Superbowl Party Food Tips - Save time have fun

Superbowl Party Food Tips even if you aren't a football fan you will love them.

I am not a football fan but there are so many people that will be glued to their TV's watching the Superbowl so I thought I might provide a few tips to make your party a bit easier and you can either watch the game or enjoy the food.

Typical foods eaten at Superbowl parties include:  Pizza, wings, burgers, nachos and chili.  I have a few tips for you to make things easier so you can prep ahead and spend more time with your friends and family.

1.  Prep as much as you can a day or couple of days beforehand or even a week ahead and freeze some things.  

Example 1.

I made Pita dough last week and portioned out the dough and put them in small freezer bags and stored them flat in the freezer.  You can pull them out the day before and either cook them up then and just warm them up before your party or just serve them cold as they will still be pretty fresh if you store them properly.

Example 2.

Chicken Wings are a staple at Superbowl parties because they are handheld and easy to eat but can be a bit messy so make sure you have lots of napkins scattered around.  You want to make chicken wings but you don't want to spend the whole time watching the wings while everyone else is watching the game so you can start this process a week in advance too.  Start by taking a large pack of pre cut wings and pat them dry and then add seasonings,  I added salt, pepper and chipotle powder.  Bake them in an oven at about 375 degrees for at least 25-30 minutes depending on your oven.  My oven is slow so it always takes longer but what you are looking for is for the wings to be just cooked and lightly browned.  You will cook them again when you are ready for the party.  I had a pack of 24 wings and baked them all and then as you can see I split them into 2 freezer bags below.  In one bag I left them just with the seasonings and they will cool in the fridge and then I will place them in the freezer for another time.  You can do this with the whole batch of wings and then defrost the day before and bake until they are warmed either just with your favourite seasonings or you can add a sauce. In the second bag I added some bottled Chipotle BBQ sauce and I also added some Maple Syrup to sweeten it up a bit more.  I will bake these off again later to get them all hot and sticky in the oven.  You can also freeze them this way but I would suggest freezing them plain and then adding the sauce when they are defrosted or warmed up again. This will save you a lot of time the day of your party and baking the wings cuts the frying calories you would normally get with pub style wings or processed wings.

  

2.  You don't have to make everything yourself.

Example 3. 

There are some things you can buy that will save you a lot of time and you will still be a hero at your party.  You can buy the wings, you can buy the pita and you can pretty much buy it all these days but pick a few things that you want to do your own way and a few that just take up your time and taste the same to buy.

In the case of the photo above I bought the Hummus and Tzatziki from the grocery store because I can make them but the Hummus requires a food processor and the Tzatziki requires a lot of grating and straining to do it properly.  If I had lots of time I would make them myself for sure since I can control the flavour that way if I want more garlic and less salt I can do that.  For this it cost me $3.49 for each of these containers and saved me a whole lot of cleanup time.  

I also picked up this cute Taco Dip and chip container.  Since I am not having a party but wanted to have a taste of the foods eaten at this kind of party this caught my eye.  It would be costly to buy a whole bag of Tortilla chips and the individual ingredients to make the taco dip and hard to do for 1 or 2 servings so for about $4 I got this ready to go so I don't have to spend time chopping, cleaning and there is less wasted food.  And yes I would probably make it if I was having my friends over and it's one of my friends special items to bring to parties.  Costco also has a great layered dip in a large container.  We had that at one of our last potlucks at work and it was a favourite dish.

I made the Baba Ganoush because it doesn't require any machines except your own muscle power and a chefs knife and chopping board.  

Baba Ganoush recipe:

After I roasted the Wings I cranked up the oven to Broil and added a whole eggplant and broiled it until it was charred on all sides.  It steams the inside and it's really easy to make it this way.  

Cut the eggplant open and scoop out the soft eggplant centre and transfer to a cutting board that has about a tablespoon of diced white onion and a smashed garlic clove.  Chop it all up together and if you do it while it's still warm it will soften up the onion and garlic and make the whole thing smooth.   Add salt and pepper to taste and I added a pinch of smoked paprika and a squeeze of a bit of lemon juice.  You can add either a tablespoon of tahini (sesame seed paste) or mayo.  The sesame seed is healthier and you don't have to worry about it staying out as much as mayo.   If you have fresh parsley add some and drizzle the top with olive oil for flavour and creaminess.  No food processors to clean up.  Just the roasting pan, knife and cutting board.  That's not too bad.

Example 4.

You can pick up some great heat and eat appetizers at your local grocery store these days.  I really like these Presidents Choice Chicken Empanadas because they are little bites full of flavour and you don't need to do anything except heat them up in the oven.  Let your oven do the work for you.

  

3. Make it easy for people to serve themselves.

Invest in a Crockpot or if you like to cook but don't have the time then pick up an Instant Pot if you can find one on sale.  Or you can pick up chafing dishes from party supply stores.

An Instant Pot or Crockpot are amazing for dishes like Chili because you can cook and serve in them and keep the food warm.  Your guests can serve themselves if you set up a Chili Station.  At my work last week we had 3 different chilis and we had a bowl and spoon in front of them to rest so they wouldn't leave a mess on the table and beside the crockpots were the bowls, napkins, cutlery and the fixings for the top like cilantro, cheese and sour cream and bags of chips as you can see in the photo.  My beef chili was so popular there wasn't any left and I even had another container in the fridge that was eaten.  It was a good chili but Chili is a great thing for a party because you can keep it cooking for a long time and it's still good.

  

4.  Set it up pretty and keep it simple

Set up your dishes in nice containers and place everything needed nearby.  If you are worried about things like double dipping dips you can serve them in shot glasses or have everything in one container like the dip and veggies in a glass or other type of container or add little spoons to every dip so people know to serve it up with the spoons.  What I have learned is that people don't think they just eat so you have to make it easy for them.

5. The dollar store and party supply store is your friend and will kick up your party if you think outside the box.

Everyone at the office knows that I spend a lot of money at my dollar store where I live.  That's because you can really get so many of your celebration items there. 

For a Superbowl party see if your dollar store has some fake grass pieces and you can set that up on your table and place the food on it.  Or maybe they have football mats for kids or mini footballs that you can place around the room.  Sometimes you can find football containers for things like chips and dips and all kinds of sports related items.  If you have the cash go nuts.  I don't have anywhere to store a lot of these things so I try and find things I can repurpose for different events.  I should get some fake grass because that can also be used for Easter or summer time events.  

What ever you decide to do whether it's catering the whole thing or a Potluck or making it all from scratch remember to organize it all around leaving time to spend with your friends and less time in the kitchen.  I keep trying to do this more and more but sometimes I end up in the kitchen anyway.  

Make it fun and spread the tasks out.  If you have some help that's great.  I usually have to do it all myself and sometimes my friends help clean up at the end.  

What I have learned from watching Ina Garten, Martha Stewart and Giada De Laurentis over the years is you don't have to do it all and the point of having people over for parties is to have fun with them.  So find a happy balance and enjoy the game as they say.

Hosting an Afternoon Tea Party

Here's how this Tea Party happened and a few tips that you can try to host your own Tea Party.

It started as an idea from a gift that I received from a gift that I received from my blogger friend Mary (Maryshappybelly) at a pre Christmas Gift Exchange dinner with my other blogger friend Natalie (cooking quidnunc).  It was supposed to be a bigger group but because of a snow storm we were down to just the 3 of us.   We had a great time anyway and in between dishes we exchanged gifts.  I got a gift of Pepperidge Farms jams and shortbread from Mary and I said that would be great for a tea party and they both thought it was a great idea.  I like having tea parties because it can be a relaxing Saturday or Sunday afternoon thing and simple or elaborate.  That began the idea and Mary said she wasn't available until the beginning of February so that's when I decided to do it but I decided to wait a bit to invite everyone else to see how the weather would be this time.   I decided to have it at my place because I am on the subway line and if everyone cancelled I didn't have to go anywhere for nothing.  I also had so many food gifts from Christmas that I couldn't possibly finish that I knew I already had the makings for a great tea party, plus I have lot's of teas because I like different teas.

As is turns out Mary wasn't able to make it because she fell the week before and her family plans got pushed to the weekend of the Party but I decided to go ahead because a lot of other people were available and the weather was going to be not too bad.

(Nimu, Sue, Martina, Amanda, Natalie, Loren, Cliff, Domenica, Denise, Adam & Jenny)

It started as an idea to get some of the bloggers together but I decided to invite the ones that I know pretty well and some that were close to where I live.  It was also Superbowl Sunday so a few weren't available so I opened it up to other people.  I decided to include a couple of friends other than food bloggers but ones that would really enjoy the party.  One of my friends works with one of my blogger friends and one of my other friends' daughter works with them.  One of my Tiff friends works in a hospital and one of my Gastropost friends is a radiologist.  There were all sorts of connections I didn't even think of.  I invited a couple of my Tiff Entourage friends and a couple of my best friends, some who have met each other and some who had some sort of connection in one way or another.   One of my friends lives in the same area as one of my blogger friends and as it was pointed out many of my friends at the party were Gastropost contributors who I met through Gastropost or otherwise.  It was kind of ironic that there were so many as days later Gastropost announced that they were ending.  It was almost like a farewell party.

