Yes, We Had a Party, Here's the Menu

And, such a party it was.  It was our sixth annual holiday open house.  It's on the first Friday after New Year's unless that would fall on the 1st or 2nd.  Then, it's on the 2nd Friday.  Got it?

The first year, we had it at Connie's old house.  He convinced me that the smartest thing to do was to hire a caterer to do part of the spread.  The guy did a pretty good job on his part but I wasn't totally thrilled.  We probably had 50 guests over the course of the evening.  The next year, we'd moved into OUR home.  It was a bit bigger than Connie's house so we invited more people.  And, again, Connie talked me into having a caterer do part of it.  He brought a sundried tomato and goat cheese dish that was incredible.  But, he was late and not dependable.  The next year, he showed up as the party started with a couple of partially cooked turkey breasts and rolls that hadn't been split.  That was the end of using a caterer for any of the party. 

We now invite almost all of my clients, our families, friends...neighbors, Kiwanis buddies, you name them, we invite them.  It's a great way to tell my clients how much I appreciate them.  So, this year 170 rsvp'd yes.  Yikes.  That was a new high. 

Over the years, I've tweaked the menu.  Added, subtracted.  During the course of the year I cut out recipes that are potentials for the party.  Some we try during the year, some we don't.  But, the basics have pretty much stayed the same for the last few years.  Here's the menu from this year's party.  I've included a link for those recipes that have appeared on here before.  The others, I'll work on getting on here.  May take a while since the list is really long so if there's anything you'd particularly like to see, please let me know.  I've already had a request for the butterscotch brownie recipe so I'll do that soon.  It's one of my personal favorites too!!

One thing I'd love for you to notice in the photos is the "name tags" for the dishes.  My talented husband made those and put cute little icons on each.  Horseshoes for our Colts, owls since I'm a Kappa, a hockey player for his beloved Bruins.  Lots of fun things that mean something to us.

Meats

Turkey, brined and rubbed with onion and rosemary

Grand marnier cranberry compote

Pork tenderloin, marinated in bourbon, soy sauce and brown sugar

Scallion mustard mayonnaise sauce

Beef tenderloins rubbed with garlic, honey and thyme

Horseradish sauce

Ham with lemon and rosemary

Dijon mustard

Chicken satay with peanut sauce
Flank steak skewers marinated in teriyaki sauce

Cameroon flank steak

Shrimp and pineapple skewers, with cilantro spicy baste

Sassy marinated shrimp

Smoked salmon with onion, whipped cream cheese and capers

Bourbon cured salmon



Veggies

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrots

Celery

Bell peppers

Tapenade

Pesto dip




Crackers, baguette and bagel chips

 Brie with cranberry chutney

Clam diggers dip

Crab rangoon dip

Eggplant caponata

Blue cheese spread

Mushroom truffle pesto

Pimento cheese

Pistachio covered cheese log

Greek layered dip

Buffalo hot wing spread

Goat cheese with rosemary cream




Chips

 Black bean salsa

Mexicali scoop
Mexicorn dip

Smoked salmon tartare



Hot Bites

 Crab cakes with remoulade sauce

Ham and cheddar bites

Pizza bites

Meatballs

Rumaki

Wrapped water chestnuts

Mustard and ginger sausages




Cold Bites

Cheese wafersCream cheese olive bites

Marinated mixed olives

Smoked oysters

Rolled salami with cream cheese filling

Eggs with crispy anchovy crumbs
Deviled eggs with smoked salmon
Caesar deviled eggs

Marinated provolone

Caprese skewers

Greek salad stackers





Antipasto plate

Marinated artichoke heartsMarinated asparagus

Gardineria

Rolled anchovies
Salami etc
Olives
Cheese





Dessert

 Christmas cookies

Chocolate brownies

Butterscotch brownies

Butterscotch oatmeal bars

Special K bars

Pirouettes with cheesecake sauce

Chocolate, peanut butter etc dipped butter cookies

Smores cherries

cheesecakes