Family Holiday Party

Last weekend I hosted a holiday party with my immediate family in my new(ish) apartment, complete with real Christmas decorations - including a full-sized tree! Ha! What a grown person I am. It was a nice, quiet event with plenty of appetizers, cocktails, and laughs to go around. And wiener dogs!

Would you look at that tree?

Melted snowman sugar cookies! I stumbled upon this idea on a random blog while looking up something at work and HAD to make these. Aren't they pathetic/adorable??

My first cheezeball! This is typical holiday party fare, right? Recipe: take one tub vegan cream cheese, one cheddar-style Chreese packet and MOOSH. Roll in a ball, roll in chopped scallions and chill. This is beyond fantastic... I would totes make it again.

These little nuggets were perfect for dipping in said cheezeball! My amazing mother made mini Daiya-cheddar chive biscuits! These reminded me of Red Lobster's biscuits and were omni-approved.

(4 dozen)

3/4 c vegan margarine

2 c shredded vegan cheddar (Daiya, ftw!)

2 c flour

1 c vegan sour cream

1 T baking powder

2 T chopped chives

1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter over medium heat. Add cheese & cook for 2 minutes, stir constantly so it will melt evenly.

2. Stir in flour, sour cream, baking powder, and chives. Mixture will be very thick.

3. Spoon batter into ungreased mini muffin pans (2/3 full).

4. Bake 20-22 minutes & remove from pans immediately.

Ahh... what party with dip-ables would be complete without tapenade? My mama also brought over this lovely sun-dried tomato olive tapenade with pita chips! Delightful.

1 4oz jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil (reserve oil)

1 c fresh black olives

2 T fresh chopped basil

3 cloves garlic

1/2 c capers

salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine ingredients in food processor. Add 2-3 T oil from tomatoes and process until coarse & chunky.

I made some simple salad pinwheels (although they were a bitch to make and I'll never do it again) with spinach tortillas. The filling was tomato basil hummus, kale, red peppers and cucumbers. They were a hit! Also pictured: tartlets!

My dad's partner made sushi for us again! And, more importantly: she left a crap-ton of it for me as leftovers, yum. She's a pro, you guys, I'm jealous. I couldn't make sushi this simple.

Ahh, yes, tartlets. These were inspired by a sandwich which used to be served at the hip joint downtown called Crave. The sandwich was ciabatta bread with grilled vegetables (asparagus, onions, red peppers, etc.) with a hot pepper jelly. It was out of this world! But then they changed the menu and now nothing is easily veganized. Jerks. Here is a bite-sized version:

2 pkgs frozen mini phyllo shells

1 bunch of asparagus, chopped

1 small yellow summer squash, chopped

5 oz mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

1 T olive oil

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 jar of red pepper jelly (spicy!)

1. Preheat oven as directed for phyllo shells. Heat up oil in a pan.

2. Add veggies and saute for a minute or so. Add balsamic vinegar and saute until fragrant.

3. Spoon mixture into phyllo shells and bake for 5 minutes (until shells are crispy).

4. Spoon a dab of red pepper jelly onto each of the tarts and serve immediately.

The whole spread! And I was worried we wouldn't have enough food for 6 people...

My dad, cuddling with one of my mom's dogs, Calpurnia. She brought both of the weenies over so they could mingle and play with my pup. All of the family was there!

Can you spot 3 pooches in this pic? My mom, surrounded by doggie-love. Here's the recipe for the cocktail she brought - fantabulous!

1/2 oz triple sec

3 oz cranberry

champagne

1. Combine triple sec and cranberry juice in a champagne flute and top with the bubbly.

2. Act fancy.

I'll keep m'blog updated with other holiday events as they arise, including all of the schtuff I plan on baking as gifts for my extended family and friends. See you soon!