Party On

Despite all of the craptastic snow, H and I went ahead with our holiday party on Saturday.  Although a lot of people had to bail, we still ended up with a crowd of about 20, so I’m glad that we kept the party on!

“While Marty stepped up as our storm-watcher…

…H went and got our Christmas fir.”  (I think he picked a perfect one!)

“The stockings were hung by the chimney fireplace with care…

While Ashley ran around the kitchen, trying not to despair.”

Actually, I am proud to report that I succeeded in my goal of not being a complete psycho with the menu this time around.  Of course, there was still plenty of work to be done, but I’m getting pretty adept at making a week long, day-by-day to-do list leading up to parties, and it makes it so much easier to manage my time efficiently.

Here are some pics of the festive eats!

Homemade hummus with veggies and crackers. Classic.

Becky’s Spinach Artichoke Dip with Garlic Cashew Cream (because I will never again host a party which doesn’t include this magical app).  This got demolished by the guests and as usual, everyone was surprised to find out it contained no dairy.

Plus tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa, several bowls of regular chips (in various flavors), and pistachios too.  The spread:

And of course drinks.  So many drinks.  In the photo above, you can see the beginnings of the Mazal Tov Cocktail going into the punch bowl.

For entrees, I had a chili bar complete with cornbread, although apparently I didn’t take any pictures of that.  I also did Smoky Pumpkin Mac n Cheese by Jackie of Vegan Yack Attack, which I baked with breadcrumbs on top.

I like this recipe but I wouldn’t make it again for a party.  It was hard to keep it warm and it seemed to dry out after reheating.  Plus, it really benefits from the addition of sriracha, but I didn’t feel comfortable stirring that in because I try to go easy on the spiciness when serving to a mixed crowd, especially one that includes children.  There ended up being a lot leftover, which is great for me, because I’ll be eating the tasty leftovers all week (with all the sriracha my little heart desires).

And, finally, dessert!

Mini cupcakes (I used the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and Chocolate Buttercream from the same book, plus pretty pink sprinkles!):

A platter with assorted flavors of homemade holiday candy cups (recipe coming soon!) and Chloe Coscarelli’s Chewy Ginger-Molasses Cookies:

Loving my super-retro serving platter, courtesy of Grandma 🙂

And arguably the biggest hit of the whole party, Grinch pops:

I cannot take any credit for this idea, as I borrowed it from the Interwebs, but I will say that these were delicious as well as super-cute, and the kids at the party particularly loved them.  I will definitely be making these again!

Oh, and in case you had been wondering what, if anything, the fourth member of our household contributed to the party preparations, you’ll be pleased to know that Stewie got involved by testing the capacity of the trash bags:

It’s a good thing he’s pretty.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

It’s Officially “The Holidays”

It has come to my attention that I posted four days in a row last week (a feat sort of unheard of outside of Vegan MoFo).  I guess I just had a lot to say!

And now, just like that, it’s December.

The next few weeks will be a whirlwind of festivities, friends, family, and food.  I know a lot of people consider this period of “The Holidays” to be stressful, but I personally find the madness to be awesome and fun!

Next up will be planning the menu for our annual holiday party, plus figuring out what food gifts I am going to be giving to neighbors, co-workers, etc.  Still fixated on Slow-Cooker Vanilla Rum Apple Butter, for the time being.

But first, I want to recap the celebrations of the past week!

Last Tuesday, I went to the Boston Vegetarian Society’s pre-Thanksgiving dinner at Red Lentil in Watertown.  Earlier that day, I posted the incredible menu here.  What you really need to know is that the dinner lived up to almost every expectation I had.

Creole-Spiced Red Kuri Squash and Macintosh Apple Bisque:

And my [first] plate:

Starting at the 12 o’clock position, you have: Herbed Baked Zucchini-and-Pepper Gratin with Cashew Ricotta Cheese; Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Mushroom Gravy; Braised Seitan Medallion in Mushroom Gravy; Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts; Moroccan Pumpkin and Lentil Stew; and Round Polenta with Mixed Mushrooms and Cilantro Harissa Gremolata.

