The instant I got the message stating that we and my in-laws would be having a small family Christmas at my house on the 23rd, admittedly I first experienced a shallow "oh shit" wave which quickly passed and the menu started immediately taking shape. I jotted notes on a Post-It at my desk and worked impatiently until my lunch break when I jetted out to my truck and upon my handy-dandy notebook penned these words "Cocktail Party Menu"....Challenge Accepted! There are a couple things you may keep in mind while reading this overtly enthusiastic account. 1) There would only be 8 people attending this Christmas party and 2) I started planning on about December 5th...I may or may not have gone a little overboard. Nonetheless! The party was on and I was going to make the most of the opportunity! My goal was to transform the traditional Christmas atmosphere from sleepy and predictable into a quirky little wine-soaked adventure. I ran the menu by my husband a few days before the event but, let's be honest, I was already set and unless his suggestions were additions, they would most likely have been politely nudged aside. (Sorry, honey!)
The 23rd arrives and I have the entire day to prepare but do I? No, of course not, being well-prepared would be completely out of character. I have to sleep in, go to lunch, and shop for ingredients the day of so that I'm not prepping until about 3:00 when guests are to arrive at 7:00. Yeah, that's more like it. My menu was broken down into three categories: Finger Foods, Sophisticates, and Substance (These categories exist nowhere but in my head). Careful not to choose too many new recipes for the occasion, I settled on a cohesive eccentricity of seven dishes. I start first with the slow cooker dishes. Cream Cheese Queso in one and Raspberry Jalapeno Meatballs in the other. Red and white, very festive. Out comes my trusty santoku and the chopping extravaganza begins! Bruschetta Two Ways, a classic tomato, mozzarella, and basil bruschetta and a fruit version. For the fruit version, I substituted strawberries, mangoes, and kiwi for tomatoes and mint for the basil, covering the mixture with a sweet and tart pomegranate vinaigrette. Classic will be served with crusty sourdough and the fruit with toasted Hawaiian bread. A beautiful cheese, cracker, and fruit plate was a necessity and came together flawlessly; a French blue, local
Alma Creamery Smoked Monterey Jack, and a brisk New York white cheddar. You just can't beat the flavor of blue cheese and grapes together with a stick! Next I started on the paninis, doing double duty as a substance and sophisticated component, the centerpiece of the table, drumroll please.......Turkey Cranberry Paninis.
The turkey was sliced especially for these sandwiches, no ordinary deli meat would do. I told the helpful lady behind the counter "when you think it is sliced a little too thick, that is perfect!" Layering thinly sliced red onion, fresh baby spinach, slices of Muenster cheese (an afterthought...had I considered needing more cheese I would've picked a different variety), and the turkey onto some springy sourdough, there was just one step remaining, the cranberry creation I'd dreamed up to take the panini from tasty to Buttery-Grilled-Christmas. In a fortuitous turn of events, I made allies with some adorable church ladies in the international foods aisle who directed me to the deli section for homemade cranberry sauce. It was incredible! A tad sweet for my taste and, I'm sorry to say, walnuts (Sorry cranberry sauce purists!) were mixed in. My plan was to blend some sort of cranberry chutney with cream cheese to make the critical cranberry concoction...what I didn't anticipate, as any second grader can tell you, is that red cranberry sauce and white cream cheese makes an eye-popping hot pink. (Eat your heart out, Pepto!) Too late to turn back now, I slathered them, stacked them, and smashed them into hot butter. The flavor turned out to be tremendous in spite of the off-putting neon spread. They were even delicious as leftovers, cold or crisped under the broiler.
Last but not least come the Union Square Bar Nuts and this is the recipe I'm going to pass on to you today. This recipe first came to my attention on Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate: Snack Attack" episode as Giada's choice and man, she was not wrong! I repurposed a tin of mixed nuts I was given by a coworker for Christmas, tossing them in a delectable sauce of butter and seasonings that I'll share below. My precious herb garden struggling to exist in front of a back bedroom window generously provided the basil for the bruschetta and the rosemary for the bar nuts. The recipe below is
Nigella Lawson's post on the Food Network website. I, true to form, did not follow the recipe exactly, (I used salted mixed nuts). Feel free to play with it...and make a big batch! It keeps much longer than one would think!
Union Square Cafe's Bar Nuts
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups (18-ounces) assorted unsalted nuts, including peeled peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and whole unpeeled almonds
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
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| Bear with me....I know this pic is atrocious. |
- 2 teaspoons Maldon or other sea salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine and spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter.
Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm. And once you eat these, you will never want to stop.
The party was a success and the five empty wine bottles told me everyone had a good time! I'm sorry this post is so overdue. I will get back on the horse and get some fresh posts to you pronto! Happy Snacking!
