crisp Recipe

There is nobody to whom making a good impression matters more, than a new bride on her husband’s family.  Regardless of how good the relationship is, regardless of how much they love you, the first time you have your in laws for a holiday dinner it’s a major event!  So imagine both my excitement and panic when everyone actually said yes to coming to our house for Thanksgiving. 

I wanted to make the perfect meal so that everyone left stuffed and saying, “not only is she a fabulous girl, she cooks like there’s no tomorrow and makes it look so effortless.”  After reading through every cookbook we owned (clearly it had been the wedding gift of choice that year), and spending countless hours on the Internet, I finally decided on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  Rather than trying to impress them with wild rice, fruit and pecan stuffing, I would “tantalize their taste buds” with classic favorites like candied sweet potatoes glazed in brown sugar and butter.

Below is the menu I settled on.  I must confess I did do a dry run so I can say with complete confidence; this really is a delicious dinner. 

To begin…you want everyone to enjoy dinner so other than a glass of wine or apple cider, appetizers aren’t necessary.  You don’t want anyone the least bit full when dinner begins.

The meal…

• Fresh roast turkey with gravy
• Herb or cornbread stuffing
• Fresh cranberry sauce – so easy to make and so much healthier and tastier than the canned kind
• Candied sweet potatoes (you can substitute mashed potatoes, but be sure to use Yukon Gold potatoes.  The final product will be better.)
• Green bean casserole or a crisp green salad – fresh greens are a nice compliment to all the cooked food
• Dinner rolls and pumpkin bread – unless you love to bake bread, buy rolls at a local bakery.  You will appreciate having the extra time to spend on other parts of the meal.
• Pumpkin and pecan pie
• Apple crisp – I chose to make apple crisp instead of apple pie because it’s easy and not everyone loves pie.  See below for this tasty recipe.
• Ice cream and whipped cream – to top all the desserts
• Depending on your crowd, serve wine, beer, apple cider or water.

Finally…because a meal isn’t really a meal to me without chocolate, I will put small plates of chocolate (and maybe nuts) on the table. 

Here is the apple crisp recipe I make for my Thanksgiving dinner - 

Apple Crisp

Ingredients

• 8 medium sized tart apples
• ½ cup cold water
• ½ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 1½ quart casserole or similar sized baking dish.

Pare and slice apples thin and place in casserole.  Add water, lemon juice and cinnamon.  Combine brown sugar, flour and butter in a small bowl and spread over apples.  Bake for about one hour or until the apples are tender.  Serve warm.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Simple Menu Ideas: Perfect for a Casual Thanksgiving or Day After

Simple Party Menu Planning ... or Opening Your Mouth and Trying Not to Regret What Came Out!

Do you ever open your mouth and regret the words that came out, even before you had finished speaking them?  Such was my predicament just last week.  A group of friends and I were sitting around talking about Thanksgiving and how great it would be to see all of our out-of town friends and family.  But, as is true with any holiday, people are pulled in so many directions that it’s hard to get everyone together at one time.  So I said, “let’s have a day after Thanksgiving potluck dinner at our house!” 

Now, I do love to entertain and normally I would have no regrets about making this statement but I knew I was having houseguests, and I knew I was making and bringing 4 holiday favorites to dinner at my brother’s house, and, and, and…the list goes on. 

My very dear friend seeing the “what have I just done” look on my face jumped in and said, “great, but let’s brainstorm for some non-turkey, easy menu ideas.”  Here’s a list of some delicious, simple and non-traditional menus that we created. Although it’s not listed, don’t forget that no meal is complete without a little dessert like chocolate chip cookies or brownies.  And, plenty of beverages, hard or soft, are a must too. Enjoy!

Taco Bar – all you need is some seasoned beef, refried and/or black beans, soft and hard tacos, green salad, chips, salsa and guacamole.  This is such an easy, tasty and fun meal that no one can complain about helping to prepare it.

Pasta Party – find someone who doesn’t love pasta?  It’s impossible.  Have a few people make different kinds of lasagna (meat, veggie, a combination of the two). These can be made a week in advance and frozen.  Add a big caesar salad, crusty garlic bread, a selection of olives and cheeses and there’s dinner.  Delicious and a major change from traditional turkey.

Chinese/Thai – Asian food is about as far from a traditional Thanksgiving meal as you can get!  In addition to smelling and tasting so good; it can be ordered from a local restaurant and then no one has to cook!  There is the added benefit of being able to get a variety of dishes which will surely be devoured by everyone!

Finger Foods – sometimes after the holidays you don’t even want a full meal so finger foods, accompanied by two or three salads are a great way to go.  A delicious cheese and fruit platter, spinach dip, hummus and baba ganoush  (Middle Eastern favorites) served with pita chips and a veggie tray will all look fresh and be filling.  Put out bowls of olives, nuts and little pretzels for munching on as well.

Leftovers – if you’re a traditionalist, leftovers are a must the day after Thanksgiving.  Buy some small dinner rolls and morph your extra turkey and ham into small, yummy sandwiches.   Leftover cranberries can be used as a condiment for the sandwiches.  Stuffing and potatoes are good any day.  Freshen last night’s salad with some new greens.  Finally, cut up extra pie into small bite-size pieces. Here are a few fun ideas for a Day After Thanksgiving Potluck Party.

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Bingo…On Thanksgiving…Really?

Every family has its Thanksgiving traditions.  For some, no meal is complete without Grandma’s candied sweet potatoes and for others, it’s not Thanksgiving without the annual 10:00am rain or shine football game.  Our tradition is a bit non-traditional but just as sacred!  Every year for the last 25 years, my husband and whatever children we had at the time, have gone to Chicago for Thanksgiving.   This holiday has always been and will always be, my mother-in-law’s day.  Fortunately, she is an amazing cook and dinner is never-anything-but delicious.

At the conclusion of the meal as we are all sitting around wondering why and how we ate so much, the youngest members of the family drags out two very old and worn travel bags.  Bulging out of those weathered carryalls is an equally aged bingo game.  Yes, it’s time for the annual Thanksgiving bingo game!  If you ask why bingo, the answer you receive is why not?  This post-meal game has been a tradition for 40 years and there’s no indication that anyone wants it to end.

Teenage cousins are responsible for selling the cards for $1 each and multiple purchases are encouraged.  Dried beans and small round discs (which look like the hotdogs in spaghettios with franks) serve as the markers.

Calling the game is almost as important a tradition as the game itself.  The actual caller is generally the oldest high schooler in attendance, assisted by the elementary school crowd. It is a familial rite of passage to move from bingo helper, to caller to participant only.  While calling is not difficult, it requires tremendous patience since there are often guests who can’t hear and repeating the numbers many times is required.  Generally, 4-5 games are played with the payout getting bigger after each one.  The first game is always a line and the last is stand until your number is called. 

While I must confess, I was a bit skeptical when I first started playing bingo so many years ago.  But now, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving for anyone in my family without the chance to leave dinner with a thicker wallet and a thicker stomach! 

Here are a few more ideas for your Thanksgiving celebrations:

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Do you have any Thanksgiving Day activity traditions that you share with your family?