Let Me Entertain You: Holiday Harvest Food Recipes

“Let Me Entertain You” is a hands-on crash course on what it takes to make your next event a raving success. Holiday Harvest is the first in my long series of amazing tips, tricks and recipes centered around thematic events. In this section,  you will learn how to create some appetizing bites that will excite taste buds with the spirit of the holiday harvest.

Mini Bird Pies

serves 32

Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely chopped roasted
• turkey (from the deli or from a fresh roasted breast)
• 10 oz. turkey gravy, from the can
• 2 cups prepared stuffing
• 4 sheets frozen prepared pastry dough, defrosted
• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 egg yolks
• *optional cranberry sauce as garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º
2. Unfold the pastry sheets on a floured cutting board.
3. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into squares (1/2” larger than the diameter of your mini muffin pan).
4. Press each square into a well-greased mini muffin pan.
5. In each muffin cup, place 1 tbsp of stuffing topped with 1 tbsp of minced turkey, 2 tsp gravy and 1 tbsp of mashed potatoes.
6. Wrap the dough up and over the turkey, then pinch and seal the dough with egg wash.
7. Trim any excess dough and brush all over with egg wash.
8. Use leftover dough bits to make decorative garnishes and “glue” them to pie tops with egg wash.
9. Bake Bird Pies 20–25 minutes, until golden.
10. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve.

Stilton Cheese Balls

makes 30

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. green seedless grapes (washed and separated)
• 2 lbs. stilton (blue cheese)
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 3 cups of shelled and chopped pistachio nuts

Directions:

1. Pick and wash grapes, drying completely.
2. Combine the Stilton cheese and cream cheese until smooth.
3. Evenly coat each grape with the cheese mixture, then roll in pistachio nuts to cover completely.
4. Chill in refrigerator until cheese has hardened. Serve slightly chilled.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake

makes 19-20

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 4 egg whites, whipped
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp allspice
• 2 graham cracker pie crusts, crumbled
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted whipped cream
• toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Prepare two 8-inch spring form pans with cooking spray; set aside.
3. Mix pre-maid gram cracker crust with butter and press into bottom of prepared pans. Bake for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, to prepare filling, combine cream cheese, granulated sugar, pumpkin, egg whites, cinnamon, vanilla, and allspice; blend until smooth.
5. Divide filling evenly between pans and pour over baked crust.
6. Bake for 30–40 min. or until slightly firm. Chill completely in refrigerator.
7. To cut into bite-sized morsels, release spring form pan, cut cheesecake with circle cookie cutter, garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Fall Leaf Tuiles Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 4 large egg whites (room temp)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º
2. Sift flour into a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until well-combined (about 2 minutes).
4. Beat in egg whites, one at a time, beating for 4 minutes after each one.
5. Add the reserved flour and mix until just combined.
6. Divide the batter in two, color 1/2 with yellow food coloring and the other 1/2 with orange.
7. Cut stencils shaped like maple and oak leaves from plastic takeout lids.
8. Place the stencils on a baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat.
9. Spread a thin layer of dough (1/2 a spoonful of each color batter) both inside and over the stencil.
10. After removing the stencil form, bake for 4 minutes.
11. Quickly remove the cookies from the pan using spatula and drape leaves over rolling pin to cool into twisted shapes.

Gilded Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp liqueur, such as triple sec or framboise (optional)
• 8 oz. bittersweet dark chocolate, melted for coating
• 24-carat gold leaf sheets for decorating

Directions:

1. Put chocolate into a large heat-proof bowl.
2. Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour over chocolate in bowl.
3. Stir in liqueur, if desired. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 10 minutes.
4. Stir until smooth. Let stand until thick, about 15 minutes.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into two shallow 8-inch dishes or pie plates.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until mixture is very cold and set but still pliable, about 30 minutes.
7. Using a teaspoon or a 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, make balls of chocolate mixture, transferring them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper as you work. Refrigerate 10 minutes.
8. Dip each truffle in melted chocolate to coat then quickly return truffles to parchment paper lined tray and refrigerate until chocolate hardens.
9. Apply a small section of gold leaf sheet with tweezers to hardened chocolate truffles and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Click here to download these recipes as fun and informative cards!

Nov 19, 2010 | Categories: Party Engineering ® | Tags: appetizers, desserts, Fall Leaf Tuiles Cookies, Food, Gilded Chocolate Truffles, holiday appetizers, Holiday Desserts, Holiday Food Recipes, Holiday Harvest Food Recipes, Let Me Entertain You, Let Me Entertain You: Holiday Harvest Food Recipes, Mini Bird Pies, Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake, Stilton Cheese Balls | Leave A Comment »