TEA PARTY TIPS

TIP 1.
What made it work was that they were all friendly people who love food and can chat without me having to make the connections.  I was the connection but some knew of each other already.
The other thing that worked was that there wasn't anyone who dominated the party.  Everyone just jelled really well.

TIP 2.

Because I live in an apartment I had to buzz people in and then open the door to greet them so I was constantly answering my phone and busy so I tried to set up as many things that could be self serve as possible.

I opened the closet door so that people could hang their coats if I got distracted by other things.

TIP 3.
I set up stations for different things so that people could help themselves to the Hot water and Tea in the kitchen and the table with the plates and utensils.

TIP 4.
I placed white linens on 3 tables where the food was being placed.  I also had 2 3 tier stands to elevate the food vertically to save space. It's good to have things at different levels to present better.

TIP 5.
I tried to have all sorts of platters and utensils at the ready for anything that people would bring to the party.

TIP 6.
Prepare as much as you can in advance but know that there will always be something that happens to throw off your timing.
One of my friends decided he wanted to bake his frozen appetizers at my place earlier but of course I had to set him up with trays for it.
Another friend offered to pick up any last minute things I needed but he arrived as people were coming in so I had to stop and cut the ends of flowers to put in a waiting vase and transfer milk and orange juice into other containers.  I also tried to set up water and I had a Hot water thermos beside the kettle to keep the hot water flowing.

TIP 7.
The Tea Cups.  I asked everyone to bring their own tea cups for a couple of reasons.  I thought it would cut down on the amount of dishes that would accumulate in my kitchen along with all of the serving platters after the party but also I thought it would be a good ice breaker hoping that everyone would bring interesting cups or mugs that would get conversations started and it did.  Of course there were a few people that didn't bring cups so I had to provide them with one and I wish I had the time to set a few up around the tea area but time got away from me as usual.

TIP 8.
Don't do what I always end up doing.  I try and do too much.  Make too many things, plan to make too many things and then run out of time and energy to do them.
Case in point.  I wanted to make finger sandwiches but I didn't want to make them too far in advance because they become stale quickly and I didn't end up making them until most of the people actually left because I didn't have the time and there wasn't any room to put them.
I also made Tea Pot shaped cookies that I would have liked to decorate but that takes a lot of time to do so I skipped the decorating part.

TIP 9.
Prepare things that you know might be safe for people with restricted diets.  I made mini quiches using prepared tart bases but had some extra filling mixture so I made fritattas using the mix in a muffin tin so they were single servings without crusts which would be great for people that can't eat gluten products.

TIP 10.
I never seem to have enough time to sit and chat with everyone because my friends stagger in and out at various times even though I try to get them all to come at relatively the same time.  This is why I try and prepare as much as I can in advance so that I can have some time to enjoy the food and the people.

And not so much a TIP but an FYI... know that there will be people that might be offended because you didn't invite them to the party.  My place only holds about a dozen people comfortably and although I would love to invite all of my blogger friends, film fest friends and other friends there is only so many people that can fit in a small space so try and choose people that will bring something to the party and make it fun for everyone.

Ugly Sweater Holiday Party

UGLY SWEATER HOLIDAY PARTY

I kind of started a tradition among friends and then I guess they liked it so much that they kind of expected me to do it every year. It started as a Swag Swap gift exchange to clear out things accumulated during the year.  Last year I didn't do it because the one I did 2 years ago after the Ice Storm was extremely difficult and kind of burnt me out.  Last year a few of my friends got together at my friends place to do a gift exchange and that was nice.   This year I wasn't going to do it because I have had a bad financial year and it costs me a couple hundred dollars to do these parties with the food, decor and gift bags etc.  After deciding that I needed to do some de-cluttering after accumulating a lot of things after a year of food events and generally spending too much time moving things around my small space to make them fit.  Every time I have a party I spend a few days afterward trying to tuck things back into their place.  Because of blogging and my shopaholic tendencies I had accumulated so much stuff I didn't know what to do with and since this year more than others I couldn't afford to go out and buy my friends actual new gifts I decided to have a Not So Secret Santa Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.  Yeah I decided to hop on the Ugly Sweater bandwagon.  Comfy and fun.

