Holiday Eating

Momma T, that was a great dessert post! I tried the Chocolate Mug Cake, and oh, boy...I am going to have to lose that recipe. LOL

Now that Thanksgiving is (almost) over, we have precious little time before we kick it into high gear for Christmas.

How do you celebrate the season? Do you give parties, or go to them? If you give them, how culinarily sophisticated are they? (do you cook/bake everything, or do people bring offerings for the table, or do you pick ready-made things up at the store?) If you find yourself on the guest-list-end of most of the soirees you attend, what are the standard protocols that you find?

I find myself on the guest-list end of most of the parties, and in years past, my offerings have been either a nice bottle of wine (generally at the higher end of the pricing than I would buy for myself), or a gourmet host-gift or a store-bought offering of gourmet food for the table--all depending on what kind of a party it is.

Every year I envision planning and hosting a nice party around the holidays. And every year the holidays sneak up on me in two ways...first, I would have to reserve specific dates and notify all potential guests (which would have to be done in August or September to not conflict with other holiday party dates) and fat chance of that happening, and second is that my business always expands at the end of summer or the beginning of fall, since all my winter clients come back around this time so even if I did manage to remember to reserve a date, I get so busy that I fear that the party would be rushed and not so much fun. So hosting a party gets crossed out of the list of to-do's every year, much to my regret.

I do love and appreciate being invited to certain parties year after year, even though I don't "take my turn" hosting one. I do try to mitigate my lack of party-hosting responsibility by helping other hosts as much as I can, and also being available for last minute enhancements. Sometimes, appetizers which can be made in a jiffy from things that you have in your pantry on a regular basis are much appreciated by harried hosts. Here is one that is always a hit--you can bring the ingredients with you to the party, and it just takes a sharp knife, a cookie sheet and a 400 degree oven....

Herbed Goat Cheese and Chorizo Crostini

1 long thin crusty Baguette (I love sourdough)

1 link (about 8-in. long, 2-in. dia) Spanish Chorizo Sausage

1 pkg. crumbled Goat Cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Basil Leaves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I like Vigo brand)

Preheat oven to 400* Farenheit.

Slice Baguette on the diagonal into 1/4 to 3/8th inch thick slices, and arrange on a cookie sheet.

Drizzle a little EVOO over the pieces, sprinkle half of the chopped Basil over them evenly, and put in the preheated oven for about 3 minutes--keep an eye on them; you just want them to ever-so-slightly toast, but not get much color on them.

Take the paper casing off the outside of the Chorizo, and cut it thinly into rounds (or you can cut it on the bias for a little fancier presentation).

Remove the Baguette slices (now called Crostini because they have been toasted) from the oven, and sprinkle about 1 heaping tsp. of Goat Cheese on each slice, top with 1-2 slices of Chorizo depending on how big the rounds are, sprinkle the other half of the basil on top, drizzle with EVOO, and pop them back in the oven under the broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Don't take your eyes off them at this point, as they will burn (read: incinerate) in seconds. They will get very fragrant very fast. Remove from the oven and plate. They are ready to serve. A glass of Pinot Noir, or a Spanish Rioja go very nicely with these delicious little appetizers. Just make sure you bring plenty! They do keep nicely on the table for about 30 minutes, but this is not a make-ahead-and-bring-to-the-party-dish. Make sure the host has an available oven and bring the ingredients with you. Enjoy!