Thanksgiving Food Hits and Flops

Before I dive headfirst into Christmas baking, I like to look back and add some recipes to my "Must Bring" list for Thanksgiving and also add some to the "Never Again!" list.

I like to bring a dish that no one else will probably show up with. I usually bring a relish tray with colby jack cheese cubes, pepper jack cheese cubes, pepperoncinis, cocktail pickles (which every last one are eaten), black olives, and green olives. No one else usually brings this and my food is not competing with three other pans of stuffing or sweet potato casseroles.

This year I made something new, a chocolate chip cookie ball, similar to a cheese ball. I found the recipe in a special Fun Food magazine by Taste of Home. Here's the link:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chocolate-Chip-Cheese-Ball (photo courtesy of Taste of Home magazine)

This was a HIT! It tasted so good and I served it with graham crackers, though vanilla wafers would work well also. Definitely a keeper!

Another recipe that is a hit is mini no-bake cheesecakes with cherries on top, similar to this recipe. Photo courtesy of the very cool Tastes Like Chikin blog.


I gauge whether or not to bring the same food year after year by how much is eaten (or left over). One year I wanted to make a pepper dip "tower" that you had to mold in different size containers with chopped red peppers in between the layers. It looked pretty, but as the evening moved on, it became the leaning tower of dip and hardly anyone ate it. Add that to the Never Again! box.

I hope every last dish you brought to Thanksgiving was eaten up and the same goes for Christmas recipes!

Until next time,
Melissa