Not so Secret because I was the Secret Santa giving gifts of things I didn't need anymore to my friends.  I asked them NOT to bring anything to exchange and told them I didn't want anything I had to store somewhere and the point of this party was to clear my space, get together with my friends all at the same time and give them gifts I can't go buy right now.  Most of the things were things like T-Shirts that aren't my size from events I attended.  Some of the housewares that I didn't have room to store or haven't used, homemade treats and some of my impulsive buys that never got used.  I gave one of my friends a small makeup case and a whole bunch of makeup I got as samples or stuff I never used and she was really excited about it.  For me the makeup kit was too small to use Professionally and I didn't have the space after re-organizing my makeup kit.  For her she was thrilled to try new makeup that she couldn't afford to buy.

One of my friends just moved into a new place so I gave her an orange serving tray and placemats and other stuff for her.  She is also a blogger and we always need new things to style out photos.  Turns out she didn't have a tray and I have like 4 so it will be used instead of moved around here.

What I did was wrap up different things and some had specific people that I thought would like it and a few things could go to a few different friends.   I passed out the gifts and gave them the option to trade for something else once if they didn't like it.  I got down to the last 3 girls and I couldn't decide who to give what to so I let them choose and then let the group decided if they could keep it.  It made it a bit more fun.   As it turns out nobody wanted to trade for anything else.  The only one that traded was one of my friends afterward wanted a candle holder instead of a large book box.   No problem.  The point is that I somehow managed to choose things I didn't need anymore that were new gifts for my friends.  Yes they all knew the plan.  They know I am not working steady and can't buy gifts and the fact that I had all kinds of food at the party and they didn't really have to do much made them pretty happy.

I only asked for them to bring a few things that they could choose if they wanted to bring something for the party like Wine, Pop and salads.

This was the first year that I was running behind and didn't have everything set up before my friends got there so I had one of my friends help set up a cheese and charcuterie board. I actually didn't have time to even take a photo of it but here's the board with some cheese.

I also had some entertaining food from winning a Sobey's gift basket and also St. Hubert Poutine bites that I had to blog about that I knew I couldn't eat by myself so I thought it was perfect for a party.

For the Food I made the Poutine bites which were what they call "insideoutpoutine".  They are mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese and gravy and coated in breadcrumbs.  All you have to do is heat them for about 15 min in the oven and serve.

Even my friend's 1 year old daughter tried one and I think she was a bit confused trying to figure out what it was.  She just started eating regular food so it's all new for her.  The tiny bites were huge in her little hands.

My friend somehow also managed to find time to bake the most amazing Gingerbread Bundt cake in a Jewish Star Mould. Unfortunately everyone was so stuffed that not everyone had room to try it but I did and loved it.

I had 3 bottles of BBQ sauce in my fridge so I decided to make meatballs and since I didn't have a lot of time I just bought some store bought ones.  Unfortunately not a big hit as they weren't very good.  Homemade is always best so next time I skip the meatballs.

I also made both Mac and Cheese and Vegetarian Lasagna the same time that morning.  Now I know how Chefs feel juggling dishes.  The Mac and Cheese was ok but the Lasagna turned out fantastic.  I used some no cook Molisano noodles that I haven't tried before and they were great.  I will buy them again for sure.  I mixed frozen spinach into ricotta cheese with grated parmesan and that was my veggie bonus layer.  The rest just tomato sauce and cheese.  I still have some left in my freezer.  Yes I always make too much food.  I never know what will turn out and what won't and who can eat what so I make more just in case.  I also wanted to have the leftover lasagna for myself because I don't make it often just for myself.  My friend lent me her Pro Catering Chafing dish that took up a lot of space on the counter but freed up my oven at least to make other things.

As part of a Gastropost Mission Challenge I had to make something with Walmart Canada's Brownie Mix and Wine Gums so kind of as late as I could make it I decided to make a Mocha Coconut Ugly Sweater Brownie Cake.  I had it at the party but didn't serve it up because I baked it too long and the bottom was a bit burnt so it was kind of dry.  Nobody was hungry anyway since I had so many other treats but it looked nice.

Along with the Ugly Sweater Cake I had an Ugly Sweater Contest where I encouraged my friends to dress very festive and I had a prize.  My friend Fabian won with his handmade sweater decor and his festive socks and slippers.  He was determined to win.

He won a Starbucks Ugly Sweater Gingerbread Men cookies, Dufflet's Cigar chocolates, Smores and chocolate crisps.  He was very happy as you can see. Oh and also a little ugly sweater ornament.

