Neighborhood Christmas Party

This past Sunday my neighborhood held a progressive dinner. Each house prepared one course of a dinner and everyone walked to each person's house. At the end there was a gift exchange and everyone had a lot of fun and a lot of wine! haha. My house was responsible for the appetizers. I wanted to keep it simple for myself so I did 3 apps and some large cheese trays and made sure to split the prep into 2 days.

I've found the best way to throw a party and stay calm is to plan out everything really early in advance. Stuff like ingredient lists, day ahead prep and day of prep, last minute timing of when things need to be assembled or heated. One last tip- never try a new recipe for the first time the day of the party!!!!! Do things that you've tried before or if you want to do something new, test it a week before and serve it to your family or friends. That way if anything goes wrong it doesn't happen when you're trying to juggle 3 or 4 other things.

Apps:
Shea Dates
Caprese Skewers
Jalapeno Souffles
Cheese tray with grapes and salami/proscuitto
Nuts in bowls

SHEA DATES:
This is a recipe I learned from a friend at the Shea Center where I used to work. We serve them at all the parties we cater for charity. They're a bit time consuming to make but they're always a hit.

Ingredients:
Medjool Dates, pitted and cut in half
Goat Cheese
Basil Leaves
Proscuitto, cut into long thin strips

Directions:

1. Pit and cut the dates the day before. Soak wooden skewers in water so they don't burn later when you broil the dates.

2. On the day of, fill the dates with some goat cheese using a small spoon. Then wrap a small basil leaf around the date and a piece of proscuito around the whole thing. Use the skewer to hold proscuitto and basil in place.

3. Repeat step 2 50-60 times depending on the number of guests (I like to do 3 per guest). Wrap the dates in plastic wrap when your finished and leave in fridge until ready to serve

4. Right before the party starts, line up dates on a sheet tray. Broil for about 1 minute until proscuitto gets slightly crispy. Watch the dates because they can burn quickly and there will be some smoke from the wooden skewers. Place on a platter and enjoy!

CAPRESE SKEWERS:

This recipe is the easiest of all because it requires no cooking and is quick to put together. This is a great recipe if you have a crowd that is weight conscious and it's also a good vegetarian option. The key to this is picking good ingredietns. Since it's so basic the cheese needs to be really good. I like to go to the deli section and have the people behind the counter tell me which mozzarella is best and then try a slice before purchasing a big block which I cube up at home the day before the party.

Ingredients:
small tomatoes like grape or cherry tomatoes
mozzarella cheese cubes
balsamic vinegar
extra basil

Directions:

1. marinate tomatoes in a little bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir through out the day.

2. A few hours before the party skewer one tomato onto one cheese block. The "dressing" from the tomatoes will run down and flavor the cheese as well. Put the cheese on the bottom so the skewer has a stable base to sit on.

3. Repeat and make a lot of skewers. Place on a serving tray and your done.

JALAPENO SOUFFLE
I had to update the jalapeno souffle recipe just a bit. I really like these though because you can make them the day before and reheat them the last minute. They're a little spicy but really spongy and soft. If your serving alcohol it'll make people drink more haha.

I like to reheat a small batch at a time and keep replacing the souffles on the platter since they taste better warm but you can fire them all at once and leave them at room temp and they'll still taste great. Make sure to butter the tins first, then prep all the ingredients (grate cheese, measure milk and mustard, etc.)This recipe serves about 12 mini souffles so you'll need to increase it if your serving a lot of people.

Ingredients:

1 tbs. butter, plus extra for buttering tins
1 tbs. flour, plus extra for tins
1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
6 tbs. milk
1/4 c grated gruyere cheese, plus extra for topping
1/4 t. salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 t. dijon mustard
1 large egg, separated

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 400

2. Butter a nonstick mini-muffin pan. Dust the tins with the flour and tap out the excess. Make sure everything is coated otherwise the souffles will stick later.

3. Melt 1 tbs. butter in a small sauce pan. Add jalapenos and sweat over low heat for about 2 minutes. Don't brown the jalapeno, we just want to draw out the flavors of it.

4. Add the flour to the pan and whisk continually. Cook for 2 minutes.

5. Whisk in the milk. Add the cheese, salt, pepper, mustard, and egg yolk. Cool to room temperature. You want this mixture to be slightly thick, like the consistency of mayonaise.

6. While mixture is cooling, whisk the egg whites with a hand beater until they are firm but not stiff. The way to tell is when you pull the beaters out of the egg whites, the whites clinging to the beaters will stand up straight. Don't over beat the mixture!

7. Immediately after whipping the egg whites fold gently into the egg yolk and cheese mixture. Start by taking 1/3 of the egg whites and just stir it in. take the 2nd 1/3 and fold it into the mix. Finally add the last of the whites and fold gently. Don't over mix or you'll lose the air in the whites.

8. Immediately spoon mixture into muffin tin, about halfway full.

9. Bake in the oven until puffed and golden about 7-10 minutes.

10. Cool in the tins and then run a small knife around the edge of each souffles. They will fall but that's ok. If not using immediately let cool completely, then wrap in a plastic bag and store in fridge

11. When your ready to serve them pull out of fridge and allow to come to room temp. Turn on your broiler as hot as it goes. Place souffles in a single layer on a sheet tray. Put a tiny bit of extra cheese on top of each souffle. Broil for 30 second or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Keep an eye on them because they can burn super fast! Place immediately on a platter and serve!