Home Cooks Online

Easy, quick ideas for hosting a party by guest author Heather Forsyth.

In the midst of sewing, wrapping, mailing and preparing for a trip home to see family and friends (you know, the usual holiday chaos) I also recently found myself agreeing to cater my office holiday party this week.  Heavy hors d'oeuvres for 60.  What was I thinking?!  As I sifted through the various options, a couple of new ideas as well as some old favorites ended up on my list and I thought I'd share them here.  It's that time of year when folks are likely either going to or hosting a cocktail party, so maybe one of these ideas will come in handy.

1. Beef Roll-Ups.  I came across a recipe that called for searing a whole beef tenderloin, wrapping, chilling and slicing it, then rolling up the slices with hoisin sauce and spring onions.  I like this idea because it gets away from the hunk of beef next to bread basket that you see at most buffets, but my plan is to buy good quality, pre-cooked and sliced medium rare beef tenderloin, and wrap that around watercress and creamy horseradish.  Let some of the watercress (or use baby spinanch, arugula or sprouts depending on what you can get your hands on this time of year) poke out of one end of the roll.  Secure with a toothpick if you want.  Voila!  Quick, easy and pretty.


2. Chicken Sausage Skewers.  I'm a little tired of seeing chicken satay, aren't you?  Here's something different.  If your sausage comes in links, cut into bite sized pieces.  If it's ground (like mine), form into bite-sized sausage balls.  Brown in skillet, then lower heat and continue cooking until no longer pink.  Drain and cool enough to handle comfortably.  Now put a piece of sausage on a wooden skewer with a piece of green apple and a chunk of smoky cheddar.  Serve with honey-mustard.


3. Pineapple Shrimp Skewers.  People come to cocktail parties hoping for shrimp.  Make them happy without busting the bank with this twist on shrimp cocktail which is tasty, easy to eat and gives you some portion control.  Take fresh pineapple (if you can get it pre-sliced and chunked yeah for you!) and put 2" chunks on skewers.  Ask your man to put the skewers on the grill until they are golden brown and slightly carmelized.  Remove from skewers and cool to room temperature.  Now take fresh skewers and put two large, fresh (peeled and deveined) shrimp on the skewer.  Stick the pointy end of the skewer into a pineapple cube so that the cube acts as a base and the skewer is standing straight up.  Serve with sweet chili sauce which you can either buy in a bottle or make yourself.


4. BBQ, Bacon and Carmelized Onion Tart.  Don't be scared, this is made really easy by buying pre-made puff pastry in the freezer department.  Cook 8-10 slices of bacon until crisp.  Drain, cool and crumble.  Slice 3-4 onions very thinly and brown slowly over low heat in a couple of tablespoons of oil and some salt until sweet, golden and very tender.  This will take at least 30 minutes.  Follow directions on the package for thawing and handling the puff pastry.  Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry to fit the size of your cookie sheet.  Fit the pastry into the cookie sheet.  Brush the pastry generously with your favorite barbecue sauce.  Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon.  Top with the carmelized onions.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes until edges and puffed and tart looks golden.  Cut into 2" squares with pizza cutter.  This can be served at room temperature.

For my party this week I'm adding these four ideas to my old stand bys: crab stuffed mushrooms, cucumber and salmon canapes, an antipasti platter (olives, salami, mozarella, roasted asparagus and such) and artichoke dip (brightened up with lemon zest and capers).  Maybe these ideas will inspire you to have a party, too!  There's not enough to do this time of year, right?  Have fun!