Category — Entertaining

This layered fruit-cheese salad was the first course for our Spring Reunion Dinner. I decided to make individual servings, but it could be made even easier in a large clear bowl or better yet, in a trifle dish.

If you’re making one large salad, you’ll use all the fruit. For these six small individual portions, you’ll end up with about half of the fruit left or enough to make at least 12 individual servings. So either cut the fruit portions in half or freeze the remaining fruit and use it for smoothies, that’s what I did.

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Yesterday we had Lori’s Honey Paloma Cocktail, today it’s Jonathan’s turn.

Now I can share with you that this cocktail was our unanimous favorite. Lori’s was good but side-by-side, this lemonade won, hands down!

I will also let you know that since I have both navel orange and blood orange plus lemon and Meyer lemon trees in my backyard, we used a mix of all four citrus varieties for our juice base. It’s possible that made all the difference… or maybe it’s just a good recipe no matter which citrus varieties you use.

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On Friday night we had a little reunion of sorts. Our dear friends and former neighbors, Lori and Jonathon, were in town for the week.

In December, Tram and I flew to Chicago to visit them and do a bit of Christmas shopping. We had an absolute ball! I meant to blog about our trip but I never got around to it, you know, with the holiday rush and all.

Tram and Steve and Lori and Jonathon came over for dinner and we had the very best time! I’ll be posting recipes all week; appetizers, cocktails, starters, salads, and even a salt block cooking recipe. I’m going, to begin with a gorgeous smoked salmon appetizer. It’s hard to take that first chunk out of it because it’s so beautiful, but once you get going on it, it’s hard to stop. It’s as delicious as it is lovely.

There is no cooking involved and you’ll be using a food processor to put it together. As such, I’ll be tagging this one as an Easy-Breezy Recipe.

Once you add the herbs, you want to use the Pulse button ONLY. You don’t want the mixture to turn green from the herbs or the processor to turn the salmon and cranberries into baby food. What you’re going for is a cohesive mixture with a bit of texture.

Fresh Fruit – Smoked Salmon Spread

• 4-ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each; fresh minced dill, mint, and thyme
• 24-ounce package of smoked salmon
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped dry roasted almonds
• Fresh sliced peaches, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and fresh sprigs of thyme, basil, dill, and/or mint for garnish
• Crackers for serving

Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor and blend; add the mayonnaise and salt and blend until smooth.

Using the pulse button, add in the fresh herbs with only 2 or 3 short pulses.

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It’s not always practical to serve a salad. For instance, at a cocktail party or any occasion where guests will be standing. These colorful and flavor-packed little salad skewers come to the rescue! They are a nice alternative to the standard crudités platter.

You’ll be using a knife to cut iceberg lettuce. There is an old wives’ tale that warns that using a knife on lettuce will cause the cut edges to quickly turn brown. This is not true. Not if you are using the lettuce within a day or so. All torn or cut lettuce leaves will eventually turn brown, under the same scientific theory that causes an apple or avocado to turn brown after cutting.

Even though you cut the lettuce well ahead of time for this recipe there is no fear of the edges turning brown because the cut pieces are held in ice water to keep them crisp and free of any browning.*

Even so, you’ll see that I do use a hard plastic knife especially made for lettuce. It’s one of the many tools crowding my kitchen drawers and cupboards that former students have given me. I have it, so I use it, but it is in no way a necessity.

*It is important to cut and assemble the lettuce portion of the skewers well ahead of time, not only to crisp the lettuce but because this step of the recipe, although extremely simple, is time-consuming and it is the last thing you’ll want to do at the last minute.

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I love the thick cut bacon from Costco. It’s the only kind I buy, so it is what I used to make these yummy tater tot poppers. That was a big mistake! By the time the bacon baked enough to get crispy, the tots were nearly falling apart. Be sure to use cheap thin-slice bacon … my mistakes are all for your benefit. You’re welcome!

These poppers are spicy-sweet. You can amp up the wow factor by replacing the maple syrup used in the brown sugar glaze with jalapeño jelly. I didn’t think of it until after I made them, but I’ll be doing that next time, for sure! For some unknown reason, the jar of pickled jalapeño didn’t make it into the “ingredients photo” but be sure to include them when you make this ~ otherwise, they are not poppers at all ~ just boring bacon-tots.

Lastly, I don’t give you quantities here so make as many or as few as you’d like. I suggest many. They are addicting.

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I serve crudités at every gathering I host. It’s the guaranteed way to have something for everyone.  All vegetarians, vegans, guests with allergies, and dieters are happy, and quite honestly relieved when they see a big old tray of fresh veggies on a platter.

If you have leftover vegetables at the end of the party, obviously, it’s easy to just snack on them throughout the week. But another way to use them up is to turn them into soup.

That is exactly what I did after Marissa & Jeff hosted a “Go Cardinals” party at the Cards vs. Packers game last month.

The same two teams will face off at the University of Phoenix Stadium this Saturday. Look for me in the stands!

