I have been remiss in coming to post about the menu for our 2019 White Elephant party menu. I always try to come and post about it if only for my own sanity, when I need to refer back to prior years! Including Denis and me, we had 30 people in attendance. And it was this year, our 21st year hosting, that we finally learned our lesson and did not make too much food. We had very little by way of leftovers once the party was over. Usually we have enough to host a whole other party, but this year we had only a little bit. My intention was to take a bunch of photos of the food, but I forgot. I did get at least one photo though, of one of our most popular dishes of the night, so I’m happy about that.
1. Monte Cristo Sandwiches – I practiced these at book club a few months ago and they were such a hit that I knew I’d make them for WE. And they were just as popular. I’m glad I served them first because they were more than a one-bite appetizer. They were more like a small half sandwich. I made these the morning of the party and then just re-heated them in the oven for 10 minutes and sprinkled some confectioner’s sugar over them once I plated them. Delish.
2. Spinach Artichoke Zucchini Bites – we practiced this at one of our Cards Against Humanity game nights and they were also well-received. They are exactly what they sound like – spinach/artichoke dip on slices of zucchini and baked in the oven for 10-15 to make the dip nice and gooey.
3. Veggie Sushi Cups – this was almost a non-starter for me. The intent was to actually make sushi rice cups in a biscuit pan, but the rice was SO sticky that we couldn’t make a true “cup” out of it. So instead we brought out our chinese spoons and I took the time during the party to spoon out the rice, and put the vegetable mixture on top. It took forever, once again because that sushi rice is SO sticky, but this dish got rave reviews and my co-workers that attended the party asked me to bring any leftovers to work on Monday (which I did). The flavor was so good we may figure out how to make these another way for next year.
4. Chicken Satay with peanut sauce – this one was super easy since we used a pre-packaged peanut sauce. The appearance was decidedly lacking, so we sprinkled with some chopped parsley to make it look less brown and blah. Taste fine.
5. Avocado Egg Rolls – this was another one that people loved. I was worried about how they would cook up, but after 18-20 minutes in the oven they cut in half almost perfectly, and were served with a green sauce of some kind. Would definitely make this one again.
6. Chicken Parm Sausage Bites – this were delicious and I think I ate 5-6 of them at the party. We will definitely make these again, and will make twice as many. They were the perfect bite-sized treat. In the picture to the left you can see – it’s a slice of sausage (we used a garlic sausage), some tomato sauce, half a ball of mozz cheese, and a strip of basil on top. Skewer with a toothpick and baked for 10 minutes until the cheese is soft. Serve immediately and enjoy. Easy peasy and delicious, too!
7. Stuffed Mushrooms – Denis makes these every year. I think we’ve made them every year for at least 15 years. People like them because they are another one-bite hors d’oeuvres that is easy to eat.
8. Lobster Bites – bought phyllo shells and stuffed them with a heavenly lobster salad. REAL lobster – no fake stuff for us! This one had great flavor and I was so glad that we had so much of the lobster salad left. I had decadent lobster salad sandwiches for a couple days post-party. Yum.
9. Cauliflower Corn Nuggets – these were weird. My sister was in town a day early to help us prep, and this was one dish she prepped for us. The recipe made a TON of the mixture, and when we cooked up a test batch, they had NO FLAVOR whatsoever. And I mean NONE. In an attempt to salvage it we threw some heavy seasoning into the mixture and also made a sriracha ranch dipping sauce. It was a weird dish that I think could be improved upon and turned into something really good, but in my opinion this was the weakest offering of the night.
10. Coconut Shrimp – we made this when we realized another shrimp dish we wanted to make was not going to work at all. Denis whipped this together a few hours of the party and it ended up going over really well. A nice go-to hors d’oeuvres to have in your back pocket.
11. Bacon-Wrapped Butternut Squash – this is another one that I indulged in. I had 5-6 of these as well. Cubes of squash, marinated in a sweet syrup, then wrapped in bacon and dipped in brown sugar. Bake until bacon is crispy and voila – this basically becomes bacon candy. So, so good. I talked one of my co-workers, who is a very picky eater, into trying one of these and she came back for more. I told Denis he can make this even when we’re NOT having a party.
12. Hawaiian Meatballs – I’ve made these before and we made them this year as well. A good sweet meatball that we made using gluten-free breadcrumbs so that our GF pals could partake.
13. Korean BBQ Meatballs – we messed up this recipe. We put in way too much liquid into the mixture, and no amount of gluten-free panko was going to tighten these things. They completely fell apart in the crockpot and turned the entire dish into a meat sauce, basically. A super-spicy, tasty meat sauce, for sure, but still a meat sauce.
14. Bruschetta – this is another one we serve every year. Denis makes two kinds – one with pesto and one with goat cheese.
Other than those 14 things we also had tons of chips, nuts, crackers and candies out on the counters. And we would not have been able to do it all without my sister this year. In years past we’ve done well with time management, but this year even though we were extremely confident that we’d be done by early Saturday afternoon, we were prepping right up until the last minute (to the point where Denis didn’t even think he’d have time to shower before the first guest arrived). Fortunately, no one arrived early this year and he was able to get himself cleaned up.
The party was a blast, as always, with some new people in attendance (which is always fun). The game itself was fun because we had a lot of returning gifts pop up, as well as some really fun new ones. One that I hope returns in the future was an angel Christmas tree topper that played Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” and also bowed. Amazing. I had hoped to come away with a slushie maker for the kids (yep, someone brought a legitimately nice gift!), but it got stolen from me. Oh well. Then Denis stole it from that person and we thought we had it, but then in the last move of the game, it got stolen from him. ARG!!!!
And now it is January and we’re already planning for next year. I think within a week after the party Denis had figured out a new method for the sushi cups and planned on testing it at our next Cards Against Humanity night. And I’m going to re-make the Korean BBQ meatballs and see if I can get them to come out right. December 2020 is less than a year away!
