Delicious Memories of Christmas Past

For those who are familiar with the social media Facebook, you know that the site will prompt you with reminders of past memories you’ve shared. Who doesn’t like a trip down memory lane?

Yesterday I was reminded of a post I had shared 8 years ago, before my blogging days. It was a group of photos taken at a company pot luck along with recipes of the dishes featured. And before you ask, yes we made all 5 dishes. By we, I mean Hubby, Kiddo and I. If you ever invite me to a pot luck, you will see that I just can’t narrow things down to a single dish. I’ve been known to bright as little as two or three dishes, and as many as a dozen.

Just take a look at the back of our car when headed off to a Christmas Family Pot Luck three years ago. Now in my defense, I had just been given the all clear from my doctors to return to normal activities after open heart surgery, so I was anxious to strut my stuff once more in the kitchen.

Hubby’s big question was “What’s everyone else going to bring? And we might need a second car.”

Do you love little bites of food? I sure do. I love the variety appetizers offer, and how pretty they can be all dressed up in holiday colors. If you haven’t put the final touches to your holiday plans, perhaps one of these delicious recipes will strike your fancy. Enjoy!

Christmas Appetizers to Remember
Marinated Shrimp Shooters
Smoked Salmon Ball
Holiday Deviled Eggs
Party Potatoes with Caviar and Dill Garnish
Marinated Antipasto Kabobs

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Marinated Shrimp Shooters
18 Large Cooked Shrimp with tails attached
1 Large Clove Garlic, pressed
4 tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice, divided
2 teaspoons Celery Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper or to taste
1 jar Cocktail Sauce
18 Green Olives
18 Grape Tomatoes
18 Cocktail Skewers

Place cooked shrimp in a re-sealable bag.

In a small bowl, mix garlic, lime juice, celery salt and black pepper. Pour mixture over shrimp. Toss gently to coat. Place in refrigerator overnight.

Remove shrimp from marinade. Using cocktail skewers, thread one shrimp, one olive and one tomato on skewers, with the shrimp in the middle.

Place 2 teaspoons cocktail sauce in each shooter glass. Top shooter glasses with shrimp skewer, arrange on a platter and serve.

Note: Traveling? Put the skewers together and have at the ready. When you arrive at your destination, fill the shooter glasses with cocktail sauce, top with the shrimp skewers and everyone will say “wow!”

Smoked Salmon Ball
2 (5 oz) cans Pink Salmon
3 tablespoons fresh Parsley
2 tablespoons Yellow Bell Pepper
2 tablespoons Red Bell Pepper
1 (8 oz) package Cream Cheese, softened
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Horseradish
1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
Sprigs of Parsley for garnish
Crackers for serving

Drain salmon, pick over to remove any bones or skin that may be remaining. Flake and set aside.

Snip parsley, set aside. Cut ends from bell peppers. Reserve remaining peppers for another purpose. Finely mince ends and set aside. Chop pecans, set aside.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, salmon, parsley, green pepper, red bell pepper, lemon juice, horseradish and liquid smoke. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Form salmon mixture into a ball, roll in chopped pecans. Slightly flatten one end to prevent salmon ball from rolling and place in the center of a serving tray. Tuck sprigs of parsley around salmon and ring with crackers.

Holiday Deviled Eggs
12 Hard Boiled Eggs
8 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
6 Capers
Pinch Red Caviar

Place eggs in a small pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat and allow eggs to sit in hot water for 14 minutes. Remove eggs from pan with a slotted spoon, plunge into an ice water bath to stop cooking process. Once cooled, crack egg shells gently, place back into pan of hot water for no more than 30 seconds to help make peeling eggs easy.

Peel eggs, slice in half lengthwise. Place yolks in a food processor fitted with a paddle for mixing. Pulse until finely chopped. Add mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pulse to blend until smooth. Transfer yolk mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a star.

Pipe yolk into egg whites. Garnish half of the eggs with caviar, the other half with one or two capers. Arrange on a platter and serve.

Party Potatoes with Caviar and Dill Garnish
15 small Red Potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)
2/3 cup Sour Cream
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons dried Dill
Dill springs for garnish
Red caviar for garnish

Heat 1 inch water to boiling in 3-quart saucepan. Add potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drain and cool.
Cut potatoes in half; then cut thin slice from the bottom of each potato so that it will sit flat on the serving tray.

Use a small spoon to remove some of the potato pulp to create a small well. Place pulp in a bowl and smash until smooth.

In another bowl, combine sour cream, dry dill weed and garlic powder. Blend well. Add mashed pulp.

Fill potato wells with about 1 teaspoon sour cream mixture. Garnish with a sprinkling of caviar and fresh dill sprigs. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.

Marinated Antipasto Kabobs
60 cooked Tortellini (2 per kabob)
30 small Mozzarella Balls
30 small Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
30 Pepperoni Slices
30 Basil Leaves
30 Salami Slices
1/2 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

Cook Tortellini according to package directions. Rinse under cold water to cool. Place Tortellini is a resealable gallon storage bag. Pour about a quarter of the salad dressing over the pasta. Seal bag, toss to coat pasta with the dressing. Place flat on a rimmed baking pan and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

In another bag, place Mozzarella balls, tomatoes, salami and pepperoni slices. Pour remaining 1/4 bottle of zesty dressing over antipasto mixture. Toss to coat, place on the same pan in refrigerator to marinate.

When ready to assemble, bamboo skewers or long cocktail skewers for the kabobs. Thread 1 Tortellini followed by 1 of each ingredient onto skewer in whatever order you wish, ending with 1 more Tortellini. Don’t forget about the basil leaves! Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Festive Wishes to all!