This weekend I held an impromptu holiday dinner party. I love dinner parties! In order to enjoy them without waddling away from the table, I eat light the day of and make sure to get in some good cardio. And I follow a “one cracker only” rule around the appetizers.

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Appetizers:
Goat cheese under olive tapenade with crackers
Mushroom-asiago phyllo bites

Dinner:
Raspberry chipotle-marinated pork loin
(pre-marinated by Costco. During the holidays, I take shortcuts where I can. In the same vein, I cleaned the bathroom but skipped scrubbing the shower. Yep: I just pulled the curtain closed. Done!)

Goat-cheese souffles on Dijon salad
Normally I only prepare dishes that are done before the guests arrive so that I can just enjoy my friends. But I wanted to try something a little special. This only required 5-10 minutes of prep while the guests were here, and it was delicious with nice wow-factor.

Broccoli almondine
Broccoli (shortcut: pre-cut florets), fresh lemon juice, couple pats of butter, almonds. Saute oil and nuts, toss in broccoli and steam for a couple minutes. Done!

Roasted Minted Potatoes with Fresh Garlic
This is a dish meant to be served at room temp. It’s super helpful to have one dish you don’t have to worry about getting on the table hot. Also, I use small white potatoes and only cut them in half — super easy. One step I do take the time for is letting them soak in warm, salted water for 30 minutes before roasting. It draws the starch to the surface, which helps them get that appetizing brown “roasty” look.

That’s it. Slap some Simon and Garfunkel on the stereo — happy and holidayish without being smarmy Jingle Bell Rock — and you’re ready to bring on the warm fuzzies!