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Recipes

Easy Crowd-Pleasing Holiday Party Plan for Every Hu-man

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at NYU chapter.

Holiday parties can be a stressful time of cooking all day or worrying about what to feed your gluten-intolerant and dairy-free amigos. It can be expecially infuriating when Aunt Linda strolls up and is like “Hi honey, where’s the yams? You know I always love the yams.” Now you can tell your family and friends this year it’s going to be alright and that you won’t spend all day, just maybe an afternoon in the kitchen; even better, many things can be made the night before! If you’re looking for an easy holiday party recipe, look no further. Plus, they can easily be doubled or tripled and can please those of all food types!

Happy Holidays!

Amuse-Bouche: Spiced Sweet Potato Hummus

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 5 minutesTotal time: 10 minutesServings:20 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Alison Regan

    Put all ingredients into food processor.

  2. Alison Regan

    Blend until thick, consistent texture, add more tahini or some olive oil if creamier texture desired.

  3. Alison Regan

    Enjoy with crudité of carrots, or pita chips or purple cauliflower even!

    Easily double or triple this recipe for lots of guests!

Starter: Sweet and Simple Kale Salad

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 30 minutesTotal time: 35 minutesServings:5 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Alison Regan

    Preheat oven to 420. Chop parsnips, apples into bite size chunks, drizzle with a little olive oil, and mix with garlic and salt and pepper. Repeat with halved tomatoes. Place in preheated oven on parchment paper lined sheet and bake for 15 min. Toast pumpkin seeds in oven as well for 3 min.

  2. Alison Regan

    Combine roasted fruit, veg, and seeds with massaged kale and add wet ingredients and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Main: Crockpot Beef Stew

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time:10 hours Total time:10 hours 5 minutesServings:25 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Alison Regan

    Coat beef in flour and place in bottom of crockpot.

  2. Alison Regan

    Put the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot, except for salt and pepper.

  3. Alison Regan

    Cook on low for 8-10 hours, season to taste, and enjoy!

Side: Brussel and Quinoa Roast

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 40 minutesTotal time: 45 minutesServings:5 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Alison Regan

    Preheat oven to 420. Once hot, place brussels rubbed in olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic on parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, tossing half-way through.

  2. While brussel sprouts are in the oven, cook quinoa in 1 1/2 cup of salted water on stove for 20 minutes. Once done, drain and fluff.

  3. Replace brussel sprouts with cashews in the oven and toast for 3-5 minutes, checking and tossing every so often until golden color achieved.

  4. Alison Regan

    Toss all ingredients together in bowl and serve.

Dessert: Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 20 minutesCook time: 30 minutesTotal time: 50 minutesServings:24 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven, or turn down previously hot oven to 365. Combine flaxmeal and almond milk and set aside. Set aside 1/4 cup of white granulated sugar in a shallow bowl.

  2. Alison Regan

    Cream together butter and sugars, then add vanilla, molasses, and flaxmeal mixture.

  3. Alison Regan

    Add spices, ginger, salt, baking soda and powder, and flour and combine until stiff dough forms.

  4. Alison Regan

    Roll dough into balls and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, at most 1 hour.

  5. Alison Regan

    Roll dough in set aside white granulated sugar and place on parchment lined baking sheet and put in oven. Bake for 10-20 min, checking every 5.

  6. Alison Regan

    Take out of oven and off baking sheet to cool. Enjoy!

Hey there! My name is Ali Regan. I am an NYU Tisch student who spends all of my time cooking or watching people cook whenever I'm not practicing ballet or rehearsing with my scene partner. I was born in Florida, moved to Pennsylvania, then to Bethesda then Baltimore Maryland! I was lucky to be born into a family that not only loves food but values the culture and community that comes with it. New York is such a food capital, and many come to share their culture and community here through food. I hope to do some of that while I'm here and I could not feel more grateful to be able to do so through Spoon!