I’ll be a few rows up, around the 40-yard line. On the Arizona side – of course!

Over the years, I’ve shown you nearly a dozen ways to serve crudités.

You can use any and all leftover vegetables for this soup.

Chopped onion is the only additional vegetable needed.

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Even with family visiting from out-of-town, it’s important to keep dinners simple during Christmas week. This one-dish chicken dinner is a snap to put together. Add a simple green salad and a side of rice, mixed grains, or quinoa and you’ve got it made.

Easy One-Dish Citrus Chicken

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 fresh bay leaves, torn in 3 or 4 pieces (or 1 torn dry bay leaf)
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
• 4 bone-in skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 lemons, thinly sliced
• 2 oranges, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon honey

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More than 20 years ago, I hosted an annual holiday party. It was one of my most popular themes. For whatever reason (kids, overwhelmed moms, holiday craziness, etc.) it fell by the wayside.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was out with my longtime friends, Laura and Mary, who happen to be sisters. We were reminiscing about how fun that party always was and I decided it was time to resurrect the Holiday Potluck Appetizer Party.

Here is how it works: I find a bunch of great appetizer recipes. I pick the party date and time and email the invite and recipes. I tell the invitees to “Reply All” and let everyone know which recipe they will be making. Everyone makes their dish, and brings it to the party, and we all celebrate the season while enjoying a great variety of yummy food, a signature cocktail or two, and a full bar. A fun and festive night is had by all – with minimal effort.

The competition for which recipe to make is fierce. Within 10 minutes, three of the invitees had responded with their choices. An hour or two later, all recipes were accounted for. This is one of the best ways I’ve ever found to get people to RSVP lickety-split. Try it, and you’ll be tempted to organize all your entertaining this way!

Only one little problem – since I’ve been away from blogging for an extended period, I’ve gotten out of the habit of taking photos of all food ever served in my home. This is a real shame because the spread looked beautiful! The couples went all out in their execution and presentation. At least I have the photos from the original recipe links to share with you. The only two food photos I took are of the onion dip and the Greek dip. And those weren’t taken until the day after, since I took the leftovers to a family party the following night.

Time will fix that little glitch and I’ll be back in the swing of it soon enough. I hope you enjoy these eight great appetizers and maybe they’ll inspire you to throw an impromptu party of your own.

P.S. Find my signature cocktail below the recipe links.

photo and recipe via

Amy made Meatball Subs On-a-Stick. She said that it took longer than the recipe says for them to bake and brown.

photo and recipe via

Creamy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms courtesy of Lisa. By the way, button mushroom is the old-school name for your everyday white mushroom.

photo and recipe via

Anne made Herb Cheese Monkey Bread – even though she was under the weather and didn’t make it to the party. Annie, we missed you and your pretty face! xoxo

recipe via

Tram chose the Caramelized Onion Dip to bring, even though, with 21-month-old twins, she didn’t have time to make it. Her awesome cook husband, Steve, took the reigns on this one.

He sent me a photo-text message asking if he needed to double the recipe. The answer is “no” – the recipe already makes enough to feed a huge crowd!  And feed two crowds, it did; eighteen people at the appetizer party and at least 40 more people at our family holiday party the next night. This is a true crowd-pleaser!! In case you don’t know what those pink things are on Steve’s face – they’re the onion goggles that I gave Tram back in our Valley Dish days.

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It is always a good idea to use seasonal produce in a centerpiece, especially on a Thanksgiving table. After all, the holiday is all about bounty and nothing looks more bountiful than beautiful fruits and vegetables.

Of course, we don’t want to be wasteful either, so using that produce for meals in the days to follow is a must!

Our Thanksgiving centerpiece consisted of pomegranates, tangerines, persimmons (later used in a salad) baby zucchini, and pattypan squash (sautéed as a side dish that weekend) along with the winter squashes of butternut, acorn, and delicata, used for the following soup recipe.

The recipe is the same one I used for a cooking class last Wednesday at Les Gourmettes Cooking School. The only difference was that instead of seven cups of mixed squash, I used 3 cups of butternut along with red bell peppers and sweet potatoes.  The variation for that soup is included.

Here is one more photo from our holiday dinner – one of the place settings.

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The last post about Marissa’s bridal shower is “the dessert post” … you know – just saving the best for last!

Before I share the recipes that Raina used for her cookie trio, I want to tell you about the iced Vietnamese coffee that we served, along with iced chai tea, milk, and chocolate milk, at the Milk & Cookies dessert station.

Vietnamese coffee is a blend of cold brew coffee and sweetened condensed milk. I used a 50/50 ratio of Press Coffee Roasters Cold Brew and sweetened condensed milk. I mixed them together the night before and served them over ice. So Good!

On the lunch buffet table, along with the salad, savory tart, and bruschetta, we served my Lemon Glazed Blueberry Bread. It was an extra loaf I had baked for a cooking class the week before. Barb stored it in her freezer, defrosted it in the fridge, and then glazed it just before serving.

Now for Raina’s scrumptious cookies!

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