Happy New Year! What a year it’s been! I finished my first cookbook this year, and am so looking forward to sharing it with everyone in 2014. I wish you all lots of fun dinner parties, inspiration for new creative projects and champagne cocktails in the new year. Cheers!
The Forest Feast’s 3 most popular posts in 2013 were:
#2: Clementine Cake
#3: Cucumber Sangria
Thank you, my lovely readers, for all your support! Sweetest wishes for the year ahead.
xx
Erin
Easy Party Appetizers:
Cucumber Caprese Bites
Mozzarella Stuffed Pesto Puffs
Lemon Ricotta Crostini
Holiday Drinks:
Hot Chai-Nog
Spiced Pomegranate-Apple Cider
Cranberry Old Fashioned
XO,
Erin
Baked Brie is one of my favorite appetizers, and it’s great to take to a holiday party. My parents make it every year for theirs!
Baked Brie can come in many forms- in this version Brie is smothered in a fig and pistachio tapenade that includes honey and sea salt (YUM!). My recipe was featured in Better Homes and Gardens’ Holiday Recipes magazine (along with a little interview!), which is out now. Pick up the magazine, or click on over to BHG's Delish Dish blog for more of my photos and the recipe.
Happy Holiday Party cooking!
Polenta Fries are a healthy snack that seem just a little indulgent, and they’re best right out of the oven. I have seen millions of versions of them online, but prefer this slightly breaded recipe for a bit of extra outer-shell crunch. They are great with any dip: marinara, hummus, pesto, spicy mustard, tzaziki….
I buy the pre-cooked tube of polenta and slice the rounded edges off to use for something else. As always, salt to taste. One egg and a half cup of breadcrumbs is about right for an 18 oz. tube. You could also make your own polenta from scratch, and even mix things in (like feta, olives or sun dried tomatoes?). Feel free to get creative with the breadcrumb mixture and add in dried herbs or spices. Or cut big triangles to make polenta “steaks” and serve it as an entree. Enjoy!
By Erin Gleeson for The Forest Feast
I’m always looking for easy, tasty holiday party hors d'oeuvres, and these Pesto Puffs were a hit last weekend at my family’s Thanksgiving celebration in Santa Barbara.
Every year we head to my aunt and uncle’s beach house for a weekend of cooking, eating, and surfing. My job is always to prepare appetizers for everyone to sample as we cook all afternoon. These puffs were easy to make ahead and they work warm or at room temperature. The cheese has a tendency to ooze out a bit when they are baked, so use a baking sheet with a rim. A couple of my cousins were on cocktail duty: there was a big pitcher of spicy Bloody Marys in the morning, and at cocktail hour my cousin walked around with a tray of Manhattans and adorable Apple Cider cocktails garnished with cinnamon sticks. Before dinner, all the ladies take an annual walk to collect flowers, bark, leaves and vines to decorate the table, and then we eat at sunset. When I was in college, I lived just a couple blocks away…ever since then, I’ve decided it’s my favorite place on earth- can’t wait to go back!
View from the deck at my aunt & uncle's house
I have no idea how to cook a turkey (just pretending here!!) I stick to the veggies. Bottom right: my cousin Vanessa passes out Apple Cider cocktails.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Other holiday party appetizer ideas:
