The 2012 Working White Elephant Menu

It’s that time again – time to begin working on the menu for this year’s White Elephant party! We know of three things we’ll be bringing back from last year:

1. Stuffed mushrooms – Denis’s annual must-have. He makes them every year.
2. Bruschetta – last year we did a lemon/thyme version that was not well received, so we’ll stick with pesto and find a new kind for the second option. We’re leaning towards a warmed artichoke version (as seen on Pinterest).
3. Curried shrimp tarts – these were a huge hit last year. I only made 30 last year – plan on making at least 50 this year, if not more.

Last night for book club we tried a VERY simple hors d’oeurves:
4. Bacon-wrapped pineapple – quite literally, you dip half a slice of uncooked bacon in some brown sugar, then wrap it around a piece of pineapple and spear with a toothpick. Bake for 20 minutes and voila – an AWESOME bite of food. We made over 30 for book club and the plate was empty at the end of the night.

We also plan on bringing back some oldies but goodies:
5. Mini yorkshire puddings
6. Maple salmon bites
7. Some kind of meatball
8. Crab cakes
9. BBQ chicken on romaine hearts

Some new things we’re considering:
10. Mini french onion grilled cheese sandwiches (sounds amazing)
11. Mini stacked BLT bites
12. Sausage stars (also found on Pinterest)

By the count, that’s 4 vegetarian items (bruschetta counts twice since it’s two different kinds), 3 seafood items, 3 pork items, two beef items and one chicken item. And Denis says, “We need more bacon.” We also need at least one other chicken option, and possible another beef.

We usually make 13-14 things, so I’m sure something will be added to this list. After all, it’s only August – plenty of time to narrow down the menu and practice some new recipes!