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
