Get festive with these New Year’s Eve Food ideas

Recently, I was talking with a neighbor about a dilemma she was having for New Year’s Eve: her and her friends need some sort of dinner, but nobody wants to cook and their group is too big for a restaurant reservation.

I’m guessing this could be quite a common issue, so I figured I would put together a board of New Year’s Eve appetizers that eats more like a light dinner, with cheese AND charcuterie AND seafood AND sweet treats AND even a simple homemade appetizer, if you want. 

While this board of New Year’s Eve finger food looks pretty epic, it actually consists of one item I made, a few things I heated up in the oven, and 98% stuff I bought at the store.

This post will give you a ton of ideas to put together the New Year’s appetizers spread of your dreams. The board pictured here is for a big crowd, but if your gathering is a little smaller, just cut it down to a few of your favorite things.

The post Fun and Festive New Year’s Eve Party Food Ideas appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

Ever wonder what to make with Leftover Mashed Potatoes? Here is the answer!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, but with a gathering of just five people, we’re often stuck with quite a bit of leftovers after the big meal.

While you can simply reheat leftover mashed potatoes and drizzle them with homemade gravy a second time around, my favorite way to serve leftover mashed potatoes is this Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole.

Make this, and you’ll use up 4 cups of mashed potatoes, so this might be the only leftover recipe you need (or, you can easily make a half batch of this if you have less leftovers).

It’s loaded with all the good stuff, like bacon, cheese, sour cream and two kinds of onions, and topped with crushed cheese crackers for good measure.

“This recipe is a winner! Easy to improvise if needed. I made it yesterday and it turned out to be melt in your mouth, delicious and memorable. Absolutely perfect way to use up leftovers!”

—Melinda

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Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board Ideas for your holiday spread

Coming up with fun charcuterie board ideas is something about my job that I simply never tire of. I’ve already done everything from a Halloween charcuterie board to an Easter charcuterie board to a huge platter of Valentine’s snacks, but I’m not nearly out of new boards to create.

While many of my existing ideas, including jarcuterie and the wine and cheese board (and even my butter board) are already quite perfect for Thanksgiving appetizers, I wanted to create a fall charcuterie board that was truly specific to this holiday.

Below, I’ll walk you through how I shop for and build this lovely Thanksgiving charcuterie board. I guarantee you it’s easier than it looks!

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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Michigan Apple Committee. All opinions are 100% my own. #MIApples

I’m not on TikTok. The only TikToks I see are the ones my friends text me, or the ones popular enough to eventually make their way onto Instagram. Honestly, if I signed up, I’d probably spend way too much time on it, so I’m OK staying off of it.

This means that most of the current food trends fly right past me, because most of them originate on TikTok. But once in awhile, some, like jarcuterie and breakfast charcuterie boards are popular enough that even I can’t ignore them.

One of the original TikTok trends, Dalgona coffee, has made it’s way into my repertoire, and when I’m not making caramel iced coffee, I’m still making Dalgona coffee (more like still trying to make my way through the HUGE jar of instant coffee granules I bought).

And recently, of course, I haven’t been able to miss the butter boards making the rounds on all forms of social media. Whether you love them, hate them or haven’t tried one yet, I’m sure you’ve also realized they’re impossible to ignore.

Give me room temperature salted butter any day of the week, and I’m in. And with it being apple season (also known as autumn) here in Pure Michigan, I thought I would combine butter with APPLE butter made from Michigan Apples to create my own spin on this wild, fun trend.

Grab some friends, and, for those over the age of 21, a round of bourbon apple cider cocktails or caramel apple mules, and let’s dive in to this butter board recipe!

The post Autumn Butter Board appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

What are your thoughts on Thanksgiving appetizers? I think it kind of depends on what time you eat your main dinner.

I know some families that will do an appetizer lunch earlier in the day, but then have their main dinner with bourbon glazed turkey and grandma’s old fashioned dressing and all the other trimmings later in the evening.

