Tomorrow is our 20th annual White Elephant party and it is now time to type up our menu for posterity’s sake. As of now we have about 28 attendees, not including Denis and me. We figure we’ll have a couple no shows, so we’re making enough food for 25-26 people. We both took today off from work to begin prepping the food and getting the house ready. It has been a VERY productive day (8 out of 11 hors d’oeuvres have already been prepped in their entirety) and tomorrow should be relatively easy (which is good because I have 26 extension cords to make before tomorrow night’s outdoor display clicks on for the evening). We spent several hours this morning getting the house ready – polishing the silver, pulling out plates/napkins/cups, a bit of decorating, moving furniture around. Then the real prepping began.
As for the menu for the party, this year we’re once again focusing on the special dieters, so we have a menu that is primarily gluten-free, slightly keto friendly, with a lot of vegetarian options. Then for those who don’t care, we have lots of bread and carbs and bacon.
1. Meatballs (Swedish + Cranberry) (Beef/GF) – Denis is making the Swedish variety and I’m making the other. In the past I’ve made Hawaiian meatballs and Gochujang meatballs. This year I’m trying for a Cranberry BBQ sauce which sounds delicious.
2. Crab Rangoon Cups (Seafood) – Denis found some gluten-free lasagna noodles that we were going to use in place of wontons for this hors d’oeuvres. We tested these earlier this year with actual wontons and they were DELICIOUS (I think we devoured all of them in last than two days). Unfortunately, the gluten-free lasagna noodles did not work when we attempted to assemble them earlier this afternoon, so we’re going back to regular wonton wraps, which are not gluten free. Oh well. They’ll still be delicious, just not GF
3. Stuffed Mushrooms (Veg/GF/Keto) – Denis makes these very year. They are a staple that we always have, although from time to time he’ll shake up the actual recipe. This year it’s the standard tomato stuffed mushrooms.
4. Bruschetta (Veg) – You can’t have a party without bruschetta on hand. Usually we make two kinds, but this year I think we’re sticking with the standard tomato version.
5. Shrimp and Chorizo (Seafood/GF/Keto) – I believe we made this last year and it was a hit, so we’re repeating this one. It’s exactly as it sounds. A slice of chorizo with a shrimp, served on a toothpick. Easy, and delicious.
6. Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Chicken/GF/Keto) – I made this one a few years ago and it went over reasonably well, so we’re bringing it back since it is GF and somewhat keto friendly (it does use BBQ sauce, but in such minute amounts that I don’t think it’ll negatively effect a keto-follower). We prepped the chicken filling today and once done I took a taste test and have decided that I’m going to start making just the filling for my lunch at work. SO SO good. We’re serving it on endive this year instead romaine.
7. Spicy Thai Beef Cucumber Bites (Beef/GF/Keto) – I remember a few years ago we tried to make an hors d’oeuvres with a cucumber base and it was a fiasco. The cucumber was a mushy, gross mess. This year, Denis did a cucumber test to determine whether a cucumber was best stored 1) salted and cold, 2) salted and room temperature, 3) unsalted and cold, or 4) unsalted and room temperature. Sadly, I do not remember which option was best, but there was a clear winner at the time. Hopefully Denis remembers once we begin prepping that particular item on Saturday.
8. Spicy/Sweet Bacon-Wrapped Chicken – this one smelled delicious while we prepped it, and I’m sure it’ll be tasty, too.
We’re making a few other things, which I’ll post about after the party. Don’t want to give away EVERYTHING for those attending. We have a lot of new folks coming tomorrow and I’ve warned them all NOT to eat dinner before they come, or else they’ll regret it. Let’s hope they believed me!
