I love this simple, cute appetizer idea. Do you need more instruction? I’d dress the Baby Greens and Tomatoes with Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper or Italian Dressing to thoroughly enjoy it all. And I might add a dollop of Caramel Sauce at the base of the Apple for dessert.
Every first Friday of December, I host a Girl’s Christmas Party and this year was my 15th annual. Guests are asked to bring an appetizer, salad, soup or side dish and a $25 value gift for a crazy gift exchange. A prize and ribbon are awarded to the person bringing the best voted appetizer. This year’s winning appetizer is posted above and the runner up is below.
In addition to the winning appetizers, we’ve posted several others to provide a few ideas for your Christmas Party. Everything was yummy and I’m much appreciative for all contributions.
We enjoyed baked Bruschetta with Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar, homemade Guacamole and Chips, Antipasto, Vegetables with Ranch Dip, Chips and Onion Dip, Chicken Wings, Hummus with Pita Chips, a Chopped Salad, Spring Rolls, Buffalo Mozzarella with Tomato and Basil, and much more. Some dishes aren’t pictured due to photo quality.
Dessert preparation is deligated to the best baker in the bunch, Loretta of Nibbles of Tidbits’ Cookie Decorating fame. She made a few of our old time favorites for all to enjoy.
Dessert included a homemade Chocolate Cake with Frosting piped using my favorite decorating tip (hair tip), Magic Bars and Lemon Squares. Loretta receives a prize every year for her amazing efforts.
The past couple years money was saved on a tree, due to the display of our adorable Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Champagne flows along with the availability of a semi-full bar and lots of Bottled Water. And poster boards are accessible to view party photos from all previous years.
This year I pulled out an American Idol Microphone to facilitate the party along. We (I) had a fun time with it — It’s a great way to get your guest’s attention to coordinate the games, the gift exchange and appetizer vote submissions. We usually end the party with a group photo to be viewed on next year’s poster board. Unfortunately two left before we remembered to take our 2009 photo. To view last year’s par-tay highlights, click here. Merry Christmas!
Thanks to my cherished friends (and sis) for delivering the wonderful Appetizers and Desserts to my 14th Annual Christmas Party. It was a blast like always. Michelle’s Pesto Loaf (above) was voted Best Appetizer. Congratulations! The recipe is linked below.
And every party needs a Fresh Vegetable Platter — Ours was over the top good with Yellow and Red Bell Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers and more. And continuing on down (L-R), this year we enjoyed Artichoke Dip and Chicken & Lemongrass Spring Rolls.
Chicken Tamales with Colorado Chili Sauce, Salami, Brie and Smoked Cheese with Crackers, and Fresh Homemade Salsa and Tortilla Chips. The Salsa deserves an honorable mention for its restaurant quality flavor. I’ve got to get the recipe.
Egg Rolls, Pesto Loaf, and Cream Cheese with Blueberry Preserves and Crackers. Then moving on to the bakery quality Desserts prepared by Loretta — She took the prize for that category with her Lemon Bars, Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Icing, Magic Cookie Bars, and Chocolate Dipped Oreos and Graham Crackers as the Cake presents.
We had more than pictured here, but some photos didn’t quite make the quality cut. I do appreciate ALL the food! We mostly enjoyed Champagne, Chardonnay, Juice and Bottled Water, but many options were available.
This year I have a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree — It’s cute, don’t you think? Here we are in a rare people picture on Nibbles of Tidbits. I didn’t get my friend’s approval for the posted photo so it could come down if someone doesn’t like the way they look. You know how some girls can be – HA. 🙂
Related Link:
Winning Appetizer Recipe (Pesto Loaf) – pesto-dip-appetizer
A formal THANK YOU to Cost Plus World Market for the lovely prizes and party supplies.
All were pleased by the smart kitchen tools, house decorations and gourmet Chocolates.
Thanks also go to my friends who contributed the appetizing FOOD, even the Jack in the Box Tacos cut in half, disguised as an Appetizer — That’s funny Michelle. What do you call ’em? Ironically several were happy to eat them, and it was fast, easy and cheap for her. So be it.
Always look forward to the Chocolate Dipped Oreos from Loretta — Wish I had some now.
Merci, Gracie, Danke Shoen, Mahalo, Arigato, Gracias y mas Cost Plus World Market.