I made a whole assortment of sweet treats like Chocolate Chip cookies, chocolate covered apricots, Peppermint bark, Coconut macaroons, cinnamon roasted almonds and my friends mom's cookies, and there was lot's of chocolates too.

One of the things I made that I will make again was Ricardo's recipe for a Cheeseball.  It was so easy and it was so good.  Only a few ingredients,  Cream cheese, sharp cheese like cheddar, jalapeno and green onions.  It's all blended and rolled into crushed pecans.  I sampled it at a get together with Ricardo and liked it and I will make it again maybe next year and skip some of the other cheeses.

It was a lot of fun and for the first time I still had energy at the end of the party.  For me that's a successful party and my place wasn't a huge mess of wrapping paper everywhere this time.
As you can see some of my friends ditched their ugly sweaters before the party ended and I was the only one left wearing the Ugly sweater, although I was smart and most of it was just pinned on so I eventually took off the pins and just had a red cardigan and now it's just back to a regular sweater.

My place is all cleaned up again and feels a little less cluttered.  I want to encourage you to think outside the Shopping Mall and rethink Holiday gift giving.  Some of my friends did bring me gifts but mostly gift cards and a Starbucks mug and some other small things that will get used up.

I had to rethink my budget, and in the process helped the environment I think.  I want to make 2016 a year of less waste.  Less wasted money, food, stuff and time.  I hope I have inspired you to do the same or at least have an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party next year.

From me and my friends may you have a Very Happy Holiday and a Fantastic New Year!

HO! HO! HO!

20 Holiday Entertaining Tips

For the past few years since I moved to my current apartment I have had a Holiday Party and various other parties throughout the year.  The Holiday Party was an idea I came up with a few years ago to try and clean house of all the stuff I had accumulated but didn't use or need at the end of the year.   I came up with this idea because when I moved from a house to an apartment I had to get rid of so much stuff that I had accumulated through the years but because I had a house they would just end up stored in the basement or get moved around the house.   Now that I don't have extra storage space I have to find creative ways of organizing my things.  

I have accumulated a lot of things in the past year from going to many food related events where I have gotten free food samples or sometimes gifts.  If the gift is relevant to me or useful then I keep it but if it has hasn't been used in a year or I know that I have no use for it then I will try and give it to either a charity or a friend that might need it.

The Holiday party that I have had for the past few years was called my Swag Swap party where I would get my friends to bring things for a gift exchange that they might have gotten at an event, film festival or who knows where or they just pick up a small gift if they don't have anything.   I always gather up all my extra things and put them into gift bags and then when my guests arrive I sometimes put their stuff into gift bags so that you can't tell what it is... like a wine bottle or box of chocolates etc.   Then closer to the end of the party I put all the gifts in one giant pile and we draw numbers and do the choose and steal but what usually happens is they end up trading with each other and going through the extra bags to get what they want.   I don't care because I hope that I get rid of the things that I don't need and they go to people that can use them.  They are happy because it's the fun of trying to get what you want.   It's the ultimate re-gift and recycle party.  I usually do this between Christmas and New Year's when things are a bit quieter around town and a lot of people are off work.  

This year I was going to scrap the party all together because it generally costs me a lot of money for the food and the gift bags and even the party supplies like disposable plates and such.

But I looked around my apartment and realized that I had accumulated a lot of food stuffs and there was no way I was going to be able to eat it all without making myself sick.   I was also send a case of Persimons which have a short shelf life so I thought it was a good time to throw a party and share the food wealth.   I scrapped the gift exchange even though it's really fun and an ice breaker it does take up a lot of space in a small apartment and you need people to arrive on time to make it work.

I decided to host the party before Christmas this time so that I could use the Persimons and have time to clean up everything before going into the New Year.  I would like to start 2015 with a clean and organized space and less clutter.

Because I hosted it before Christmas and didn't want to have a massive back breaking party a lot of people couldn't come and there were a few no shows which happens sometimes.

No matter how hard I try my parties and parties in general can be challenging.   This time I approached it in a different way and I will tell you some of the tips that I used to make it less stressful for me.

Here are the challenges that I have to deal with when I host one of my parties.

1 friend is Gluten intolerant.
1 friend is Diabetic
1 friend doesn't eat Pork for religious reasons.
1 friend has a dairy intolerance.
1 friend only eats chicken and no fish or other meat
1 friend is vegetarian and very particular on what she eats.

That's the food challenges.   But then the other challenge is that no one ever arrives anytime close to the time I set to arrive at the party.  
I called the party Sips & Nibbles and set the time to 7pm this time.  I figured since my friends are always late that a later start then usual would help.

