New Years Day party wrap up

Final menu, for what turned out to be 11 guests:

1. Lamb meatballs with greek yogurt (about 30)
   
2. Stuffed mushrooms (about 25)
   
3. TJ Goat cheese/caramelized onion puff pastries (2 boxes)
   
4. Home-baked crostini + tomato/fennel sauce (about 15)
   
5. Bacon-wrapped dates (20 pcs)
   
6. Bratwurst with Dijon mustard (6 brats)
7. 1 small veg plate (the smallest one)
8. 3 apples, sliced
9. Cheesecake
   

Notes:

1. Make 30 meatballs, which was more than enough. Seemed OK. Plenty left over. Good thing they reheat well and taste delicious on flatbread! People barely touched the yogurt sauce.
   
2. Stuffed mushrooms were really easy and a hit; only one of about 25 left. A good vegetarian offering; several folks asked how I made them.
   
3. TJ pastries always go fast!
   
4. Crostinis with tomato spread all went, and then later, hungry Catchphrase players devoured the remaining crostini's w/o anything
5. 6 brats were perfect for the 11 or so people we had; no leftovers!
   
6. I'm happy I didn't do the tri-tip, was unnecessary; likewise, the pizza/flatbread would've been too much too.
   
7. 3 apples were perfect; any more people, 6 would have been better. These were all gone.
8. Veg tray was almost all gone.
9. Forgot to serve the cheesecake!
10. Get some Stevia, SweetNLow, or Splenda for those that don't use sugar with coffee (like Perry)
11. I think the 2-5pm was a good time on New Years Day, was fun! Some stayed later, which was OK.
    

Bacon wrapped dates

These are always a hit, and disappear fast...today was no exception!

Serves 14

20 medjool dates
3/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1/2 pound bacon strips, cut in 1/2

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Slice dates to expose pit, and remove (don't slice all the way thru)
3. Stuff with shredded cheese and close them up
4. Wrap with bacon, and skewer with toothpick to keep bacon from unraveling
   
5. Bake on cookie sheet for 15 minutes; flip, and cook for 15-20 more minutes (30-35 minutes total), or until bacon is crisp.
6. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
   

Stuffed mushrooms

Thanks to Giada DeLaurentiis & Food Network for this one

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
* 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.

Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.

Lamb Meatballs with Lemon-Cumin Yogurt

From Chow.com

For the meatballs:

* 1 pound ground lamb
* 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the yogurt:

* 7 ounces whole-milk Greek yogurt
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* Zest of 1 medium lemon, minced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
2. Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands.
3. Form into 30 balls (about 2 teaspoons each) and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake until meatballs are no longer pink in the middle, about 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, combine all yogurt ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well. Serve with the meatballs.

Crostini with Tomato-Fennel Sauce

EDIT 1/2/09: originally I envisioned this as a bite with grilled tri-tip; however, the sauce is good on crostini alone, and reminds me of an italian version of Spanish "tomato bread", known as pa amb tomaquet. My version is a lot more juicy and flavorful from the fennel.

Sauce is based on what I found earlier this week on Epicurious, and very tasty. Would be good for pasta or pizza; I like the sweet fennel notes that come from both the seeds and the root.

20 crostinis (recipe follows)
1 cup of Tomato Fennel Sauce
Fresh fennel fronds

Assembly: spread about 1 tbsp tomato sauce on crostini. Top with small piece of fennel frond.

Crostini

1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Baguette or other good-quality crusty bread, cut into 1" x 2" pieces
Salt + Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F
   
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil and garlic. Let rest at least 30 minutes
3. Lay sliced bread out on cookie sheet.
4. Brush bread with infused oil on both sides.
5. Season "up" side with salt and pepper
6. Bake for 7 minutes, flip pieces, and bake for 8 to 13 minutes more (15-20 minutes total).
   

Tomato-Fennel Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 4 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 cup chopped fresh fennel
* 1 1/4 teaspoons fennel seeds
* 1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, fennel and fennel seeds and sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices and next 4 ingredients. Simmer until sauce thickens, breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon, about 25 minutes. Blend about 1 cup of sauce in blender til smooth; stir back into sauce. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm before using.)