the party’s over …

And I’m pretty tired!   We had about 80 people here on Saturday night, and I cooked up a storm.  I have not one good photo to share, but I will share the not great ones.  At least you’ll get the idea.  I only took one of these photos, and I didn’t get a chance to get any others after the tables were full because the guests were arriving.  But I had two helpers here who kept these platters stocked and restocked and kept things coming out of the oven all night.  It completely freed me up to enjoy the evening once everyone arrived. 

First up – the appetizers…

 Cutest cheese plate ever, right?  (That platter is about two feet long, and I use it for everything!)  We made a ton of other appetizers too – kielbasa, cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon, sweet and sour meatballs, antipasto shots (individual servings of cold antipasto in little tumblers), shrimp cocktail, ham and cheese sliders (I got these from pinterest and they are delicious!), scallops wrapped in bacon, crab salad, mini spring rolls, spanakopita (spinach and cheese wrapped in buttery phyllo dough) and tiropita (cheese wrapped in buttery phyllo).   

We also made salad, grilled veggies, and had a tomato and mozzarella platter with the most amazing fresh mozzarella from a local Italian delicatessen.    The main course was chinese chicken salad (I got this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa and love it! Plus, the veggies are red and green so it looked Christmas-y), filet of beef with horseradish sauce (because who doesn’t love beef tenderloin? Thirty pounds of it, and there are maybe two pounds left), and penne ala vodka.   The table with the leaves in is about 14 feet long, and it was full to the brim by the time we finished setting up.  To give you an idea of the perspective, that green platter with the beef is about three feet long.  Crazy, right? 

Did I mention dessert?   You may know by now that I love to bake.   Shocking, right?   I made a dessert table, but I didn’t get a single good shot of it.  But again, you’ll get the idea.  You may not want to read this if you have a sweet tooth … Dark Chocolate Cake, Devil’s Food Cake with Raspberry Cream Frosting, White Cake with White Chocolate Frosting, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Petit Fours, Peppermint Patties, Chocolate Covered Pretzels,  and Red Velvet Cake Balls.

Want to know what I cooked on Sunday?  Nothing!  You have to love leftovers!   I need one more day to regroup and finish my shopping and I will be back with the rest of the Christmas decorations.   Hope you’re all well!

Best,

Stephanie