The Sips and Nibbles theme referred to the fact that I was basically having a whole range of munchable types of foods and I had beer, wine and a non alcoholic drink that was a big hit.  It was fresh mint, pomegranate seeds, lime soda and water.   I told everyone not to bring any chips or munchies and said to bring whatever their favourite drink was because I didn't want to take up space with special drinks for everyone.

Here's how the party went down.

The time was set for 7pm.  I didn't post an end time because they never seem to happen anyway.

The first person to arrive was my best friend who normally can't attend my parties because of her busy family but she came early to help me get organized for the party.   She arrived at 6:30pm.   Great.. I needed the help.

Since I know that my friends can't seem to tell time i decided to wait until the last minute to make and put some of the food out.  When my friend arrived we chopped some vegetables and made a spinach dip and got a few other things ready.  I didn't put the cheese on the cheese platter until 7pm because it needs a bit of time to get to room temperature but too long and it dries up.

The next person to arrive was my chronically late friend who normally arrives after everyone else but always says she wants to come early to help.   She arrived at about 7:35pm which is early for her.
Another friend said he would arrive late and he arrived at the same time but came up in a different elevator than my other friend.  Another friend sent a text that she would be late and would arrive around 8:30pm.   Another friend sent a text that he wouldn't be able to make it,  he sent the text at about 6:00pm.   Another friend wanted to come but had to work downtown until 10:30 so she called when she was done work and then came for about an hour.   Two other friends arrived together after 8pm.
One friend sent a text to one of my friends saying "it's a long story" and she wouldn't be able to make it.   At 1:00am I got a text from another friend with an explanation of why she didn't make it.

So as you can tell a Potluck Party or sit down dinner was a bit of an impossible feat.  I have tried those in the past but my friends seem to like the drop in whenever they are free approach but some still want the sit down dinner food.

This year I really didn't care how many people showed up and was prepared for them to stagger in whenever and I knew I had to deal with dietary restrictions so I tried to plan for it with a new strategy.

Here are the tips I used:

1.  Prep all the tableware and platters a day in advance of the party and have a pile of extra bowls, platters etc. in case anyone shows up with anything that has to be put in a bowl or on a plate.

2.  Try and set out food that people can munch on when they arrive so that they aren't asking you when the food will be ready.

3.  I have to always make a huge variety of foods available to accommodate all the dietary restrictions so I know that I have to try and be organized as much as I can to present it all.

4.  I set up a bar station where people could pour their own drinks and grab their own plates.  I only have a table that can squeeze 4 people and that's without food so it has to be a more casual serve yourself style of food.

5.  If you have the space set up extra tables for drinks and munchies.   I had a small round table that I had a big silver punch bowl with ice for the beers.  I also set up munchies on my coffee table and had a console table as the bar table.

6.  Keep your dishes as simple as possible.   Make what you can in advance.

7.  Prepare some things when your guests arrive so there is no waste and things are fresh.   I made fresh pizzas using the Persimons that I was given but had to make a few different versions to accommodate the no dairy and no pork restrictions.  If I had made them in advance and if they hadn't shown up then the customized pizzas would have been wasted.  I also didn't have to reheat them that way.  My best friend helped me with the pizzas.  I would suggest if you have a large kitchen island to have everyone put their own toppings on their individual pizzas.


8.  Set up as many things that they can serve themselves.  For dessert I had pre-made cut up Persimons that I had cooked and cooled and then I set up a station with disposable clear plastic cups, spoons,  the Persimon fruit,  coconut whipped cream, gingersnap cookies and my homemade granola for my gluten free friend to swap out for the gingersnap cookies.  They served themselves how they liked it and the portion they had room for and that allowed them to have seconds if they wanted more.

9.  Lighting -  I picked up some Dollarama christmas lights for $3 and strung them on my fake Ikea palm like tree.  I also had a coupon from Bernardin for some Mason Jars and I used it to get a six pack of festive green Mason jars.  I used an idea I had seen at a Sobeys party and other parties to make an inexpensive lighting trick and decor by adding cranberries to water and I put in some dill,  that's what I had.. and then added a floating candle on top.   Festive and nice cheap lighting.   I also had a string of LED lighted christmas ball lights that I got at the Gourmet Food and Wine Show that I had put on my TV cabinet to make it look like a Mantle.