A wave to you for making this 17th Annual Christmas Par-Tay a success.
I tour the world at CPWM.
A good friend brought Tapenade to a party I had last month and left the leftovers, which I LOVED having the next day. It tasted and looked like it was from a restaurant. Her husband made it and I finally got the recipe (kinda). No measurements, but I understand. Prepare it to taste. He simply wrote — Two kinds of Olives, Garlic (not powdered), Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and Italian Seasonings. For the Italian Seasonings, I used Oregano and Basil.
I think mine (pictured) tasted like his, but I’ll have to find out if he adds more “Italian Seasonings” than Basil and Oregano. At first the above Tapenade had too many Green Olives in it and then I overcompensated a bit with the Black Olives. Overall, I learned that good Tapenade can be made in an instance with items always on hand.
A Christmas Party and Cost Plus World Market go very well together. This year I hosted my 16th Annual Girl’s Christmas Party for several long-time dear friends (and the best sister in the world), and Cost Plus fit right in, since my relationship with it spans equally long. My first apartment in Belmont Shore was basically furnished by them — I was so proud of its style and still have several cool imports and dishes from way-back when. For this Sweet 16, CPWM generously provided a Gift Card that was used to purchase all snacks, prizes, drinks, wrap, and most stylish and tasty party supplies. What a great thing!
Each guest brings an Appetizer, Salad or Side Dish, plus a GIFT for a wild gift exchange with plenty of opportunities to steal what you really want — And this year, as always we enjoyed an abundance of FOOD, fun and laughs.
A PRIZE is awarded to the person bringing the Best Voted Appetizer, an incentive to bring something good. Guests cast anonymous (and sometimes padded and made-up) votes that are tallied to choose a hopefully legitimate winner.
Desserts are always baked by my treasured friend Loretta, whose goodies can’t be beat.
Having one person bring the Dessert is also strategic — In earlier party days, guests/friends were asked to bring an Appetizer or Dessert and I learned that it would produce too many Desserts and not enough Appetizers. Now, Loretta automatically receives a prize for her award-winning Desserts and there’s always enough savory stuff to eat. This year, Patty aka Tricia won a prize for her Salad pictured at top. All tasted fantastic — And I’m now trying to obtain the recipe for the Tapenade pictured above, which was made by my friend, Nora’s husband Brian. If allowed, I’ll share it here, as it was truly outstanding and a runner-up to the Salad.
Wouldn’t you know that I had technical difficulties with my camera this evening, which resulted in mostly blurry and poorly lighted food dishes that can’t be shared. 🙁
Cost Plus World Market recently to stumbled upon Nibbles of Tidbits, and me who is already in love with them — The result is continuous adoration and perfect party supplies (from around the world) for my Sweet 16th Annual Girl’s Christmas Party. We girls appreciated it ALL!
Because I like handing out prizes and laughing at people playing the stupid games I come up with, each year we play several new and old favorites — This year Nora won the red and white votive candles, Arlene won the Oil & Vinegar Cruets, Loretta won the colander, soap and bath fizzies, and Heidi won the Chocolate Champagne bottle and more.
The pictured snacks were chosen from CPWM‘s seemingly endless selection of international goods. It was hard to decide, as one could host a variety of party themes with Cost Plus food.
And a BIG SHOUT OUT needs to go out for the White Cheddar Snowball Puffs! They have a perfect amount of tasty Cheddar flavor and a nicely crisp puff. They were a hit and I want to go back for more before they disappear.
Cost Plus is the only place I’ve seen thus far with Red & Green Tortilla Chips that taste and look good. I served them with a favorite Salsa determined during a Salsa Taste-Off.
And if you don’t know already, Cost Plus World Market offers an amazing selection of Beer and Wine. We enjoyed Stella Artois, Corona Extra and Skinny Dip New Belgium — Had to get it for the name and we were pleasantly surprised by its likable flavor.
To keep our drinks straight, we used the above drink markers, also from Cost Plus. I turned ’em into a game by awarding a prize to the person picking the prized adjective — Whomever chose DESPERATE won.
Photo of this year’s party attendees and BFF’s.
