Holiday Apps, Drinks, & General Merriness

Jake and I recently had a Holiday Party which ended with a lot of empty liquor bottles in our house and appetizer plates with crumbs too small for a mouse... Sorry, we just finished watching the Grinch..

On the list for appetizers were Chocolate Bacon Bites (recipe in previous post), Angel Cinnamon Wings, Raspberry Sugar Cookies, Baked Brie, and Sticky Delicious Ham Sandwiches.

I'm going to start off with my all time favorite appetizer, the Sticky Delicious Ham Sandwiches. Let's just say this blog was very close to being called Sticky Delicious Ham Sandwiches & Other Life Adventures...

Let's take a look at these bad boys:

Um yummm... I promise these will be a hit at any party and the recipe is pretty easy.

Recipe:

24 bite size potato party rolls

1 package Swiss cheese

1 package sliced ham

1 1/2 sticks of butter

4 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs spicy mustard

2 tbs Worcestershire sause

Poppy seeds

Build mini ham and swiss sandwiches and place in a greased baking dish. Bring butter, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sause to a boil. Pour entire mixture over ham sandwiches making sure each one is covered. Sprinkle poppy seeds over sandwiches. Cover in foil and refrigerate over night so that sandwiches can marinate in the delicious sticky sauce. Leave covered and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Take cover off and continue to bake at 325 degrees for another 10 minutes.

Once the sandwiches have cooled, transfer to serving plate. These can be made up to a day in advance and stored in a zip lock bag.

Jake's Take: Angered that he had to share them with our party guests..

Raspberry Sugar Cookies

My sister and I perfected these cookies last Christmas and there's really nothing not to love about them. I use a packaged cookie mix because I have issues making cookies from scratch along with pancakes.. don't ask..

Recipe:

1 package Pillsbury Sugar Cookie mix along with the ingredients it requires

Raspberry jam

1 1/2 cups powdered Sugar

3 tbs lemon juice

2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Make sugar cookie mix according to instructions on package. Form dough into log and wrap in parchment paper. Place in freezer for 15 minutes. For raspberry cookie filling, take about 1/2 cup raspberry jam and mix in 1 tbs powdered sugar and set aside.  Once cookie dough has hardened, cut the log into 1/2 inch rounds. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use your thumb and fingers to create a small well in each cookie to hold raspberry mixture. Make sure there is a good amount of dough between the bottom of your well and the baking sheet so that raspberry mixture doesn't go through when baked. Spoon small amount of raspberry mixture into each cookie well and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden. For lemon glaze put remaining powdered sugar in bowl and slowly mix in lemon juice. Use as much lemon juice as you like to get the glaze consistency you prefer. Mix in lemon zest and set aside. Once cookies have completely cooled (if not completely cooled, the raspberry center may fall out), remove from cookie sheet and place on cooling rack. Use a fork to drizzle lemon glaze of cookies and enjoy! You should be able to get about 20 cookies out of this recipe depending on size.

Jake's Take: Thinks the softer the better regarding a lower baking time. These cookies will be more fragile of course but may be worth it since they will literally melt in your mouth. Sometimes messy cookies are the best cookies.

Cinnamon Angel Wings

These are light and crispy cookies which are perfect for munching on. They aren't too sweet and don't feel too heavy like most Christmas cookies do. I might try to incorporate some fruit/jam in these next time since they have a tendency to be dry. I'm sure the use of apple butter or jam would be delicious.

Recipe:

1 sheet of puff pastry thawed out

Cinnamon

Sugar

1 egg beaten with splash of water

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Lay thawed out puff pastry on cutting board and brush lightly with egg wash. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle in thin layer over pastry. Roll pastry towards center from opposite ends until touching in the middle. Cut 1/2 inch rounds from log shaped rolled pastry. If the dough becomes too soft you can put it in the freezer for 10 minutes or until hard. Place rounds on parchment paper covered baking pan. Brush tops of rounds with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Jake's Take: Thought they were a little dry and suggested having something like whipped cream for dipping.

Baked Brie

This dish is easy to make and is a good alternative to your basic cheese and cracker plate. This was a big crowd pleaser and really dresses up an appetizer spread. The combo of cheese, nuts, and fuit is always tasty. Next time I make this I will be sure to get a picture of the ooy gooy inside :)

Recipe:

One round of brie

One sheet of puff pastry

Apricot jam (or cranberry jam if you want to be super festive)

1/2 cup walnuts

2 tbs butter

3 tbs brown sugar

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Bring butter, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper to a slight boil. Add walnuts and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir until nuts are coated in mixture and remove from heat. Roll out thawed puff pastry until pliable. Place half of the cooled nut mixture in center of pastry. Spread a few tablespoons of apricot jam on top of brie. Place the brie on top of the nut mixture with the apricot jam side down. Fold the puff pastry around the brie and place seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make a slit in the top of the pastry and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. When pastry has cooled slightly, top with more apricot jam and the remaining nuts.

Jake's Take: Honestly, Jake doesn't quite remember the brie. He did love the nuts though. (I think the multiple Christmas shooters may have had something to do with this.)

Now on to the drink portion of this post. We have a bar area set up in our apartment which Jake has claimed as his "man nook". Before the party, we found some cool holiday shooters for him to make for our guests. These included candy cane, gingerbread, apple pie, and chocolate cake shooter.

Candy Cane Shooter

It looks cool when poured correctly but it tastes like cough medicine unfortunately...

Grenadine

Peppermint Schnapps (Clear)

Cream Dementhe (Green)

Add to shot glasses in the order listed above in equal proportions. In order to get the layered effect, use the back of a spoon and place the tip of it on the highest point of the previous liquid added. Slowly pour in addition liquor and repeat for layers.

Jake's Take: While it was good learning how to layer shots, there was nothing he could do to make the cherry and mint combo not taste like NyQuil.

Gingerbread Shooters

Butterscotch schnapps 

Goldschlager

Vodka

Irish Cream

Combine equal parts and enjoy! This one did in fact taste like Christmas in your mouth :)

Jake's Take: Taste's like gingerbread for sure. Might experiment in the future by adding a sprinkle of cinnamon or ginger.

Apple Pie Shooters

Vodka

Apple juice

Whipped Cream

Cinnamon

Combine equal parts vodka and apple juice. Top shots with whipped cream and cinnamon. These go down easy to say the least. Very tasty and who doesn't love apple pie?

Jake's Take: Easy to make but the fact the presentation is awesome it will definitely make it a classic winter time shot.

Chocolate Cake Shooters

Vodka

Frangelico

These babys only have two ingredients but I swear they taste exactly like dark chocolate cake!
Yumm... Jake dipped the glasses in lemon juice and rimmed them in sugar to add some sweetness as well. Add equal parts of both and you're welcome :)

Jake's Take: Definitely a lady pleaser but you can go stronger on the vodka depending on the crowd. If you're among friends, for added effect, he suggests having some sugar to put on your finger to lick afterwards.

And finally for some general merriness!

Our gingerbread town! We won't point out which side I did and which side Jake did...

Phew! That was a long post. In the future I'll only be outlining one or two recipes at a time.