Housewarming Spread

My wife and I were married a little over a year ago, and bought our first house earlier this year.  One of the things she was looking forward to most was hosting parties.  With all the new wedding gifts, and a brand new house as the venue, we wasted little time in inviting our friends over for a housewarming get together.

We decided to have a spread of appetizers and snacks for our guests in lieu of preparing a formal meal.  Many items were store purchased and sliced for presentation (meat & cheese tray, sliced veggies, hummus, dip, mini toasts, wraps, and olives).

I baked my own bread to dip in the romesco sauce with goat cheese.  This is a favorite of ours, for sure!  Romesco sauce has roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and almonds.  Heat that up with some goat cheese and you’ll have an appetizer that people will rave about!  You can also just use a marinara sauce out of a jar -- but it isn’t quite as delicious.

 

My wife made spiced nuts, Rocky Road popcorn, as well as some lemon & candied ginger sugar cookies.  The popcorn is just microwave popcorn that you melt chocolate chips & marshmallows into, and then add peanuts.  Make sure you sift out the kernels, though, or they will get stuck in the chocolate & marshmallows.  Ouch.

She also made sangria using a lot of fresh fruit (lemon, lime, apple, oranges).  It is a really fun & refreshing party beverage.  Here is the full menu:

• Romesco & Goat Cheese with Fresh Bread
• Celery, Cucumber, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, and Red Peppers with Hummus
• Meat & Cheese Spiral Wraps from Sam’s Club
• Mini Toasts with Sundried Tomato Mustard and a Garlic Aioli
• Pepperoni, Mozzarella, and Salami tray
• Dried sharper chesses
• Black Olives
• Potato Chips with French Onion Dip
• Spiced Mixed Nuts
• Rocky Road Popcorn
• Sangria
• Wines
• Beer

We have subsequently had guests over for Sunday brunch, a backyard BBQ, and a taco bar party with margaritas & mojitos.  It is a fun way to spend time with your friends, show off your house, and hone your cooking skills.  Hosting a party can be a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun!