Holiday Entertaining, With Taste

Our Sporadic Sophisticates share their easy-to-make recipes for any occasion.

We feel like heels when all we bring to a holiday party is a box of store-bought cookies or a 2-liter of Coke. For help, we turned to GO’s online arbiters of taste, the Sporadic Sophisticates (comprised of advertising and marketing director Logan Aguirre, Art Director Kari Engel and contributing writer Nicole Fuller). They came up big time.

Logan’s Recipe

Since there never seems to be enough time in the day, I’m a big fan of recipes that have few ingredients. One of my no-fail recipes is Salmon Mousse Dip. I must admit that I adopted the recipe from James Clary, who provided it to 417 Magazine for a holiday entertaining article a few years back. So, thanks James for making me look like a culinary rock star.

Salmon Mousse Dip:
Smoked salmon
8 oz. cream cheese
Lemon juice
Puree the smoked salmon and cream cheese in a food processor. Squirt in lemon juice to taste. Serve with a garnish of finely chopped red onion, capers and assorted crackers.

Kari’s Recipe

It has sort of become a tradition passed down from my mother to make these oyster crackers to hand out to friends. Being single (not married) and frugal, this recipe is perfect for a quick and on-a budget party item.

Holiday Oyster Crackers: (serves 6)
16 ounces plain oyster crackers
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
1⁄2 teaspoon lemon pepper
11⁄2 teaspoon dill weed
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
3⁄4 cup salad oil
Combine Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix and oil in a small bowl. Add dill weed, lemon pepper and garlic powder. Pour over crackers; stir to coat. Place seasoned crackers in a warm oven for 15-20 minutes.

Nicole’s Recipe

My homemade Baileys is a huge hit when we have all of our family in town. Enjoy!

Homemade Baileys:
2 to 3 cups half and half
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1⁄2 Tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 small package equal
1⁄4 to 1⁄3 of fifth of Kessler’s Blend whiskey
Tip 1: I usually add more half and half than what it calls for, but you can adjust accordingly.
Tip 2: I keep a container with a spigot in my refrigerator from Thanksgiving through Christmas.
Tip 3: I buy these really cute glass containers at the Container Store and fill them with the Baileys with a cute tag and give them as hostess gifts.