Archive of ‘Food & Entertaining’ category

Portobellos with Onion and Brussels Sprouts

The recipe is technically called “Polenta Portobellos” and for the first several times leafing through my favorite cookbook I passed by this quickly, as I’m on the fence about polenta. I recall that I like it at times (although never over the moon about it) and not at others. And I certainly had never attempted to make it. But the other key ingredients of the recipe – Brussels sprouts, onions, goat cheese and of course mushrooms – are right up my alley, and are favorites of the friends we recently had to the house for dinner. Even though I love appetizers, my usual approach is to leave that decision and preparation until the eleventh hour, at which time I’m left only with the option of stopping quickly at the store to pick up cheese, bread and olives – most of which gets packaged back up at the end of the evening and discovered a few weeks later, having to be tossed. With a little more time to plan this time around, I wanted to try an appetizer to have ready for them on arrival, since there would be a good amount of time between that and dinner (we needed to squeeze in bath and bedtime for the kids). They were a hit (even with my husband, who was initially skeptical), polenta and all. Recipe and prep tips included below, and original source link here.

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Cranberry Ginger Sparkler

Everyone should have a friend who is a mixologist. Someone that has, for a seemingly simple happy hour at home, things such as ginger syrup for a refreshing afternoon lemonade cocktail or jalapeno infused tequila for a salty margarita before dinner. Someone that can make an nonalcoholic drink just as delicious and special as the loaded version. Someone that has the foresight and patience to make Cherry Bounce to have on hand as a sweet treat of a night cap. Fortunately, we have such a friend. Unfortunately, she lives in Palm Springs (I would prefer to enjoy her company and her cocktails on a more regular basis). On a recent trip to visit her, I asked for her favorite holiday cocktail and this recipe popped up on my phone within minutes. (She is also very efficient.) I’ve included the recipe with some of my suggestions below, and the link to the original source is here. She’s right, it’s a light and lovely holiday cocktail – especially if wine and other drinks will be enjoyed throughout the evening. I served it on Christmas Eve and it will again be on the menu for this evening as the drink served with appetizers. Cheers!

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Spicy Roasted Carrots – Adding Color and Kick

Although we’re hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house, my mom still does the lion’s share of the cooking, handling the main dishes while I take responsibility for some of the sides and appetizers. I was leafing through cookbooks yesterday morning to find a vegetable dish that would go well with tonight’s meal of grilled steak and potatoes. I wanted something that complimented the flavors as well as the colors. How things look on a plate is a very close second in importance, in my opinion, to how things taste. I landed on these roasted carrots (recipe link here), because of the reasons already mentioned, and because my dad has a serious love of carrots. Truly – I’ve never known someone to comment on a vegetable as much at that guy does about carrots. These have a bit more of a kick than I was expecting (likely because I used smoked hot paprika), but they weren’t overwhelming. With the limited number of ingredients and minimal prep, this is a quick dish to add if you’re looking to round out a holiday meal over the next few days.
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