Roasted Shrimp Cocktail with Lemon-Butter sauce

For a quick and easy appetizer I made Ina's Roasted Shrimp Cocktail.  But instead of making her cocktail sauce, I adaped the recipe for the sauce for the Shrimp Scampi in The Square Table cookbook.  Here's my dipping sauce:

1/2 c melted butter
1/4 c white wine
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t minced garlic
3 T lemon juice
salt and pepper

A Southern White Christmas

On December 16th, we hosted Michael's 3rd Annual 35th Birthday Party.  The party is a fun new tradtion and it is basically a grown-ups-only Christmas Open House.  I changed up the menu a bit this year and decided on the theme of A Southern White Christmas.  My intention was for all the food and drinks to basically be white or golden...as you'll see, it didn't always work out quite that way, but the food was all delicious!

Before we had the opening between our kitchen and dining room expanded, we had a kids table in the kitchen.  It was nice because whenever I was hosting a dinner party, I could set my dining room table in advance and the kids would eat at their table in the kitchen.  Well, now we always eat at the dining room table, so that made things a challenge this time around.  So what I did instead was I set the table with all my serving pieces a couple of days in advance. Then I took this picture so I could remember where I was going to place everything for the party, and I could think through all the serving pieces needed.

Here's the table right before the party.

The Appetizers

Spiral-sliced ham and warm rolls, served with mayonnaise and mustard

Assorted cheeses

Kahlua Brie

Marinated Shrimp on Crackers

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Savory Palmiers

The Beverages

Champagne

White wine

Red wine

Mississippi-Bourbon Punch

Vanilla-Rosemary Lemonade

The Birthday Cakes

Layered Peppermint Cheesecake

Lone Star State Cheesecake

Kahlua Brie

I've posted this recipe before.  Here.

Michelle's Marinated Shrimp on crackers

This is the one dish that has made it on the menu for all three years of this party.  The first year I was going to do shrimp cocktail, but Michelle advised me to make this instead.  Her tip was that shrimp cocktail literally flies off the table, but this dish goes slower...but is actually better.  I don't know if I have the authority to share the secret recipe, but I'll give you this...you cook the shrimp then marinate it in mayonnaise, horseradish, Cajun seasoning, green onions and mustard.  You can make it a day or so in advance, then just serve it on crackers.  Super easy.

Spinach-artichoke dip

I L-O-V-E spinach-artichoke dip, but this has to be my favorite recipe, found, as many of the recipes for the night, in the December Southern Living.



Savory Palmiers

Unbelievably this was the only Ina-dish of the night: Savory Palmiers.

Day 2: Queso

We have an EX-family member that didn't leave us a lot of good things to remember about him, but he did give us this queso recipe.

1 box of Mexican or Pepperjack Velveeta, cubed
1 stick of butter (I will often only use 1 T)
1 large can of evaporated milk
1 4 oz can of diced green chiles

Melt the first three over low heat. Once melted add the chiles and stir until warm. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips and devour while watching college football.

Sour Cream and Chive Dip

2 T butter
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 C sour cream
1/4 t garlic salt
1/4 t pepper
1/8 t cayenne pepper
4 t minced chives
milk, if needed

Melt butter in a skillet. Saute onion in butter until translucent. Cool. Combine onion, sour cream, salt and peppers in food processor. Process until smooth. Add chives. Refrigerate. Add milk to soften, if needed, before serving. Serve with potato chips.

Les gougeres (cheese puffs)

This is a great make-ahead appetizer. It's from Barefoot in Paris.

1 c milk
1 stick unsalted butter
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 c flour
4 eggs
1/2 c grated Gruyere (or for a less expensive option, swiss cheese)
1/4 grated Parmesan
1 egg beaten with 1 t water for egg wash

Preheat oven to 425. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

In a saucepan, heat milk, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg over medium until scalded. Add the flour and beat it vigorously until the mixture comes together. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat 2 minutes. Dump the hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Immediately add the eggs and cheeses. Pulse until the eggs are incorporated. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag with a large plain round tip. Pipe in mounds 1 1/4 inches wide and 3/4 inch high onto the baking sheets. With a wet finger, lightly press down the swirl at the top of each puff. Brush the top of each puff with egg wash. Bake 15 minutes.


You can make these in advance and freeze them in a plastic bag. Reheat at 425 for 5 minutes.

I made these the night before, stored them in a bag in the refrigerator and reheated for 3 minutes.

Kahlua Brie

round of Brie
1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 c brown sugar
2 T Kahlua

Preheat oven to 325. Saute nuts in butter until lightly toasted. Remove the top rind of the Brie (or all of the rind if you prefer). Place brie on greased baking sheet. Top Brie with pecans, sugar, and pour Kahula gently on top. Bake 8-10 minutes or until cheese is warm and soft and the sugar has dissolved into a glaze.

Serve with crackers or French bread.

Prosciutto-fontina cheese ball

This is my new favorite cheese ball. Everyone seems to devour it. I always wish there was more leftover to snack on.

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1 c fontina cheese (shredded)--4oz
1/4 c butter
1 T milk
1/2 t Worcestershire
2 oz chopped prosciutto
2 T sliced green onion
2 t dried basil
1/2 c chopped pine nuts

Let cheeses and butter stand at room temp for 30 minutes. Add milk and sauce. Beat with mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Stir in prosciutto, onion, and basil. Cover and chill 4-24 hours. Shape into a ball. Roll in pine nuts. Serve with crackers.

To freeze, roll into a ball but do not roll in nuts.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Kimber posted a non-dessert recipe per my request. To me this sounds like the perfect summertime snack or light dessert--sorry, Kimber, I just have to classify it that way.

Chips:
1 Tbsp. sugar plus 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, combined
4 flour tortillas

Salsa:
1 cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries
2 peaches, peeled and chopped
2 kiwi, peeled, sliced, and quartered
1 tsp. lime zest
2 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray tortillas with water; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut each tortilla into eight wedges. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

2. Combine all salsa ingredients and mix gently.

Yield: 2 cups salsa and 32 chips.