And, of course, dessert:

Apple Pear Crisp with Graham Cracker Crust, with Locally Made Dairy-Free Vanilla Ice Cream (from FoMu!); Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Sauce.

There were a couple of surprises for me, taste-wise.  I expected to adore both the zucchini gratin and the Creamy Cauliflower Soup with a Garnish of Fresh Mint, but they ended up being my two least favorite things.  I also wasn’t gaga over the pumpkin cheesecake. 

On the flip-side, there were a couple things I expected to find so-so that blew me away!  Perfect example is the Moroccan stew.  I figured that, because I make stuff like that so often at home, I would be more excited about the other dishes available, but oh MAN was that thing tasty!  It was perfectly spiced and textured and I had a huge second helping too.  The stew, along with the polenta and the mashed potatoes with that unbelievable white mushroom gravy are the three-way tied winners of the night.  Seriously I couldn’t even believe how good that gravy was.

So all in all it was a fantastic dinner, a fun way to meet some new people (I always show up to BVS functions by myself and I have never once lacked for someone to talk to), and a great way to gear up for the holiday weekend!

As planned, I brought two appetizers and one dessert for H’s family’s Thanksgiving celebration plus an entree for myself.

First was my new staple recipe for Spinach Artichoke Dip with Garlic Cashew Cream by Becky of Glue and Glitter, served in a bread bowl!

It has been requested that I make this every year on Thanksgiving from here until perpetuity.

I also made hummus from scratch using a recipe that one of my judges recommended to me.

This is life-changing hummus.  The trick is not only to cook the chickpeas from dried, but to actually peel them once cooked.  It’s a labor of love but something worth doing for a special occasion.  The hummus went with my sister-in-law’s veggie turkey platter:

Two appetizers, two huge successes!  And no leftovers.

For my entree I decided to try out Vegan Richa’s recipe for Portabello Mushrooms Stuffed with Harvest Chickpeas (click here for the recipe).

Um, wow.  This recipe makes an absolutely perfect vegan holiday entree.  It has a taste similar to traditional stuffing and it is SO GOOD with cranberry sauce!!  Here is my full plate:

H’s aunt had made the most delicious and tender roasted brussels sprouts, and I had some leftover mashed potato from another recipe, which again was perfect with the chickpea stuffing and cranberry sauce.  No starving vegan this year!

And of course, for dessert:

Chewy Ginger-Molasses Cookies by Chloe Coscarelli.  These are fail-proof.

And Friday after Thanksgiving means leftovers!  Chickpea stuffing on a bagel with cranberry sauce hit the spot:

I’m working to catch up on everyone’s blogs from the last 4 days or so, but in the meantime, I want to hear about all the great stuff you ate over the weekend!  What were your Thanksgiving successes?

Success!

I am happy to report that all three of the vegan options I brought to my work  party last night WERE SUCCESS!

I made Chipotle White Bean Dip from Plant Based on a Budget:

Spinach Artichoke Dip with Garlic Cashew Cream from Glue and Glitter:

And Chewy Ginger-Molasses Cookies by Chloe Coscarelli:

Yep, that is the lonely remaining cookie from the smorgasbord.  No one ever wants to be the person to take the last one!  So he’s mine, all mine.

As I said, all three of the selections were very well-received.  Lots of folks commented on the perfect texture of the cookies and asked for the recipe.

People also seemed to really like the spinach-artichoke dip, and I got quite a few questions about it.   This was probably largely due to the fact that I put a sign on the bowl cautioning that it was nut-based, because to the naked omnivore eye, it looks just like a “normal” dairy-based spinach-artichoke dip, and I was worried that someone with a tree nut allergy would assume the dip was safe and be in for a very unpleasant surprise.  My lawyerly wheels are always turning, I tell you.

Anyway, I will probably repeat all three for Thanksgiving next week since each of them scores a 4 out of 4 on my recipe evaluation test (cheap, easy, omnivore-approved, and make-ahead).  To make it extra-special, I’m planning to serve the spinach-artichoke dip in a bread bowl with the bread pieces available for dipping.  I actually kind of wish I were eating that right now…

What are some other fail-proof dishes for bringing to omnivore gatherings?

Have a wonderful weekend!  Last one before Thanksgiving!!!