Christmas Party!!

The season of holiday parties is upon us! Of course I didn't want to be left out and enjoyed planning a little intimate evening for friends. Finger foods, desserts, and a white elephant gift exchange combined to make the perfect holiday evening. I served tortellini skewers, pigs in a blanket, fondue (from this blog post), and party punch. Tim also provided quiches and cream puffs courtesy of Costco but still super yummy. So enjoy the photos and the recipes!

The spread! 

Tortellini Skewers
I originally made these for a holiday party three years ago and decided to revisit the hors d'oeuvre. I saw a recipe that skewered tortellini, tomatoes, and a fresh basil leaf which I liked. Unfortunately the basil leaves did not look pretty at the store! So I decided to marinate the tortellinis and tomatoes in an evoo mixture with basil and garlic. This was marvelous and I'm glad it worked out this way. The amount of ingredients varies depending on the ratio of tortellini to tomatoes you'd like. We fixed about 30 skewers each with 4-5 tortellinis and 1 tomato. 
Ingredients
six cheese tortellini (2 packages)
cherry tomatoes (30)
evoo (4 tbsp or so)
garlic (2 cloves, pressed)
dried basil (1-2 tsp)
Boil tortellini. Mix evoo, crushed garlic, and basil. Drain tortellini and put in a large mixing bowl. Pour 2/3 of the mixture over the tortellini and toss. Add the tomatoes and the remainder of the mixture and toss. The olive oil also prevents the tortellini from sticking together. Then have fun skewering! May serve room temperature with marinara sauce!

Pigs in a Blanket
1 pkg Hillshire Farms cocktail weenies
2 cans crescent rolls
Preheat oven to 375F. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. Cut each crescent into three slices and roll up a little weenie in each slice! Bake the pigs in a blanket for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. There will be a few extra crescent slices at the end. Patrick was a pigs in a blanket rolling champ!

Party Punch
I splurged in a cake set complete with punch bowl this year. And boy am I glad I did -- the punch was a hit!! Thanks to Food Network's Sandra Lee for her fab Holiday Party Punch. 
Ingredients
4 c cranberry juice
1 liter ginger ale
1 bottle sparkling cider
juice of 1 lemon
2 oranges, sliced
12 ounces vodka
Combine liquids and pour in punch bowl with ice! Then garnish with orange slices. So pretty!!

The tree with White Elephant Christmas gifts.