10.  Festive decor on a budget.  I picked up a tiny Cypress tree from Whole Foods for $5 and then found some $2 mini ornaments from Dollarama to decorate it and used it as the centrepiece on my dining table with is a small 4 seater round glass table.   I had a couple of candles on the table as well.
I have a small fake Pointsetta plant and have wrapped gifts and bags scattered around the room but no overt Christmas decor really.   More festive.  A lot of things were things I already had around.

11.  Platters - I had a slate board that I used as a cheese tray and added fresh and dried fruits and crackers.   I had a glass filled with spreaders and knives for the cheeses and picks next to the cheese board.  I had another platter of crackers including gluten free ones which I indicated to my Gluten intolerant friend for her to choose.   I also used a small cake stand to elevate a spinach dip that I made.
My friend brought a casserole dish with Mexican layer dip and I had a platter and space left open for that.  I tried to leave a bit of free space on the table for anything that had to be added.

12.  Cleaning up a little bit during the party.  You need to be strategic when cleaning up during the party because you don't want to make your guests feel like it's time for them to go or that they need to have to stop their conversations to help.   I tried to take away unused cups and plates after they were empty and just saying you are just getting it out of the way will make them more comfortable.

13.  Be prepared for the unexpected.  People will show up late.  People will cancel at the last minute and people will just not show up.  I have learned to not stress out about it anymore and I just expect it to happen now.   They say you can train your friends but I have never figured out how to do that so if you can do it let me know how.

14.  Try and be your own guest at your party.  Because my best friend helped me in the kitchen and I left things for them to serve themselves it gave me more time to actually sit and eat and have conversations with my friends.

15.  Have lot's of ziploc bags, plastic wrap, tin foil and containers on hand if people want to take some food home after the party.  I think one of my friends thinks it's a take out restaurant when she comes to one of my parties.

16.  Try and keep it simple.  While I always try and keep it simple my parties aren't a simple thing.  I can't just order a pepperoni pizza and pick up a case of beer but I try and plan as much ahead of time and try and always find new ways of presenting different things. I tend to get carried away.

17.  Tea and coffee.  I have been finding that my friends don't usually want tea or coffee and I don't have a coffee maker but I always try and have a full kettle of water ready to boil in case they want tea or french press coffee.  If I had the space I would set up a tea/coffee station.

18.   Try and find out your guests food restrictions or allergies before the party so that you know how to accommodate them.

19.  Make sure you introduce people as they enter the party.  People will want to know who they are and how they are connected to you.  Also if they have only met once before it's a good name reminder. My best friend hadn't met my friends because she lives in Maple but she remembered everyone's names.  I am not as skilled as she is but it was great that she knew who they were from previous conversations that I had with her so she already felt like she knew some of them.

20.  Pace yourself.   When I do the larger parties it sometimes takes me 2 weeks of running around, organizing, cleaning, planning, cooking, setting up and then cleaning up afterward.  This time I only spent a couple of days before and less than an hour the next day.  My energy and fitness aren't so great so I would do some prep and then take a break then do a bit more and take a break.  The last time I had a party I was wiped for 3 days afterward so I know that I can't do that anymore so I try and work within my limitations now and that's why I didn't do the Swag Swap and full out entree dishes.

Some other things that you can do is to think outside of the box.   I picked up 3 small square glass vases that I loaded with cut up vegetables.  They can also be used for tea lights of for flower arrangements or even the cutlery.

And if you have a Best friend that is as helpful and fun as mine is then make sure they can come to your party because everyone will be glad they did.

I like to buy things that are red because they can signify Valentine's Day or Christmas or just add a color pop to any time of the year and it goes with my black and white and grey decor anytime.  It doesn't have to say Christmas to have a Christmas feel.  Candles, ornaments in a vase, a string of christmas lights in a vase or on a mantle can give off a festive mood.

But the most important TIP is to HAVE FUN.... It's not a GREAT PARTY unless EVERYONE is having FUN!!

Happy Holidays and I hope these tips are helpful for your future Holiday Parties.

One last thing.   Because I live right at a subway station it's easy for people to not to have to worry about drinking and driving.  Make sure you know how people are going to arrive and leave and keep an eye out for their drinking consumption.   I am lucky that my friend from Maple was dropped off by her husband and the rest of them all took the subway so I didn't have to worry about their safety driving home.

Stay Safe and Enjoy your Holidays!

Fancy Baby Boomer Potatoes

              I was given a few bags of the Little Potato Company Baby Boomer Potatoes and Fingerling Potatoes recently with the challenge of coming up with a recipe to make them delicious for people to make at home.

