🎶 Jingle all the way ... to delicious holiday food 🎄
Company-worthy recipes, plus new appetizers.
Good morning!
I have to hold myself back from launching into a how-time-flies rant because I cannot begin to wrap my head around the fact that Monday is Christmas.
It doesn’t help that it’s been warm this month. So much so that my daffodils have already sprouted.
I can’t say I miss the snow — although as I type this, there’s a dusting on the ground from a weird squall that blew through yesterday on its way to bully the eastern seaboard. But, you know, cold and snow do set a mood for Christmas here in the Midwest.
And since I stream about 99% of what I watch on TV, I haven’t been seeing Christmas ads. So, I’m having a major cultural disconnect with the season.
I guess I didn’t hold myself back very well, lol.
But, my subconscious food cravings are perfectly aligned with the holidays, as I’ve been in the mood for nothing but appetizers. I know that for many of you, big sit-down dinners are the tradition at Christmas. But not in my family. For many, many years, we’ve done all-appetizer buffets for Christmas dinner. And it’s just fabulous.
So, that’s what I crave every December.
I hope each of you — whatever and however celebrate this month — get to spend quality time with your favorite people and animals, along with your favorite foods.
This rascal, Bear, is my favorite animal, the last of my senior kitties. He gets extra catnip and scritches and kissies, even as he tries his best to keep me from finishing this newsletter.
It’s a frightening time for the world right now, but I just want to say that sadness and joy can exist in the same person at the same time — humans and our very existence are complex and messy; it’s our natural state. It’s okay to set aside one and embrace the other.
I’ve been so focused on appetizers this month that I haven’t even captured a new soup. But that’s okay. Soup is a great fit for January, right?
Here are a few new appetizers that I’ve added to the blog this month. Except for the first one, which isn’t quite ready to publish today, but I’m giving y’all a sneak peek here.
I actually have at least two more appetizers in the pipeline for next week, in case you’re looking to outfit your New Year’s Eve party with a selection of finger foods. Check the Appetizers category next week!
Layered Veggies & Hummus Dip
This super easy, make-ahead recipe is especially suited to a small gathering. Think, a night of board or card games. Or watching a movie cozied up on the couch.
It’s simply marinated vegetables spooned over a thick layer of prepared hummus. Big, sturdy chips allow a scoop loaded with both hummus and veggies.
To make: Dice up a few of your favorite veggies. Here I used English cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onions, and olives. Mince some fresh dill, basil, and parsley. You’ll need about 2 cups’ worth total — a part of one cuke, a handful of cherry tomatoes and olives, and quarter of a small red onions. Toss the veggies and herbs with a quick pour of extra virgin olive oil, a few shakes of balsamic vinegar, plus some kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For 2 to 6 people, buy a 10 oz tub of prepared hummus. Stir the hummus thoroughly, incorporating any toppings that are on the hummus. Spoon the entire tub onto a flat salad plate (a dinner plate will be too large). Pour the marinated veggies over the hummus. Place the plate on a serving board with sturdy chips, such as pita chips and tortilla chips (in the photo above, I used pita chips and Quest protein chips).
For more than 5 or 6 people, buy the 16 oz tub of hummus, chop a few more veggies and herbs, and use a dinner plate.
Gougères
I’ve always considered these French cheese puffs the ultimate elegant New Year’s Eve finger food, served with a flute of your best bubbly.
For such delicacy, they’re surprisingly easy to make, and involve the always-fun pâte à choux dough, which is cooked on the stove and then violently stirred, but yet still produces these light and airy, cheesy puffs of savory pastry.
Dried Beef Cheese Ball
This old-fashioned cream-cheesy spread has a long history in my family. And I do mean long. Like, decadezz. 35 years? Or more?
An ex-SIL introduced it to our side of the family one summer, privately rolling her eyes while we simpered at the tasty wizardry of it all. It was new to us, but not to her, and had apparently been passed down from her mother, and possibly grandmother (so, add more decades to my decades).
So easy: Cream cheese is mixed with a few savory ingredients, formed into a ball, and then rolled in chipped beef (which can still be purchased in convenient jars at the grocery store).
It fell out of favor for many years, but I think it’s past time for Millenials and Gen Z to become acquainted with the beauty of the beef ball (as we called it).
Lest you think I’m just being pretentious by adding another step to the popular appetizer, this preparation is actually the invention of Jacques Pepín.
Like all foods where heat is applied, the sugars within the yolk mixture intensify and level up on flavor. It’s quite delicious.
A video has been circulating on TikTok where two Brits made and tried deviled eggs for the first time. One slurped it whole while the other took small bites, and the comments devolved into an argument on whether it’s more proper to eat the egg all at once or in bites. People feel passionately about this. That, and Duke’s vs. Hellmann’s. Lol. Gotta love the internet.
For the record, I’m a two-bites person. Not necessarily because I’m dainty but because doing so keeps me from eating twice as many as I should.
If you’re in a browsing mood, I’ve gathered many of my holiday recipes in one place, for easy access.
You’ll find dinner ideas, more appetizers, snacks and nibbles, sweets, beverages, and, of course, soup.
Happy Holidays, and here’s to a joyous New Year!
Until next time, friends, spend time with loved ones 👨👩👧👦👨👨👧👩👩👦 🐱🐶, stay kind 🤗, and remember the holidays are hard for so many ❤️🩹 — make extra soup to share 🫶🏻
Merry Christmas to you and Bear! Wonderful to see you in my mailbox! Love the app recipes, especially the veggie hummus! Oh, yum, I could eat that with a spoon! Happy Holidays! And God bless.