pinterest planned party

Say that 5 times fast! We had a little holiday party/get-together over the weekend. I am not much of a cook. I wouldn't say that I'm a bad cook, but I'm just not very enthusiastic. But I am trying to get more into it. Sorta.

So, when it came to planning the menu, I was at a loss. My usual go-to's for a party are basically just dips. Everyone loves dips (except for some certain dude that I live with, ahem), but just dip isn't enough for a party. Of course I turned to pinterest for (p)inspiration!

Now, I must admit I was a bad blogger and didn't take one million food pics - ahh! I remembered to photograph some of the food while I was making it, but some of it I didn't remember to get til later. Or not at all. Oops. Blogger resolution - take more and BETTER photos. So here's what I made!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies from Culinary Chat. I'm not much into baking, but these were delish! If you make these and follow the linked recipe, I would recommended baking half-way then adding the caramels and then finish baking. The caramels melted pretty fast.

 

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bites from House of Smiths. These were very easy and tasty. Here's how mine turned out -

 

Buffalo Cauliflower (veggie version of buffalo wings) from The Curvy Carrot, served with bleu cheese sauce for dipping. This was pretty tasty and easy, but I took no photos, oops. However, I have cauliflower leftover and hope to make it again soon!

Cheesy Pesto Bread from I Heart Nap Time. No picture of this either. Unless you count this photo I took when I reheated it the following morning to eat for breakfast. Yeah, that happened. And the picture looks gross but it was delish!

I also sorta adapted this recipe, which is called "Jen's Mexicorn Dip" on the website, but was called "Cowboy Caviar" on the pinterest link. I don't like either of those names, so I think I need to rename is something... I'm gonna go with Kitchen Sink Dip, since it had nearly everything in it. Here's what I used -

- 2 cans of corn, drained
- 1/2 can of black beans, drained
- 1 can of diced tomatoes (with or without chiles), drained
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced with seeds removed
- 1 or 2 peppers (any color!) diced
- 3 green onions, diced
- 1 cup of sour cream (I used light, but regular would be fine too)
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 4 oz of shredded cheese (I used colby-jack, but cheddar would be good too)
*** Then just mix and enjoy!! Also beware - this makes a ton! Next time, I'd probably use one can of corn and then just slightly less of the other ingredients. Also, this is addictive.

I also made Pear and Gorgonzola Flatbreads, from a recipe from the Pretty Delicious cookbook. Here is the gist of it. You could change it up with other veggies and/or meat.
- 2 firm, but ripe pears, thinly sliced
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 flabreads or pitas
- gorgonzola cheese
- fresh basil, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
*** Saute/carmelize the onions in a little olive oil. Also, toss the pears in the oil until they start to brown just a bit.
*** Lightly grill the pitas/flatbreads or heat them gently in a pan.
*** Just add the onions/pears to the flatbread, top with cheese, basil and a little drizzle of olive oil - tada! Here is a pic taken when I was eating the leftovers for lunch the next day. Classy.

I also made some Quick Guacamole. My recipe changes depending on what I have on hand. Here is how I made it this time:
- 3 Ripe Avocados, 1 Diced Tomato, Lime Juice, Frank's Red Hot, Tabasco Sauce (Green), Garlic Salt, Pepper
- Mash up the avocados, add the juice of half a lime, diced tomato and the rest of the seasonings to taste
- When I have these ingredients, I'll add them to change it up - fresh garlic (about one clove), fresh cilantro, a diced up onion, fresh diced jalapeno.
- Obviously guacamole is super easy and everyone has their way of doing it - this is just mine!!

A party re-cap wouldn't be complete without a photo of the aftermath. Just trying to keep it real. Oh and yeah my kitchen needs remodeled. No judging!!

Last but not least, I must tell you all about this awful/awesome tradition my friends and I have started for no apparent reason. This Mt Dew bottle gets passed to the hostess of each party. At some point, these creepy oysters were added into the mix. Ew. My friend brought a shopping bag to the party and I got so excited and then saw this stuff. Haha. I can't wait to pass it onto the next hostess! All class.

Did you throw any holiday parties? Do you have any delish party recipes you want to share with a cooking novice like me??

Hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year's Eve!!

Linking up at: Two Thirty Five