Although I’ve shopped at Cost Plus for years, I haven’t purchased much of their Beer, Wine or other imported beverages, which is probably a bit odd, since many shop there specifically for it. Since CPWM sponsored most of this year’s party, it was a great opportunity to sample their infinite offerings — And ultimately there was an overwhelming response to the Cristalino Champagne. It’s terrifically bubbly, fresh and not too sweet. It’s an excellent inexpensive Champagne. Other photos reflect prizes happily won by guests.
Do you like my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree? It’s easy clean up, but I’m starting to miss a real one. Maybe next year. Also pictured is a giant bottle of the Champagne noted above. The large bottle was fun and oh so good — We went through it too fast. And I probably talked on the microphone too much, but had to get the attention of the rebellious crowd to participate in the next silly game. There were cool prizes to be won.
Cost Plus is an old friend that made my Sweet 16th Annual Christmas Party extra special and tasty — All friends were joyful about it too! Merry Christmas to YOU.
I’m busy getting ready for my 14th Annual Christmas Par-tay, whereas each guest (close friend) brings an appetizer. I award a PRIZE and RIBBON for the Best Voted Appetizer — It’s a super fun and yummy party. It’ll be interesting to see what comes this year and every first Friday in December. Check back. 🙂
My Aunt made a version of these for a Christmas appetizer. The red and green colors worked well. I must have had about twenty of them. I was reminded how good Ham and Cream Cheese Roll-Ups can be. My Aunt’s Roll-Ups were made with top quality Ham, Pimento and Green Onions. This quick adaptation was made with Deli Ham, Red Bell Pepper and Chives. Both combinations are quick, easy and yummy. If you need to bring an appetizer somewhere, this is a good one.
I’m happy about it, but what’s all the hub-bub? Traffic stats have mapped straight North, since the above photo was posted on Pinterest by another. It was taken by me a couple years ago at The HomeBaked Ham Company, formerly in Corona Del Mar. Did you know they’re [not] real, though apparently quite spectacular, as it’s been re-pinned by several others?!
Can you spot the real Vegetable Platter? 😉 Do the Pinterest pinners know or even care?
Answer, if puzzled… ALL food (in top two photos) is fake, and the last is real and best for you.
The posted RECIPE is an Award WINNER and officially named Chilled Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho. It’s not a Mexican Shrimp Cocktail silly — Duly advised, but it reminds me of one. Either way, it may be the best I’ve had. It’s fresh tasting, flavorful and super easy to make.
Chilled Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho
3 ripe Tomatoes, cored and cut into large cubes [I seeded them]
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into large cubes [I didn’t seed it; used an English Cucumber]
1/2 Green, Yellow or Orange Pepper (or tricolor combo), diced [I used half a Green, half an Orange]
1/2 Shallot, or 1 Tablespoon Red Onion, diced [Shallot]
1/2 cup Scallions, chopped
Juice of 1 Lime
1 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 T. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 t. Tabasco [or other hot pepper sauce, like Red Rooster, which I now like better–use 1 T.]
1/2 cup V-8 Juice [buy one small bottle at a liquor store; grocery stores only sell it by the case!]
Lemon Pepper to taste
Seasoned Salt to taste
Instructions
Combine all Soup ingredients in blender until well blended (ingredients will retain some pulp, which is great). Pour into chilled bowls and garnish as desired. Makes 1/2 gallon–6 appetizer servings or 3 main dish servings. Tastes better if you make it the night before.
Garnish (with one or more)
1/2 lb. chilled, cooked Shrimp [buy the fresh $10 Shrimp tray from Costco; scarf the leftovers with the Cocktail Sauce]
1 chilled, sliced Avocado
1 T. fresh Cilantro, chopped
Follow and vary the RECIPE to your taste — Above [brackets] indicate specifics by Arlene T., 2011 Best Appetizer Winner. She agreed to share all on Nibbles of Tidbits and we thank her.
I recently made the same for a Holiday Party and everyone loved it well chilled in a cup.
Voted the Best Appetizer at our Christmas Par-Tay was this Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. Recipe coming soon to this blog you see now — We be kickin’ it at this moment on a sunny Saturday.
Congrats Arlene (second from right) and thanks to Cost Plus for making it extra special.
