The entire time leading up to our holiday party, I was sick, suffering from the never-ending sinus infection.
I wasn’t sure I would have the energy to pull off the party at all. At one point, I seriously considered canceling.
Instead, I made backup plans to cook/make less and buy more easily served munchies. You know what? All turned out great.
I ended up enjoying the party more than any other we’ve hosted. And I credit our friends with making me feel better than I’d felt in nearly two-and-a-half weeks.
Just in the nick of time for the party, I regained some of my appetite. So I got to enjoy these party menu highlights:
Poinsettia cocktail. The iFarmer happened across this recipe when he was inadvertently cc’d on someone else’s party planning e-mail. Lucky for us. The champagne, cranberry juice & orange liqeuer.
Hot buttered spiced cider (w/Calvados – apple brandy for the adults). I make this every year. But I used lemon peel this year after I learned a guest is allergic to oranges. I think I’ll go lemon peel going forward. I also tried a half-and-half approach: half cider and half apple juice. That made the drink much more mild.
White chicken chili. This is one of my favorite recipes. I admit that I dug this out of the VFG recipe archives because I was looking for a hot soup, but didn’t want anything with a tomato base (because all my table coverings were white).
Chipotle dip. This was a last-minute add. I picked up a packet from Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand. I’m now a huge fan and am now looking forward to checking out other offerings from Frontier Soups, which packages the dip mix.
Meatballs. I wish this wasn’t a crowd pleaser. But I’ve given up. There’s absolutely nothing healthy about these. I use frozen meatballs and toss them in a crock pot with grape jelly and chili sauce. Sounds disgusting. But, um, it’s quite delicious.
We had loads of other appetizers and treats. But those were the ones that seemed to get the most raves.
Our gift bags this year, like last, highlighted local business. This year’s bags had a little kick, to help our guests spice up the holidays: Ferrara Pan candies from Forest Park and either a Spice House rub or a chocolate bar from Vosges Haut Chocolate.
Virtual Farmgirl 