holiday cocktail party

last saturday we threw a little holiday cocktail party. living in a place where movers laugh at you when you unpack a snow shovel, we didn't anticipate the little snowmageddon that started that same day. giving credit where credit is due, every guest that we originally expected trudged through the snow and made it to our house. remarkable!

in addition to wine of the white, red, and mulled varieties, we also had some tasty treats.

i'm a sucker for a good cheese platter.

and i made some moroccan-style lamb meatballs.

we also had delicious corn dip (hand-prepared by dave!) based on tom stuart's recipe

and then there was some spinach-artichoke dip

i forgot to take a picture of the pastry-wrapped baked brie with caramelized onions and apples, but it was yummy, too. 

then, we had two desserts. one was "better than sex" chocolate cupcakes (i take no credit for the name!) which are NOT gluten-free, but ARE delicious.

this photos is from the day after. we added berries and ice cream on day two!

the other dessert was mini chocolate mousse pies. the mousse is gluten-free, but the pie crust is not. i threw some mouse in small glasses for me to enjoy and i didn't miss the pie crust.

on monday i whipped up the double-tomato bruschetta we considered having on saturday (but we had too much food as it was). sadly, this delicious french bread is not gluten-free....but i did snag a bite or two (or three or four).

our party was a success and as it turned out, we were glad we had all that food laying around. sunday was NOT the day to try to go grocery shopping. neither, for that matter, was monday, tuesday, or probably today!!

okay, so for some recipes:

the moroccan-style meatballs are from a williams-sonoma recipe:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, very finely chopped
1 lb ground lamb
3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp bread crumbs (i used gluten-free crumbs)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2+ tsp freshly ground black pepper
lemon wedges for garnish

directions: heat the oil in a shallow pan. saute the onion until it's very soft - about ten minutes. set aside in a bowl and let cool.  once cool, add the remainder of the ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands. lightly roll mixture into walnut-sized balls and place into a very lightly oiled baking sheet or a foil-covered cookie sheet. broil on high heat approximately four inches from the heat source for about five minutes per side. drizzle with fresh lemon juice and garnish with lemon wedges. serve immediately.
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for the corn dip:
this one isn't my recipe to share. i'll check in with dave and find out if i can share this one!!
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for the spinach artichoke dip:

8 oz cream cheese (slightly softened)
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup romano cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp salt
1 (14oz) can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
mozzarella cheese for topping, if desired (and actually, i thought it was too much)

directions: mix together all the ingredients except the spinach and artichoke hearts until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. stir in artichoke hearts and spinach. place mixture into a slightly greased baking dish and bake on 350F for 20-25 minutes.

*if i did this again, i would do a few things differently. for one, i think i'd completely leave out the mozzarella topping, or at least scale it down a lot. i also think i'd add a handful of chopped water chestnuts for some crunchiness. besides that, this recipe is delish.
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for the better than sex chocolate cupcakes, i got the recipe here.

basically what you do is make a packaged devil's food cake. while it's cooling, poke holes into the cake, being sure not to go all the way through. pour seven ounces of condensed milk and about six ounces of caramel dessert topping onto the cake, letting it soak in. refrigerate for a few hours, at least (i think overnight is best). top with thawed cool whip topping refrigerate again for an hour. before serving, sprinkle with crushed heath bar.
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for the chocolate mousse, i got the recipe here but i adjusted it a bit. i did the following:

about 7 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups marshmallows
1/2 cup milk (i used skim)
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
pie crust, if desired

directions: heat the chocolate, marshmallows and milk in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring constantly, until all ingredients are mixed. let cool (the cooling is important!) before folding in the whipped cream. put it into a pie crust if desired, or just put it into serving dishes. refrigerate at least three hours. yum.
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i've been making the double-tomato bruschetta for a while now. it's really really yummy and it's from here.

6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
1/4 fresh basic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 french baguette
shredded or sliced mozzarella (about 2 cups)

combine the first eight ingredients in a bowl and let sit 10-20 minutes, minimum. slice the baguette into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and broil in the oven until just brown and slightly crunchy, about 1-2 minutes. add mozzarella to the slices and return to the broiler until melted. top with tomato mixture.