Xmas party - Need food help!

Heya,

I'm throwing a RL xmas party tonight, and between being reviled in SL and working double shifts the last week at work, I basically haven't done shite. I got my sister to clean my house (thanks for visiting, sis ) but if anybody has suggestions for food I can prepare today, could you let me know? I need a three or four appetizers, and have a four hour window from off work till first guests. Expecting 25-40 people.

I'm a good cook, i'm just short on time Any advice is appreciated.


T. Rubio, Esquire

p.s. it's cold here, should I not serve beer and make something else for drinks?

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus spears is always quick and easy

mulled cider is yummy on cold nights

ok i dunno what mulled cider is but I can look it up; the prosciuitto aparagus is fekking genius thanks!

addnedum: wot! there's no booze in mulled cider, they'd tear me to pieces. Think it'd be safe to add rum to it?

Most definitely add rum to it or even better would be brandy. That's how I always spike it.

Oh! Also, serve some blue cheese stuffed olives. They're to die for.

This is my absolute favorite party snack. I'm always stoked when I see it served.

Baked Artichoke Dip

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
14 oz. can artichoke hearts, well drained (marinated or not, as you wish)
10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. Stir in artichokes, spinach and bell pepper. Place in 1 quart ovenproof casserole and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Bake at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes until heated and bubbly and cheese is melted.

i read about a ruben dip i might try.....and blue cheese stuffed olived are the bomb, that's a great idea. My cousin gave me some green olives he made too so i don't even need to buy that.

what's the name of that spiced hot win thing? I think the northern euros drink it but i can't remember what it's called

Thanks so much for the help Trinity i'm getting less paniced.

Drinks

apple martini is easy & green. Add a marachino cherry garnish for some red

green apple martini
2 oz. vodka
1 oz. apple Schnapps
splash of midori
big ol’ squeeze of lime juice



Or the traditional egg nog
Some people add just Brandy, some Brandy + Rum or Brandy + Bourbon . My family adds Brandy, Rum & Bourbon.

You're very welcome, Taco. I love entertaining and love to find easy finger foods and drinks that aren't labor intensive.

I believe the warm wine drink you're thinking of is Mead. It's a warmed, honeyed wine.

Have a great party tonight, you know you'll be the host with the most!

No THAT sounds delish!

That skewer idea sounds great, and I'll try that sometime, but if it was on food channel yesterday, and I make it tonight, then all the wives will think i'm metrosexual, and that just won't do

add some chevre (fancy goat cheese) inbetween the prosciutto and asparagus, and it becomes double plus good.

If you serve it with some Old Milwaukee Light Tallboys, metrosexuality will never come up!

Well I could give you a killer dip recipe but most ingredients would be called "WTF do you call this in english"
I'll transliterate from portuguese...

-- "sea delicacy"... some crab-flavoured red and white fish sticks? I think the scientific name is surimi...
-- "french garlic" - a long plant that is white at the bottom and leafy at the top. throw away the leafy part
-- sour cream - woohoo this one i know

Just chop it all into pieces and mix. Yum-ee!
My gf makes it all the time. We usually gorge ourselves on it until we have no room for the main course

Drinks? SANGRIA!
You cant go wrong with sangria...
At least in portugal you cant oO
Grab a bottle of red wine, add water, sugar and chopped fruit
Some people like to spice it up with brandy, some add cinnamon, and when its really hot we dump a lot of ice cubes into it...
Usually the fruits are nothing too fancy... orange, apple, peach... though some sangria recipes can take as many as 7 fruits!

I can't drink sangria any more, I had a REALLY horrible experience last time I tried to.....

....I got married.

Core some apples and stuff them with a mixture of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts (for those not allergic) bits of other fruits, or just about anything you think would make a good apple stuffing. Wrap them in foil and pop them in the oven for an hour or so. Not only are they easy and tasty, the make the whole house smell good.

Stuffed mushrooms are always a favorite at our parties, along with spinach dip served in a bread bowl with chunks of cubed bread to dip.

Mix Pina Colada drink mix with some heavy cream or whipped cream for an easy fruit dip.

For a good change in the typical vodka-soaked fruit, try soaking fruit chunks in a blend of dark rum and coconut rum, honey and sweet spices. 4 hours should be enough to get it well soaked.

Get some ready-made sugar cookie dough (or make your own if you're ambitious) and crush up some Life Savers candy. Make shapes with the candy in the center-top of the cookies before you bake them. The candy melts and looks like stained glass. (Saw that on Emeril's Christmas show last year.)

A hard-learned tip: Blue Cheese and Goat Cheese taste yummy, but don't make anything that will require you to bake/heat them in the same house you'll be entertaining in. They smell god-awful and the smell lingers for hours!

This sounds excellent, thanks so much for the tips! I read this wrong the first time didn't see the "it" i the last sentence, which got me laughing.

Bruschetta is always an easy versatile app. you can predress the slices of crusty french bread or you can buy a few tapenades, roasted bell peppers, black olive slices, thinly diced tomatos in a bit of evoo and italian seasoning, a nice balsamic vinegar, thinly sliced carmalized onions (just toss them into the pan and caramalize with a dash of oil, salt and pepper) some fresh basil, and a good parm cheese (not the can)...then add some meats to the tray (any that you like):
Cacciatorino
Coppa
Leoncini
Mortadella
Pancetta
Sopressata & Milano
Prosciutto
Speck
Pepperoni

take a couple of baguettes sliced fairly thin rub each slice with a glove of garlic (if desired) brush each side with a bit of evoo (extra virgin olive oil) bake at 425 for 5 minutes turning over half way through cooking...

Find a large tray (the dusty one we all use twice a year and can never find) place a small bowl of finely shredded parm in the center, mound all the veggies and toppings around the bowl, compose the meats around the toppings, circle the outside with the bread and garnish with fresh basil and parsley if you have it...serve the evoo and balsamic on the side.

wtf is Speck, Isis?

Getting yourself and your guests nice and soaked works too! Food always tastes better when you're tipsy!

It isn't a Christmas party unless somebody brings Sausage Balls. Great appetizer, unfortunate name.

<Cartman>This is what we call ap-pe-tizers, Starvin' Marvin. This is what you eat before you eat! </Cartman>

Hey Taco, how did it go? What did you end up making? Curious minds want to know.