Easy & Delicious Menu for Holiday Gatherings (with pics!)

Since we are approaching the end of year, I wanted to share some menu ideas for a holiday and/or New Years gathering!

This past weekend I had a group of friends over and tried out a number of these recipes. My goal was to plan a low stress, high reward menu. Something that would be filling and flavorful without requiring a ton of prep time. I decided to go with finger foods only, which would enable people to wander around and socialize without having to worry about utensils. It was a hit! Any of these recipes would also work if you are going to a party and need to bring a dish.

This post was inspired by the great posts I've been seeing from @sweetsssj @adsactly and @allasyummyfood . Love the work the three of you are doing!

I hope you find these recommendations helpful and delicious!

Caprese Holiday Wreath

This is such a simple dish and so easy to put together. Laying out the caprese skewers in a circle around the balsamic dip created a cute and festive look. I wasn’t able to find the skewers used in the recipe, so I had to improvise a little with shorter less elegant skewers, but it still worked and tasted great!

Get the recipe here: https://cafedelites.com/caprese-christmas-wreath/

Deviled Eggs

I know deviled eggs aren’t particularly exciting, but this dish is always popular and it requires minimal cooking (just hard boiling the eggs). It also is an affordable option for anyone on a tighter budget. I loosely followed the recipe listed below, but did not wind up incorporating the olive oil or white wine vinegar into the recipe. I also substituted scallions for the chives since I had those on hand.

Get the recipe here: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/09/great-deviled-eggs-recipe.html

Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms

These were toasty, filling, and delicious! This version is vegetarian, but there are plenty of similar recipes that also incorporate meat into the filling if you want to take it up a notch. These went so quickly, I didn’t even have time to snap a photo, but check out the recipe below!

Get the recipe here: http://www.spicyspoonful.com/parmesan-stuffed-mushrooms/

Sundried Tomato Pesto Bites

This is another recipe that requires minimal cooking. You can buy the phyllo dough shells at the grocery store, and pop them in the oven for a few minutes to get them warm and toasty. The rest of the prep involves blending together the creamy, flavorful filling ingredients. This is quite a rich dish, and surprisingly filling despite the size. It also looks pretty fancy for how little work it is to make!

Get the recipe here: https://www.wellplated.com/sun-dried-tomato-pesto-bites/

Cheese Board

Always a go to for me when hosting, I love a good cheese/charcuterie board. You can make it a million ways, and add a variety of yummy treats to dress up the platter. I try to balance out the board with cheeses that vary in flavor and texture (hard vs. soft, mild vs. intense flavor, etc). After that I will throw in some seasonal fruits and/or veggies, nuts, spreads, meats, olives and whatever else I want to mix in! Check out the “recipe” below for helpful tips on how to seamlessly build a beautiful (and tasty) cheese board.

Get the recipe here: https://wholefully.com/awesome-cheese-board-minutes/

Pomegranate Cider Mimosas

In addition to wine and beer offerings, I wanted to add a beverage to the mix that felt festive and fun, but stayed with theme of simple and straightforward preparation. I found this recipe and felt it would be perfect for a winter holiday gathering! The original recipe adds a decorative and flavorful element to the glasses with a salted caramel ring, but I ended up opting to make a simple cinnamon/sugar rim for my glasses. It added a similar sweet and special look to the drink, without the hassle or time required to make the caramel. Unfortunately I didn't snap any drink pics, but you can see the look on the original recipe listed below.

Get the recipe here: https://www.howsweeteats.com/2017/10/cider-mimosas-apple-pomegranate/

Hope you find this helpful! Please leave a reply if you plan to try any of these, or let me know what you think!