My gathering usually eats our meal around 3pm, so we keep appetizers pretty simple (maybe a very small charcuterie board idea) so that we don’t fill up too much before the main event. I mean, I like to save some room for Thanksgiving salad and Thanksgiving fruit salad, because I’m a weirdo.

This simple baked goat cheese cranberry appetizer for Thanksgiving is a little something to nibble on that won’t fill you up terribly.

Plus, like my cranberry tart pie, this appetizer with goat cheese is a nice way to incorporate cranberries into this seasonal meal if traditional cranberry sauce just isn’t your favorite thing.

The post Baked Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

While you generally won’t find me going out to a fancy restaurant for a pre fixe dinner on Valentine’s Day, I still like to mark the occasion in some way at home.

Sometimes I’ll make a special Valentine’s Day dinner of lasagna cottage cheese or my crab-stuffed salmon recipe but other years, it’s just easy Valentine’s dessert shooters after a takeout pizza.

And sometimes I’ll just feel like snacking with fun charcuterie board ideas and following it up with some chocolate creme brulee.

You all know I love an epic snack board, as I’ve already shared everything from my wine and cheese board to a spooky Halloween charcuterie board to a fall-themed Thanksgiving charcuterie board.

Whether you’re hosting a Galentine’s party for the girls, or having a cozy night in with your sweetie, why not put together a Valentine’s Day snack platter of your own this year? I’ll explain it all, including the best way to make heart shaped food, below.

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This Halloween Cheese Board is perfect for your Halloween Party

Halloween is definitely one of the most beloved holidays in our household. My husband goes all out with yard decorations, I plan our family Halloween costume months in advance, and our daughter is in it for the candy, of course.

I’ve already done an extensive post on Halloween food ideas (and Halloween deviled eggs, too!). But when you combine my love for Halloween with my love for fun charcuterie board ideas, I couldn’t resist a Halloween board dedicated to charcuterie and cheese.

And if breakfast charcuterie and charcuterie chalets are things, then a Halloween charcuterie board is also most definitely a thing.

I love a unique charcuterie board idea! Equal parts cute and creepy, let me walk you through how I built this spooky appetizer tray. And don’t forget a batch of Halloween bark or Halloween cake pops for dessert!

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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Michigan Cherry Committee. All opinions are 100% my own.

While everyone knows I love my fun charcuterie board ideas, whether it’s breakfast charcuterie, a wine and cheese board or an epic platter of New Year’s Eve snacks, I think we can all agree that communal platters hit a little differently right now, and maybe for awhile longer yet.

And that’s actually fine with me, because once I discovered the jarcuterie trend, I hopped right on that bandwagon! I may never get back off, because putting things in cute jars (even Greek layer dip and Easter fruit salad) is about the only thing I love as much as charcuterie.

This sweet and savory jarcuterie rendition includes all of the cheese and cured meat classics, with a touch of sour sweetness from pickled cherries and dried cherries, too.

The post Jarcuterie with Pickled Cherries appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

Nothing makes my eyes light up at a party like seeing a big spread of appetizers. There’s a reason New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite days, and it’s definitely the savory baked brie, jarcuterie and other New Year’s Eve food!

My absolute favorite kind of appetizer spread? The kind that you get to assemble yourself, like my DIY elote cup bar or even individual charcuterie cups. And if your group of friends and family is anything like mine, everybody has different tastes.

Some people don’t like onions, others can’t get enough. Somebody hates tomatoes, whereas I make my Detroit style pizza recipe with pickled tomato sauce.

I think we can all agree that lots of options never hurt anybody, and that’s what I’m giving you today with this smoked salmon platter!

The post Smoked Salmon Platter appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

It’s totally unplanned, but apparently I post a new baked brie recipe every other December on this blog! In 2015, it was my holiday baked brie recipe with mushrooms, pomegranate seeds, and honey. In 2017, it was my baked brie with grapefruit & pistachios.

Since it’s December 2019, it looks like I owe you a new version of baked brie to go along with the rest of your New Year’s Eve finger foods, like individual charcuterie cups and my smoked salmon platter.

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