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Office holiday party


annachan

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It's that time of the year again. I usually don't have a problem thinking of something to bring, but this time around, I'm coming up blank.

So, here are some of the limitations:

1) I'll be bringing some homemade candy/chocolate and there will cake and cookies. So I'm leaning toward something savory, but I haven't ruled out sweets.

2) The party will be at 2pm, during our regular meeting. So, something easy to consume during a meeting would be good.

3) I need something that I can make the day before.

4) Something that is meant to be served room temp or cold. There's a fridge at work but nowhere to reheat anything.

5) It's got to be homemade as people expected me to.

6) Spinach dip has been taken.

Any ideas?

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I like to make a variety of quick breads. They can be sweet, savory, or even downright healthy. They can be made far in advance and kept frozen, and they don't appear too decadent to those counting calories.

SB (they make nice gifts too) :smile:

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annachan, were do you work? aka, what do you do?

I take particular pleasure in making food that kind of refers to my work... (I work in a research lab with tropical fish... so I make alot of fish cookies and crackers that poke fun at science) is that a possibility with your work place?

flavor floozy

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annachan, were do you work? aka, what do you do?

I take particular pleasure in making food that kind of refers to my work... (I work in a research lab with tropical fish... so I make alot of fish cookies and crackers that poke fun at science) is that a possibility with your work place?

well.... I work at a school, inside Juvenile Hall.... so, not sure if there are anything appropiate to poke fun at....

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annachan, were do you work? aka, what do you do?

I take particular pleasure in making food that kind of refers to my work... (I work in a research lab with tropical fish... so I make alot of fish cookies and crackers that poke fun at science) is that a possibility with your work place?

well.... I work at a school, inside Juvenile Hall.... so, not sure if there are anything appropiate to poke fun at....

darn that "appropriate" word... :raz:

Cheese crackers? Roasted and spiced nuts? Potato stuffed empanadas with sweet tomato and onion jam? Grilled asparagus?

I was thinking savory items that might be a refreshing break from sweets.

damn... I've got munchies...

flavor floozy

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Boring but always popular with the spinach dip crowd, are layered dips. Like a Mexican 7-layer dip or a shrimp dip. I'm sure there's lots of recipes online or if you need a tried and true I can PM you.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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I always got sort of sick of the fact that at most of these parties, the emphasis is on sweets. You might want to look at this topic on finger foods and appetizers for some ideas.

And, if you want to serve something that's not chilled or room temp, don't forget about the crock pot!

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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How about quiche? If (gods forbid) you get in a crunch, Costco sells frozen mini quiche that are really quite good, also spanikopita. Little smokies in some kind of fruit-mustard sauce in a small crock pot, or meat balls ditto. If the crowd is more sophisticated, maybe some good cheese with quince paste or some such. Roasted garlic dip is good, too. Check out this recipe from About.com:

http://busycooks.about.com/od/appetizerrec.../dragonsdip.htm

HTH!

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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well.... I work at a school, inside Juvenile Hall.... so, not sure if there are anything appropiate to poke fun at...

...okay, so booze is out of the question... :rolleyes:

I make veggie spring rolls with a sweet chili dip. Almost everything else brought is heavy with bread, cheese and sugar, so it's a relief to some. Roll 'em up in the morning and cover w/plastic.

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

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Chocolate chip cookies. The recipes on the Hershey's and Nestle's bags are identical and good, though REALLY sweet. Use better chocolate, and more of it.

If you can find an old-fashioned Scandanavian bakery, get several Fyrstekakes -- "first" (i.e., new-year's) cakes. They don't look like much, but are seriously addictive. Butter, marzipan, enough dough to hold it together, and a thin line of concentrated raspberry jam that keeps you from getting cloyed.

Here's a recipe.

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Dorie Greenspan's Korova Cookies, a/k/a World Peace Cookies, feature lots of chocolate and a touch of salt. People love them. The dough can be mixed and refrigerated or frozen ahead of time, and baked the night before. I guarantee they'll be popular. The recipe is available here, on the Splendid Table website.

This time of year, people also appreciate things that are healthy. Consider fruit skewers, perhaps with a lovely dip -- you can't beat sour cream with brown sugar and a touch of Gran Marnier.

And if somebody brought pralines to a Christmas party, they'd be my new best friend. Don't forget about divinity, too; you rarely see it anymore and lots of people love it.

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Beef Tenderloin canapes.

Roast a tenderloin the day before that has been brushed with olive oil, and pressed with chopped green peppercorns, green onions and kosher salt. Sear at high heat in a cast iron pan then bung it in the oven for 10 minutes or so till rare. Cool and chill. Make toast points and store in a ziplock. Mix a whipped cream cheese (I use the cracked pepper cream cheese) and some horseradish together, spread on toast points. Slice tenderloin thinly and put on toast points.

Or Garlic Peppercorn Cheesecake

Edited by Marlene (log)

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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I don't think you can ever go wrong with an antipasto platter kept simple... just cheese, crackers, breadsticks, olives, salami, pepperoni, sopprasata, etc etc. If it were me, I'd cut everything in advance and put them in individual ziplock bags or containers. Then bring them to work in a a small cooler (just in case your co-workers take up the entire fridge) and assemble right before the meeting.

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I'm taking red velvet cupcakes to mine, even though after a lost springform pan and no comments whatsoever on a batch of really excellent date cookies, I swore next year I'd sign up for napkins or soda like everyone else.

Are you familiar with the Martha Stewart hors d'oevres (too lazy to look up, who can spell that?) cookbook? There's really excellent stuff in there. Some of my favorites: the lemon crab salad (can be served on crackers), the cheese puffs which are just eggs whites and cheese, and red grapes stuffed with goat cheese. These have all been tremendous hits at parties.

I'm thinking that protein is a good antidote to too much sugar, so if you want to avoid sugar, I'd go in that direction . . .

I like to bake nice things. And then I eat them. Then I can bake some more.

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