How to Host a Holiday Party (and still enjoy yourself)

Signature Cocktail

Champagne Punch
From Emeril Lagasse
Makes 12 to 16 servings, about 3 quarts
Ingredients
• 1 1/3 cups fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Gran Marnier)
• 1/2 cup Triple Sec
• 1/2 cup cognac
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 bottles chilled dry Champagne or sparkling wine
• Orange or lemon slices
• Fresh strawberries, optional

Directions
Combine the lemon juice, sugar, orange liqueur, Triple Sec, cognac and orange juice in a non-reactive bowl and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the Champagne and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Pour into a decorative bowl or pitcher. Garnish with orange or lemon slices and fresh strawberries, if desired. Serve in Champagne flutes, wine glasses or punch cups.

Blood Orange Sangria
From Cooking Light
Any good-quality, fruity red wine works well in this cold sipper; a combination of pinot noir and Beaujolais is particularly good. The vermilion flesh of blood oranges (which come into season in December) is lovely. But if they’re not available, substitute navel oranges.
Makes 16 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Ingredients
• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• 2 cups apple juice
• 2/3 cup Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 seedless blood oranges, each cut into 16 wedges
• 2 (750-milliliter) bottles fruity red wine
• 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher, and stir until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. Discard cloves and cinnamon sticks. Pour sangria into individual glasses, including the fruit.

Cranberry Cosmopolitan
From Martha Stewart
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 ounces Vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
• 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 ounce orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau
• Ice cubes
• Orange peel, for garnish
• Cranberries, for garnish

Directions
In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice, orange liqueur and ice; shake until well combined. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Twist orange peel over cocktail and add to glass. Garnish with skewered cranberries; serve immediately.

Easy Make-Ahead Appetizers

Bacon-Wrapped Dates
From Martha Stewart
Makes 32 portions
Ingredients
• 32 pitted dates (about 10 ounces)
• 2 ounce(s) shelled, salted whole pistachios
• 2 ounce(s) dried apricots, cut into 32 strips
• 1 pound(s) lean best-quality bacon, thinly sliced and then halved crosswise

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stuff each date with 3 or 4 pistachios. Lay a stuffed date and apricot strip on top of each bacon slice; wrap to enclose. If not using immediately, freeze up to 1 month.
Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes, flipping each wrapped date after 8 minutes. If frozen, bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes; flip, and bake 10 minutes more. Transfer wrapped dates to paper towels to drain. Serve with toothpicks.

 

Blue Cheese and Walnut Crackers
From Ina Garten
Makes 30 crackers
Ingredients
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 8 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled (about 12 ounces with rind), at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 extra-large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts

 

Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and Stilton together for 1 minute, or until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, salt and pepper and mix until it’s in large crumbles, about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of water and mix until combined.
Dump the dough onto a floured board, press it into a ball, and roll into a 12-inch long log. Brush the log completely with the egg wash. Spread the walnuts in a square on a cutting board and roll the log back and forth in the walnuts, pressing lightly, and distributing them evenly on the outside of the log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 4 days.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the log 3/8ths-inch thick with a small, sharp knife and place the crackers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 22 minutes until very lightly browned. Rotate the pan once during baking. Cool and serve at room temperature.

 

Hot Spinach Dip
From Martha Stewart
Makes 3 cups
Ingredients
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds spinach, cleaned, trimmed, and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 6 ounces reduced-fat bar cream cheese
• 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 3 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Baguette slices, breadsticks, or crackers, for serving

 

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add spinach in two additions, letting the first batch wilt before adding the next; cook until completely wilted, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a colander; drain, pressing to release all excess liquid.
In the same pot, warm milk over high heat. Whisk in cream cheese until melted, about 3 minutes. Add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1/4 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a lightly oiled 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.
Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot with accompaniments, as desired.

 

Stuffed Mushrooms
From Martha Stewart
Makes 28 mushrooms
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

 

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.
Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.