Easy Holiday Recipes

It doesn't matter what the holiday is. It could be Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukah, July 4th or any other ethnic or religious or patriotic occasion. Most of the time people celebrate these special days with family get togethers or neighborhood parties or both!

You can have a festive get-together just about any time of the day. Inviting friends and family over for cocktails and appetizers is a fabulous way to entertain for a shorter time.

Progressive parties are popular, too. It's so much fun to have appetizers at one house, the salad course at another, the entrée somewhere else and then move to another home for the dessert.

These recipes are tried and true. By me! So check them out and let me know what you think. Enjoy.

Photograph from my personal collection.

ALMOND PINECONES

I can't even tell you how old this recipe is but I do remember making it for the first time more than twenty years ago for an office party. I still have the magazine clipping (not dated) and this is the picture that accompanied it.

The Ingredients are:

1-1/4 cup whole almonds

1 Pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.), softened

1/2 Cup mayonnaise

5 bacon slices - crisply cooked and crumbled

1 Tablespoon. chopped green onion

1/2 teaspoon dill weed

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Spread almonds in a single layer in a shallow pan. Bake at 300 degrees (F.) for 15 minutes, stirring often, until almonds just begin to turn color.

Combine cream cheese and mayonnaise, mixing well. Add the bacon, onion, dill and pepper. Mix well. Cover and chill overnight.

Form mixture into shapes of two pinecones on a serving platter. Beginning at the narrow edge (or point), arrange almonds at a slight angle into the cheese mixture, pressing gently in rows. Continue overlapping the rows until all the cheese is covered.

Garnish with artificial pine sprigs and maybe a bow. Serve with crackers.

Makes 1-1/2 cups.

SHRIMP IN THE SHELL

This recipe is unusual but delicious and very easy to prepare. It's definitely a keeper.

2-1/2 pounds fresh unpeeled shrimp

4 cans beer

2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons celery seed

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoons lemon juice

6 peppercorns

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

Place all ingredients in a large pot, except for the shrimp. Bring to a boil and add the shrimp. Boil for 4 or 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink. Drain the shrimp and place in a bowl with crushed ice.

Serve with Red Sauce Supreme or bottled cocktail sauce.

RED SAUCE SUPREME

Ingredients

1 bottle of chili sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon horseradish

1 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

4 drops Tabasco

1 teaspoon salt

Dash cayenne

Method

Mix all ingredients well and chill. Serve with Cold Spiced Shrimp.

Amazon.com Review

"...There's something rather delightful about eating tasty bites off small plates. Tapas, finger sandwiches, a sampling of varied chocolate truffles-all lend themselves to these elegantly spare 4-1/2-inch-square, 1/2-inch-deep plates. Made of durable vitrified porcelain in a glossy, all-white finish, the plates won't discolor or craze even after extensive use, and are safe for warming food in the microwave and cleaning up in the dishwasher.

The set of four plates comes gift-boxed-perfect to give someone who loves to entertain-and nicely complements a wide range of square and rectangular dinnerware and serving pieces by BIA Cordon Bleu. --Ann Bieri..."

Easy, delicious and festive

This Holiday recipe isn't really a recipe, at all...it's excellent because it looks pretty and there's enough variety to suit anybody's palate. You can use as many or as few of the following suggestions as you like. You just can't go wrong. The trick is to make it look as decorative as you can...people will love choosing a few of the offerings. Some suggestions are:

Marinated pepperoni slices

Ham, cubed

Prosciutto

Salami

Artichoke hearts

Olives - a variety of stuffed ripe and green olives

Sun-dried tomatoes

Cherry or grape tomatoes

Diced fresh mozzarella or any cheeses you like

Marinated vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrot rounds, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, small whole mushrooms, etc.)

Some suggestions that aren't considered traditional antipasti but that would be delicious include:

Tiny sweet or dill pickles

Pickled okra

Pickled baby corn

Smoked oysters

Pickled herring

Vegetable sticks such as carrots, celery, peppers, zucchini, etc.

Fruit such as grapes, melon chunks, strawberries, pineapple

Crostini is the traditional offering with antipasti but you can use any type of cracker or bread sticks, French or Italian bread thinly sliced or cubed.

Have fun with this and your guests will be happy.

This is a terrific video. It's short and sweet. There's a wonderful recipe for a shrimp appetizer that can be tweaked several different ways.

Do you have a favorite holiday? What are the dishes that you traditionally serve? I'd love to know...