Simple Ways to Elevate Your Holiday Event With Applegate
This article is sponsored by Applegate. All opinions are our own.
Entertaining friends and family for the holidays is exciting but can also be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to hosting. However, with the right guidance and a collection of easy-to-prepare recipes, hosting becomes simple, stress-free and genuinely enjoyable.
Luckily, Applegate is on hand to help you elevate your festive menu by offering convenience without compromising quality. Thanks to their variety of high-quality products, you can create an effortless spread that showcases premium meats that are made with simple and recognizable ingredients, have no artificial ingredients, and are entirely moreish.
With APPLEGATE® products on your ingredients list, you’ll have incredible additions to bring to the table that you can feel good about serving.
3 Hassle-Free Holiday Hosting Tips
1. Plan a Menu for a Varied Crowd
With your guest list finalized and invites sent out, the first step in preparing to host for the holidays is creating your menu. While it's great to include some of your favorite dishes, offering food that appeals to every guest is equally important. Anticipating the tastes of your guests can help guide you when choosing what to serve on your holiday menu.
Small bites and handheld dishes are generally the best options, letting everyone, including kids and adults, snack and mingle comfortably. A meal like this, made of thoughtfully selected holiday appetizers, will give your event a cocktail party feel for the adults while offering kid-friendly snacks for the younger crowd.
The most exciting aspect of preparing for a holiday event is the variety of options available to fill your platters. Pairing a selection of sophisticated and traditional holiday foods with more whimsical treats scattered throughout ensures everyone will find something exciting to snack on.
And, when using delicious ingredients like APPLEGATE® products, you can get an edge in the holiday appetizer game, ensuring your finished dishes are crowd-pleasers.
2. Use a Mix of Familiar and Unique Flavors
Building on the idea above, you can help meet everyone’s tastes by offering a mix of unique dishes and beloved classics. Instead of sticking to your usual creations, spruce up your holiday food spread by presenting something new alongside classic selections. By pairing innovative recipes with traditional selections, you can keep all your guests happy while also introducing them to something new.
Start with familiar flavors like Applegate’s enticing range of meats, including APPLEGATE NATURALS® Genoa Salami, APPLEGATE NATURALS® Soppressata, APPLEGATE NATURALS® Prosciutto, and APPLEGATE NATURALS® Pork and Beef Pepperoni. Incorporating these premium slices into your holiday appetizer and canapé repertoire is a simple way to add a touch of European sophistication to your holiday feast.
While these types of dry-cured meats are commonly served at events, you can also work other kinds of flavorful meat products into your holiday spread, such as APPLEGATE NATURALS® Chicken and Sage Breakfast Sausage or APPLEGATE NATURALS® Sunday Bacon. Using these products in creative ways beyond their usual applications brings something fresh to traditional appetizers yet still pleases those who enjoy more familiar flavors.
3. Give Your Table Visual Flair
The joy of a well-set table draws both host and guest into the world of the holidays with just a glance. Presentation is key in setting the tone for your event, letting you express everything from tasteful elegance to playful whimsy.
Decide on a motif that suits the spirit of your party, then plan your table décor to maximize the creative possibilities with colors, patterns and three-dimensional elements that complement the theme.
Depending on the size of your gathering, you can opt for one large tablescape to make a grand statement, incorporating your food and décor pieces into an elegant display. Alternatively, for a more intimate affair, consider creating smaller stations to separate your holiday dishes into savory and sweet selections, which will give guests a chance to circulate, snack and mingle.
Even those with limited space for displaying a holiday feast can arrange small countertop platters surrounded by fresh greenery and eye-catching ornaments.
No matter which type of design you choose, setting up the table early is key. This provides ample time to get the layout just right without being overwhelmed or having to forgo certain stylistic elements due to time constraints.
3 Delicious and Easy Holiday Recipes
1. Cornbread Sausage Stuffing Bites
Who wouldn’t be swept up in the joyful spirit of the season after tasting these irresistible comfort food bites? Although stuffing is usually seen as a holiday side dish, it also shines as an appetizer thanks to this flavorful recipe that uses cornbread for a hint of sweetness.
Another interesting addition to this recipe is APPLEGATE NATURALS® Chicken and Sage Breakfast Sausage, which beautifully elevates these stuffing bites with notes of savory chicken and herbaceous sage. Dried cranberries provide a burst of festive flavor, while celery, parsley and more fresh sage round out the recipe, adding extra layers of deliciousness.
Just remember to make or buy your cornbread a day or two in advance of whipping up these cornbread sausage stuffing bites, as it needs time to dry out a little to best hold its texture.
While these flavorful bites are ideal for holiday grazing spreads, they can still work perfectly as a side dish for a sit-down feast, pairing well with classics like turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.
2. Whipped Goat Cheese With Bacon and Dates
This next appetizer is as elegant as it is easy to prepare. Combining creamy and indulgent whipped goat cheese with salty, savory APPLEGATE NATURALS® Sunday Bacon and sweet dates creates a decadent bite with the perfect balance of flavor and texture.
Best of all, preparing whipped goat cheese with bacon and dates takes no time at all. Simply cook the bacon in a skillet with fresh rosemary and combine goat cheese with thick Greek yogurt, honey and a dash of seasoning.
Next, chopped dates and shallots are simmered down to a chunky, syrup-like consistency. Once cooked, all you need to do is plate the goat cheese mixture before topping with the dates and crumbled rosemary bacon. Serve this delightful dip with toasted bread or crackers for a warm, comforting and flavor-packed treat that’s sure to impress your holiday revelers!
3. Salami Pinwheels
Pinwheels are a classic finger food, and you can elevate them for your holiday event with this recipe for salami pinwheels. Pairing artisan APPLEGATE NATURALS® Genoa Salami with sharp Parmesan cheese and buttery puff pastry, this dish brings a sophisticated twist on a favorite to your holiday menu.
Serve alongside sweet fig jam and watch your guests get swept up in each indulgent bite!
What’s especially great about this dish, other than being incredibly delicious and moreish, is that you can make and freeze the pinwheels in advance of your holiday event. Then, simply heat them before serving to make entertaining hassle-free.
Holiday hosting is a fun and festive activity. But if it’s your first holiday season hosting or you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with the prospect this year, hopefully this guide has made hosting seem much more manageable.
And, with Applegate on hand to help you make every bite a memorable occasion, you can effortlessly create your dream holiday feast without excess effort.
Whether you’re cooking up a multi-course dinner as part of your holiday event or simply sharing nibbles and noshes with your nearest and dearest, Applegate lets you bring something special to the table that you’ll be proud to serve.
To learn more about adding fun flavor to your holiday spread, visit Applegate.com.
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