I have only used the Baby Boomer potatoes so far but I prepared them in 2 ways.   One way was a family style dish that I just created with stuff I had in my fridge and pantry.  The other one was a bit fancier for a cocktail party for those people that don't like the same old cheese and crackers or shrimp and cocktail sauce.
These potatoes are great if you want to make a quick meal because the come pre washed and you don't have to peel them.
It's high in potassium because of the thin skin.  They are a Canadian company from Edmonton, Alberta

The Cocktail Party - Shepherd's Pie Potato Bites

Ingredients:

2 lb lean ground beef

1 cup frozen peas and carrots

1 large yellow onion

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp Worsteshire sauce

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1 tbsp paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 cups of either water or beef stock

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1 tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp. flour

1 - 1.5 lb bag of the Little Potato Company - 

Baby Boomer potatoes

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of milk

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp fresh chives

 Step 1 - Brown the ground beef in a large skillet or as I used a cast iron Dutch oven.  When you have the meat browned you can add the onion diced and the garlic crushed.  Add the tomato paste, worsteshire sauce, chili flakes and the thyme, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper.  Add a tablespoon of flour and mix the meat mixture.  Add the water or stock and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the frozen peas and simmer for another 10 minutes.  The mixture should be thick but have a bit of a gravy left.  Add water or reduce until you get the best consistency.

 Step 2 - Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes or until they are fork tender but not too soft.

 Step 3.  After the potatoes have been drained and cooled until cool enough to handle then scoop out the middle using a melon baller.  This is the fastest easiest way to get a round centre to fill.

Step 4 - With the potatoes that you scooped out add the butter and milk and salt and pepper and mix until smooth mashed potato consistency.  Set aside.

Step 5 -   Fill the scooped out Baby Boomer potatoes with a teaspoonful of the ground beef mixture.  You can cut a piece off the bottom to make the potatoes sit flat if needed.

Step 6 - Using the mashed potato mixture top the potatoes using either a spoon as I did or if you want to make them fancy you can pipe the potatoes with a piping bag or using a ziploc bag and just cut a little hole in the bottom corner of the bag.   I didn't bother as this was a test but for a fancy cocktail party it will look better if you pipe them.

Step 7 - Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top.   You can prepare this in advance for a party and keep it in the fridge until your guests arrive and then you can bake them off.

Step 8 - Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and they are warmed throughout.  Garnish with chopped chives  and transfer to a serving platter.
A bag should make at least 24 potato bites.

 Recipe Number 2 -  Creamy Smokey Baby Boomer Potatoes

Ingredients:

Half of a 1.5 lb bag of Baby Boomer Potatoes
1 cup of Sugar Snap Peas
4 slices of Smoked Prosciutto or Smokey Bacon
1 large yellow onion
1/2 of a red pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 green onion chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 cloves of garlic crushed


Directions:

Boil the bag of baby potatoes in salted water for about 15 minutes.
In a separate large saute pan fry the bacon or prosciutto until crispy and then remove the crisp prosciutto or bacon and chop into small pieces and set aside.  Leave about 1 to 2 tbsp of the bacon fat in the pan, drain if there is more than that or add butter if there isn't enough fat left.   Add the chopped onion and then the chopped garlic to the bacon fat in the pan.  Cook until translucent and then add the diced red peppers and the sugar snap peas.  Add the seasonings, paprika, salt and pepper.  Add the Baby Boomer potatoes to the pan and then add the heavy cream.  You can add some stock, or hot water about 1/2 a cup.  Let it simmer on medium low heat until the heavy cream reduces and the vegetables are cooked.  Add half parsley and half of the bacon or prosciutto to the pan and toss everything together and serve on a large platter and garnish with the parsley and some of the bacon.  I made a prosciutto rose out of a piece of uncooked prosciutto to dress the plate.

It should serve 4 people.   This dish is pretty flexible.  I just kept adding things.  It wasn't a pre planned dish.   I could have added spinach or kale or  other vegetables but the most important part is the cream sauce and the smoky flavour from the bacon and smoked paprika.   I am sure you can find ways to make the plate look fancy for special guests but the flavour will be a hit with whoever you serve this to no matter how you plate it.

I made a lot and had about half left over and just reheated it the next day and it was even better.  It just lost the fresh green look of the vegetables.

This is a great dish to make if you forget to defrost some meat but you have bacon or prosciutto in your fridge.  I guess you could even use ham or chicken and it would work just as well.
I don't have step by step photos for this one because I was just creating it as I went along. I didn't crisp up the prosciutto but I have added this step to this recipe for a better result.

Recipe and Photos by Linda Matarasso and potatoes supplied by the Little Potato Company, all other ingredients are my own.