Circa 10+ years ago, I was subscribing to all the popular gourmet cooking magazines — Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur, Cook’s Illustrated, etc. And for Christmas my Grandma got me a subscription to Taste of Home. I hadn’t known of it and remember her saying… “It’s not a fancy gourmet magazine, but I’ve liked it for a long time.” She was indeed on to something, because it turned out to be one of my favorite magazines too. My Grandma (now 89) and I have enjoyed many recipes from Taste of Home magazines over the years. Thanks Grandma. And now Taste of Home is having a CONTEST you could possibly win. It’s a Win-Win Contest, as you’ll learn by reading below.
WIN UP TO $20,000 FOR YOUR SCHOOL, PLUS ANOTHER $20,000 FOR YOU! ENTER THE TASTE OF HOME TEACHERS RECIPE CONTEST PRESENTED BY BOOKS ARE FUN™
Bake sale blockbusters, popular potlucks, teachers’ lounge favorites, fabulous finger foods, delicious desserts, good for you goodies… The stomach often rules the mind at school. Now, Taste of Home, the world’s most popular cooking magazine, and Books are Fun™ have teamed up to put some money where that food goes with the Taste of Home Teachers Recipe Contest.
Books Are Fun will award more than $70,000 in cash and prizes for the best original submitted recipes chosen by the staff at Taste of Home, with $20,000 awarded to BOTH the grand prize winner and the affiliated school.
“Taste of Home is thrilled to work with Books Are Fun to celebrate our teachers and all the wonderful people who help make our schools so special,” said Catherine Cassidy, editor-in-chief of Taste of Home. “We’ve all heard the news stories about budget cuts. This is a chance to do something positive for schools.”
The Taste of Home Teachers Recipe Contest has six categories for submissions:
The Taste of Home tasting panel will pick three winners from all of the submissions. The grand prize winner will win $20,000 and $20,000 for the school affiliated with that winner, plus a free one-year subscription to Taste of Home magazine for all paid full-time teachers and staff at the school. The second-place winner will win $10,000, plus $10,000 for the school. Third place will take home $5,000 plus $5,000 for the school.
Entry forms and rules can be found at www.tasteofhome.com/teacherscontest or www.teacherscontest.booksarefun.com. Completed entries must be received by 11:59pm (CT) on November 30, 2010.
An abundance of sliced Cucumbers leftover from a Vegetable Platter inspired the preparation of homemade Cucumber Dressing. After searching for a recipe, I used a combination of most ingredients noted in the CD Kitchen recipes. The pictured Cucumber Dressing includes Mayonnaise, Lemon Juice, Milk, Cucumbers, Dill, Green Onions, Garlic, Salt and Pepper. All was pureed together in a mini food processor. The flavor turned out good, but not as great as the Cucumber Dressing offered at Katella Deli, the taste I was shooting for. They serve the best I’ve currently tasted. We’ll post an exact recipe, once we fine tune it. Until then, this was an easy and fine start. We didn’t have Sour Cream nor Buttermilk on-hand, thus those ingredients may make a better Cucumber Dressing next time. We’ll experiment and report back later.
I initially bought these Belgian Chocolate Fancies to be a prize at a Christmas Party I’m hosting next week. I usually buy about (10) $5.00 prizes to award to the winners of the crazy games I conjure up. This year will be my 15th Annual Girl’s Christmas Party and it appears I’ve already won (or cheated), since I’m eating them. I’m not supposed to do that, but couldn’t resist after reading the package. The natural fruit flavors sounded way too delicious, plus I’ve been craving fancy Chocolates after recently trying those made by Christopher Micheal Chocolatier.
These Belgian Chocolate Fancies are sold at Trader Joe’s for only $4.99, which is less expensive that those by Christopher Michael — They’re good too! It looks like I’ll need to go back to TJ’s to buy a replacement box, before my party guests see this. Nibbles of Tidbits highly recommends these Chocolates for their flavor and beauty.
Update 01/29/10: When I last saw them at Trader Joe’s, they were on sale for $2.99 a box — I’m not sure if they’re still selling them, since their products change quite often. The packaging didn’t do ’em justice.
For the daily readers, I’ll get to the Christmas Party Appetizers shortly, but now I have to mention the luxurious Tea I’m enjoying. What a treat! One of my fabulous party guests gave me an amazing gift. Have you seen this before? I hadn’t. It’s cute, practical and the Crimson Nectar Tea is a layered flavor explosion. I love it all — Thanks again.
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