Christmas Party Recipes

Webb and I are big fans of Christmas and all our friends.  So naturally, we threw a Christmas party.

It was a success.  We had people there from all different groups and everyone mingled so well.  Plus, add a photobooth (even though I forgot to put out half the props), yummy food, a yule log and Christmas music and you've got yourself a party.

Some of the food - most was all eaten up!

Wish you could see more of Ernie's Christmas sweater

Friends brought amazing desserts and wine, and Webb and I whipped up food for everyone.  Here are a couple of my all-time favorite recipes!  Note that I was running around too much to take too many pictures, so these are examples, but not my actual dishes.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms
Adapted from my aunt's recipe

1 lb. large white mushrooms (not too big or they will be too firm)
6 strips pre-cooked bacon
2 large tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs (or panko + oregano and basil)
1 egg
Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Remove stems from mushrooms.  Chop the stems.  Chop the bacon.  Mix stems and bacon in a bowl with cheese, breadcrumbs, the egg, and a few shakes of salt and pepper.  Line the mushroom caps on a lined baking sheet.  Stuff the caps with the mixture.  Pour olive oil on the mushrooms and sprinkle some cheese.  Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Serve warm (although people who ate them after they cooled said they still tasted great).

Cranberry and Cream Cheese Spread
Adapted from Buns in My Oven










12 oz. fresh cranberries
5 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced
3/4 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 8-oz packages cream cheese

Pulse cranberries in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped. Add onions, jalapeno, sugar, lemon and salt and pulse until combined (you don't want it to puree!).  Refrigerate for 4 hours (up to 24).  Spread the cream cheese onto the serving plate.  Drain the cranberry mixture of any liquid, then spread on top of the cream cheese.  Serve with a small knife or spoon and sturdy crackers.

Santa's Workshop

The list is crossed off.

The gifts are bought.

Now comes... the wrapping!

Yesterday at lunch time my office looked like Santa's Workshop.  I was frantically trying to make the deadline to ship my East Coast gifts and found myself surrounded by scraps of glitter paper, pieces of yarn, and those annoying spiky balls of excess scotch tape (you know what I mean?)

Wrapping always takes longer than I think.  Truth be told, I adore me some pretty wrapping.  It's truly an art. I'm always trying to find ways to present pretty gifts in the most resourceful of ways.

I was impressed by the simple but lovely display my boss's wife put together for my gift.  She wrapped a cookbook (signed to me by the author!) in a holiday kitchen towel and tied a wooden spoon into the bow.  How practorable.  (That's practical and adorable put together - I have a feeling it won't catch on)

Ignore my perpetual office clutter, por favor

Christmas Challenge

A week has passed since my last Christmas post, and let me tell you - almost each day was jam-packed with twinkle and jingle.  I can't get enough of this season!

Thus begins - MY CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE.

This is a challenge I just created for myself, and I strongly encourage you to join in.  There are two rules:  

• Engage in a Christmas activity each day
• Report back

Would I have engaged in this anyway?  Likely.  Does making it a challenge make it more exciting? Absolutely!

Okay, considering I didn't have this CHALLENGE before today, I think I deserve a pass if each day wasn't Christmasy.  However, I think I can muster up something for each day, knowing me.

Without further ado, my CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE since my last Christmas post:

It's Beginning To Look a lot like Christmas!

It's here, it's here!  My favorite time of year!

(Wow, I'm just one newsboy cap short of being a holiday-pushing newsboy)

We are four days into December and right in the middle of the season when everything is fresh, there seems like a dozen weekends until presents are "due", and the carols don't feel as if they are on repeat.  We feel warm and fuzzy and -- I hope -- remember the reason for the season.

I admit, I've been alternating between "Frank Sinatra (Holiday)" and "N'Sync (Holiday)" on Pandora for quite some time now, but what is your favorite Holiday tune?  Right now I'm really into classic carols like "O Come Emanuel" - hauntingly beautiful!  Who's got a candle to light up in here?

Here are a few snippets of my Christmas season so far.

Santa rounding out the Los Gatos Christmas Parade.  According to Webb's dad, it's one of the best parades on the West Coast!  Something has to be said for a parade that attracts a ton of people in the pouring rain.  

A night of Christmas carols at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley.  Beautiful singers, hand bell-ers, and whistlers!

Union Square in SF - picture taken from the Starlight Room

We still have 21 more days of this glorious season :)