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.

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Melomakarona Recipe

I originally discovered these Greek cookies while completing a practical exam in culinary school, where I had to prepare a meal of traditional Greek foods.

The melomakarona cookies I made for dessert ended up being absolutely delicious, and I couldn’t wait to make them again.

With love, I have refined my recipe for years ever since, resulting in the soft spiced cookies bathed in honey syrup and sprinkled with walnuts that you’ll find in this post.

Not only do the warm Mediterranean flavors instantly put me in a Christmas spirit, but because these cookies stay fresh up to two weeks, I actually CAN start my holiday baking by making them earlier in the month!

“Oh, my goodness! Made these cookies to bring to my daughter’s for Christmas. I waited patiently to do the “taste test” and it was worth the wait! They are delicious and taste just like the ones I’ve been buying at the annual Greek festival close to home for years. Thank you so much!”

—Connie

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The perfect salad for Christmas Dinner

No matter what your entree is for Christmas dinner, I’m willing to be that this Christmas Salad will go with it.

It’s a combination of peppery arugula and crisp radicchio, topped with juicy oranges, creamy goat cheese, cinnamon roasted almonds and beautiful pomegranate seeds.

But the thing that sets this salad apart is the zesty orange dressing. It’s creamy but not too creamy, filled with the flavor of fresh orange juice, sweetened with a bit of honey, and made a bit tangy by white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.

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Citrus & Herb Turkey Breast Tenderloin Recipe

I’ve seen so many memes this year about how everybody thinks turkey is the worst part of Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t agree, and it doesn’t have to be this way!

I think the problem some people are running into is over-cooked and under-seasoned turkeys. Or maybe they don’t like being stuck with leftover turkey meat for a week after the holiday?

This Turkey Tenderloin Recipe is here to solve all of the internet’s problems. It is absolutely BURSTING with the bright flavors of citrus and herbs.

And, it’s a standout option if you’re looking for a smaller, hassle-free entree for Thanksgiving that isn’t a whole roasted turkey.

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Have you ever had Zucchini Grilled?

While sauteed and roasted zucchini are delicious, my personal favorite way to prepare this vegetable is on the grill.

If you’ve ever been intimidated by grilling zucchini, I can assure you that it’s easier than you think!

While many recipes require some precise knife work to cut each zucchini into perfectly flat slices, this one takes a much easier approach to cutting the vegetable.

Long spears of zucchini are super easy to cut and grill. We’ll also be adding a miso glaze for rich umami flavor with a touch of sweetness, elevating grilled zucchini to a whole new level.

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Anybody else remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? Man, I could get DOWN with those things. Pretty sure I’d read one tomorrow if it showed up in my neighborhood’s Little Free Library.

Well, this build-your-own yogurt bar is the food equivalent of one of those books. Want all healthy yogurt toppings? Load up on fruit and lemon cardamom granola. Want more decadent toppings for yogurt? Some chocolate chunks and waffle cone bits are waiting for you.

The recipe card below includes approximate amounts for a yogurt parfait bar for 8 people, but you can set up all of these ingredients in any quantity for any number of people. Just change your serving bowl sizes accordingly.

Round out your brunch buffet with vegetarian quiche and some bacon in the oven, and you have the perfect Mother’s Day or bridal shower morning meal.

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When you think of a charcuterie board, you might think of a cocktail party, a light dinner or even an afternoon snack. But I also think of breakfast!

As I’ll explain below, charcuterie for breakfast is quite common in Europe, and I think we should celebrate here in the United States, too!

Read on to learn how to build an epic Breakfast Charcuterie board perfect for a weekend brunch or holiday gathering like Mother’s Day.

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Easter is just around the corner, and with it, a decision. Are you going to serve Easter brunch, complete with vegetarian quiche and bacon in the oven, or are you going the dinner route with baked ham with pineapple sauce and balsamic asparagus?

My family goes the dinner route for Easter, and then a brunch celebration about a month later on Mother’s Day.

No matter what you choose, this unique charcuterie board idea could come in handy. You can serve it as part of your brunch buffet, or as an appetizer before dinner.

An Easter Charcuterie Board is the perfect way to showcase a variety of savory and sweet treats and create a beautiful and enticing spread for the holiday.

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With a small kitchen and limited storage, I’ve weeded out most appliances, tools and pans that serve a single purpose. They just take up too much valuable real estate.

The only exception I’ve made is my beloved egg cooker, which cooks the most perfect hard boiled eggs for shrimp deviled eggs and Easter salad.

And for whatever reason, a single special bundt pan has stuck with me. I bought this pan probably over 10 years ago. I saw it in a catalog (I believe this particular shape/style was being re-released for some type of Bundt anniversary) and just knew I had to have it.

I find that Spring is a time where I make cakes more often than the rest of the year. I’m not sure why, but I think it has something to do with my love of light cakes with bright, fresh flavors, like citrus and berries.

This orange bundt cake recipe is a breeze to mix up, and, like my lemon curd cake and Black Forest cupcakes, it’s perfect for any special occasion, like Mother’s Day or Easter, or a Spring birthday.

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The last carrot cake I made was for my daughter’s first birthday. Her favorite food at the time was glazed carrots, so my husband and I took the day off work and lovingly made her a homemade carrot cake, complete with cream cheese frosting and decorations we piped on ourself.

She took one small lick and didn’t care about that cake at all. It wasn’t one of those pictures of a one-year-old just covered in cake. It was a perfectly clean toddler turning her nose up at a cake we had worked so hard on! Who knows, maybe she would have liked lemon curd cake better?

She’s 4 now, and I told her this story while serving her one of these Carrot Cake Smoothies last week and she said “Yeah mom, I don’t like cake!”

But she DID like this carrot smoothie. Like my lemon smoothie and blueberry lemon smoothie, I pack a lot of good-for-you ingredients into a creamy, portable and utterly sippable breakfast or snack.

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