Photographer, Mary, chose to make these quick and easy goat cheese stuffed dates. I found a couple of other photos that Mary shared with me of the lovely party-goers. Those are included here. Mary, Thank You! <3

If you or your guests are not big fans of goat cheese, use half goat cheese and half cream cheese to tone down the tangy taste. Personally, I’m all the way Team Goat Cheese!

Amy made these Italian Antipasto Squares and they were the biggest hit of all the appetizers. Everyone thought that the bread layer was focaccia, but no, just simple crescent roll dough. I will be making them again and again!

Back to the appetizer recipes! Lori made these meatballs and they were delicious. So tangy sweet and savory little balls of yum.

We’re about one-third of the way through with the appetizer recipes, so how about a cute beverage idea for your next holiday gathering?

By far the most popular part of the annual party was this setup of desserts and shots. Let’s zoom in…

The Lighted Christmas trees with Ornament Shots were the bomb! I had purchased the round ornament shot glasses last year in the Target Dollar Spot but had yet to use them. Then Marissa sent me the TikTok idea of hanging them on these simple lighted trees. It’s a winner!

I’ve linked the trees and shot ornaments below. As for the shots themselves, do whatever you’d like. The most popular at our party was the Rum Chata & Fireball shot, which tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. So good! I also made Bailey’s Irish Cream shots, Cranberry-Tequila shots, and Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey shots.

This recipe may be one you want to have in your back pocket and wait to make. Why? Because it is for deviled eggs.

Eggs! What is happening with eggs!?! If you live in a cave or maybe you’re a vegan and don’t know but there is a world-wide egg shortage. They are hard to find in stores and may cost up to $10 a dozen for organic right now!

The Avian flu is the cause. It is predicted to last into the first month or two of this year. I believe the shortage hit right around the time of our party (12/18/22). I don’t think Peggy, who made this recipe, had a problem, but it would have been an issue a week or so later. These devils are darn good, so how about you bookmark this and save it for Easter?

A little whiskey, a little bacon, who wouldn’t love it!?! Laura made this delicious pot of gold.

This recipe comes together easily, once you have the 8 shallots peeled and chopped and it makes a lot. Plenty to bring to a party and plenty to keep for yourself. The original recipe calls for paprika, but I prefer smoked paprika. Be sure to follow the recipe when it tells you to remove from the heat before adding the whiskey. No one needs a surprise flambe.

April make this yummy dip. It was a big hit and it is full of protein to keep the party going. The recipe and the photo come from Taste of Home.

*** As an added bonus to these potluck recipes, I’m adding a Little Known Amazing Random Fact at the end of the post. I found these on a page I follow on Instagram and I can honestly say, I knew none of them! Be sure to check them out and let me know if you knew any.

Tuscan Sausage & Bean Dip

• 1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 8-ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup chopped seeded tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Assorted crackers or toasted French bread baguette slices

I hosted my annual Christmas Appetizer Potluck on Sunday, December 18th. Marissa, Jeff and Max had arrived the afternoon before. I was pretty upfront with my friends/guests that this was as much the annual gathering as it was a “Come Meet Max!” Party.

I took not one photo of the food or beverages that night. In fact, the photo above of Max and Tram is the only photo I took. Poor Max is so tired. He did his best to stay up and meet everyone. Such a sweet little trooper.

Since there are no photos of the food, I’ll be lifting the photos from the websites I found the recipes on. This one is from Inspired by Charm.

In case you don’t recall how my Christmas Potluck works, I send out the invite and when I have a good idea of how many will attend, I send out an email with the selection of recipes to choose from with links to each recipe. It’s a strictly enforced, “first come, first served.” Each guest “replies to all” with the recipe they will be making. This year was a new record – 70% of the guests responded within 4 minutes of that email going out!

Stay tuned in the days to follow, there will be another dozen recipes along with the super fun and festive cocktails I served. And the best part, there are photos of those! Thanks to my girl, Mary, who took some great pics! Thank you, Mary! xoxo

Below is my son, Connor’s, recipe choice. So cute!

Here we are, 4 days until Christmas and I’m finally posting a Thanksgiving recipe. Obviously, it would be great for Christmas too, so if you’re still searching for a new side dish, I highly recommend this one! I found it on Instagram, posted by one of my favorite cheese providers, Murray’s Cheese. The recipe calls for hot honey and burrata.

Burrata is an Italian cow’s milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer casing is solid mozzarella, while the inside is stracciatella and cream, making it extremely luxurious and delicious when broken open.

I’m posting both Murray’s photo and my own. Murray’s used kabocha squash and shows the burrata still in its whole form. While I used acorn squash and broke up my burrata a bit more and scattered mine throughout the platter, ensuring all guests were able to have some on their plates. Also, the lighting in my photo is atrocious, taking on the stove, under the stove light! Terrible!

If you’ve never had hot honey, you’re really missing out! The brand most popular is Mike’s Hot Honey, which you can find at most grocery stores. Trader Joe’s has their own brand and you can also easily find burrata there.