TGIOver ;)

TarHeels&Rebels

Ex.haus.ted lol. 

What worked

Mushroom pinwheels, tomato-bacon-swiss tarlets, carrots with light vegetable dip, prosciutto (ham) crostini, cowboy caviar with Fritos, cracker spread.  Ask if you want any of the recipes.  The ham crostini were incredible.

My mom's discovery of "Mint Thins" from Dollar General that taste exactly like GS Thin Mints lol.

Staying flexible - MIL brought lots of stuff she didn't tell me about; AIL brought lunch today, even though I had bought food - I'm irked that I spent the money and much of the food will go to waste, but they were being kind.

Having coffee at 6pm

Having guests (parents lol) kind enough to help out - FIL helped with many of the tedious apps, my mom did ALL the dishes.

What didn't

Does artichoke dip always smell awful?  I kept checking the floor under the buffet thinking one of the dogs had gone inside, that's how bad the smell of my aunt's dish was.

Spinach and cheese strata, celery trefoils

I'm going to have wine for the rest of my life - we only finished 1.5 bottles of champagne, half a bottle of red, and half a bottle of white.  Drinkers drank mostly Patron, Crown and that punch.  AIL brought me 6 bottles of wine in addition to everything I bought.

Looking for party hats the afternoon of :P

Serving dinner only a couple hours before serving such heavy party food - wasn't needed.  Maybe I'd have more room in my fridge right now if people hadn't recently eaten when I set out the apps.

 

 

Lisa07033

You can always freeze the wine in 1 oz potrions in ice cude trays. that way when you only need a few ounces you don't have to open a whole bottle. H and I are not regular wine drinkers but he cooks with alot of stuff that is wahat I always do.

wejustwant2:)

Hi!  Glad it went well. Sounds awesome. Please post recipes for the Ham Crostini, Mushroom Pinwheels and the Tomato-Swiss Tartlets (I apologize if you have already...)

BTW - we didn't have our usual party on NYE because both couples had a spouse get called into work - so we all got together on NYD instead.  MY BFF's DH brought a whole OCTOPUS!  We seared it on the grill with balsamic vinegar 

Best Wishes to you and all of the Entertainers for a very Happy New Year! 

TarHeels&Rebels

I think NYD with the girls sounds great!  I've had some octopus and really enjoyed it - I can't imagine what a riot it'd be to just throw a whole one on the grill lol.

Ham crostini

This started out from a recipe, but we modified it so much it wouldn't do you any good to see the recipe lol.

Cocktail rye

Grated swiss

Virginia ham from the deli, sliced thin

Freshly ground pepper

Butter

Garlic

-- Melt a couple tbsp of butter in a microwave safe dish with 3-4 cloves of minced garlic. 

-- Lay the rye squares out on a cookie sheet and brush with melted garlic butter.

-- Toast for ~5 mins.

-- Sprinkle on Swiss, pile small amount of ham on toasts and top with pepper.  (Optionally pretty: Roll up a couple slices of ham to form a "hot dog," slice into little pieces like you would for a child, fan back out with your fingers)

-- Toast again for 3-4 mins.

Mushroom Pinwheels (from a 1970 church cookbook )

 2 cans of crescent rolls (get the Recipe Creations ones if you can)

8 oz cream cheese (fat free does work)

2-3 stems green onion, chopped

1 small can mushrooms, chopped

Season salt to taste (I sprinkled a goodly amount so that the top layer of mixture in the bowl was covered)

Optional: poppy seed and egg or butter

-- Mix cream cheese, green onions, mushrooms and season salt and spread on rolled out dough.  Roll up and refrigerate ~2 hours to harden.  Slice and bake at 350 for 8-10 mins.  Optional: brush with egg or butter before baking and top with poppy seed.

Tomato-swiss tartlets (passed around and around our circle, no idea where they originated lol)

1 small can Pillsbury Grands biscuits (the half can)

2c grated swiss

1 can rotel, drained

1/2c bacon bits

2 tbsp basil

1 tbsp chopped green pepper

1/2 tsp celery salt

1c mayo

-- Tear biscuits into small, thin pieces and work to fit in mini muffin tin.  Add filling.  Bake at 375 for 8-10 mins.  Makes 24 (the number of cups in my mini tin and all 24 were gone within 15 minutes of being put out - they're really good).

wejustwant2:)

Thank you!

6fsn

Just so you know, your reviews are greatly appreciated.  It's good to hear what does and doesn't work in real life.  The photos look great!

I'm a little surprised by the wine, but it will keep and you can use it for gifts and stuff later.

peony1012

6fsn:

Just so you know, your reviews are greatly appreciated.  It's good to hear what does and doesn't work in real life.  The photos look great!

I second this. I appreciate the info on what works and what doesn't. I made way too much food for my NYD party. The menu included some mexican mini quiches...total blah.