The Best Party Recipes for Casual Gatherings
For homemade foods to serve family movie nights and holidays and other occasions, use these party ideas for main courses, appetizers, and drinks. Recipe ideas include fried chicken and katsu, grilled cheese sliders and pizza cooked in a skillet, mummy hot dogs, apple slices dipped in caramel, blueberry fudge, and cranberry margaritas to serve.
Why These Party Recipes Are Good
- Weeknight Meal Ideas: Chicken Parmesan sandwiches and sheet pizza are other easy, familiar foods that can be used for weeknight dinners.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Recipes with Pizza Dough and Microwave Blueberry Fudge are good make-ahead items to make before the party.
- Crowd Favorites: Fried chicken, mummy dogs, caramel apples, and other snacks and treats are favorites with people of all ages.
- Holiday Party Foods: Cranberry margaritas and hot dogs with meat in mummy wraps are some holiday foods to offer alongside other holiday party desserts and snacks.
- Family Choices: Pizza, sliders, and crispy chicken are popular family foods that can be used as part of a meal.
1. Blueberry Fudge with White Chocolate and Blueberry Swirl
Short microwave heating times will melt white chocolate without scorching it. Stirring the white chocolate every 30 seconds ensures that it melts evenly in the bowl and doesn't develop an oily or lumpy texture. The finished dish includes white chocolate fudge and purple ribbons of blueberry preserves (my favorite part). Good white chocolate chips are worth buying. Poor white chocolate chips may be flavorless and have other melting issues. Use sweetened condensed milk in this recipe rather than evaporated milk. Unsalted butter helps you regulate the amount of salt in the dip. Vanilla and salt enhance the white chocolate dip without making it taste too strongly of other flavors. Do not try to substitute other ingredients for sweetened condensed milk in this recipe. Microwave the preserves for 15-20 seconds or until they are just soft enough to release from a spoon when added to the pan. Pierce the preserves a few times with a knife or toothpick. I typically don't use a knife or toothpick as many times as recommended because doing so will blend the preservatives and other colors in the jelly and lessen the swirl design. You can also strain larger pieces of fruit through a sieve before using them to increase the swirl effect. After refrigerating for at least 4 hours, lift the block out using the parchment-paper handles and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut into 36 small pieces. For smoother sides, especially where the swirl gets close to the corner, I rinse and dry my knife in hot water between cuts.
2. Chicken Katsu with Caviar: Crisp Panko and Cool Crème Fraîche
Frying panko chicken at 170-180°C helps cook the panko crust without overcooking the chicken. A dish with chicken katsu and caviar has warm, crispy chicken and cold, rich caviar and crème fraîche. Reduced seasoning allows the caviar to stand out as a flavor component in every bite. Chicken tenders are cut into small pieces, seasoned, dredged in a seasoned flour mixture, and dipped in mixtures of egg and mirin and panko and water. The water in the panko and water mixture keeps the breading for chicken tenders light and crunchy. Chive- or green onion-seasoned crème fraîche adds a cool, creamy note, and caviar adds a savory note when this dish is served. Watch the browning of the food and fry in batches to limit oil absorption and thick breading. Skim loose breadcrumbs between batches to keep them from darkening in the oil and sticking to other batches. Fry foods on a rack or other perforated cooling surface rather than a solid surface to keep moisture from collecting under the coating after frying. Serve katsu as a starter or shared dish or lighter main course with a salad on the side. Pair with champagne or other white wines. The fresh flavors and temperature contrasts of this dish are best when eaten soon after preparation. When making this dish in advance, leave off the crème fraîche and caviar until serving.
3. Easy Mummy Hot Dogs With Crescent Dough Arms and Legs
These mummy hot dogs take 35 minutes to prepare and can be a quick Halloween party appetizer or other dish when you don't have a lot of time. Arms and legs are cut out of hot dogs, then crescent roll dough strips are wrapped around the hot dogs before baking until golden brown to look like mummies. The recipe uses 10 hot dogs and one can of crescent rolls. Cutting hot dogs before rolling them with crescent rolls will help you shape them like arms and legs. Cutting hot dogs is not necessary to make this recipe, but doing so will make the final product resemble arms and legs. Use a sawing motion or pizza cutter to slice crescent dough strips from the unrolled can. Work with one hot dog strip at a time. Wrap dough around the strip forming a body first, then wrap arms and legs separately. Arranged on a greased baking sheet, bake each formed hot dog. Repeat the process to complete all hot dogs. The goal is to achieve a golden-brown, fully cooked exterior. Problems to watch out for are wrapping arms and legs too tightly with dough so you can't see them when separating. Allow baked hot dogs to rest for a few minutes before serving them. Ketchup and mustard are recommended condiments for baked hot dogs in the article. Offer ketchup and mustard on the side to accompany baked hot dogs. One roll is said to be enough for 10 mummy dogs; you could fit 12 mummy dogs on a single roll by using less dough for each hot dog.
4. Chicken Parmesan Sliders with Gooey Mozzarella and Garlic Butter
These Chicken Parmesan Sliders are a quick meal that requires 10 minutes of prep time and 25 minutes of cook time for a weeknight meal. Cooked breaded chicken and thick marinara sauce layered with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese make 12 rolls of Chicken Parmesan sandwiches. Start with precooked, chilled breaded chicken sticks or cutlets. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce to the bottom half of slider bun bread. Add the chicken sticks or cutlets, more marinara sauce, shredded Parmesan cheese, and more shredded mozzarella cheese to the bottom bun halves. The thick marinara sauce helps keep the slider buns from getting soggy. The mozzarella helps hold other fillings in place. Other potential seasonings for slider buns include garlic butter, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Bake the sliders covered. Remove the cover for the last few minutes of baking. The sliders are ready when the tops are brown and the cheese in between the layers is melted. Fresh mozzarella is the main texture issue and can make the sandwiches soggy. Letting the chicken cool before making the sliders is one strategy to avoid sogginess. Cut the sandwiches apart along the roll perforations with a knife instead of pulling them apart. Serve additional hot side items, including green salad and pasta salad, fries and potato salad, and chips. Reheat leftover sandwiches in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.
5. Caramel Apple Bites with Tart Granny Smith Apples and Pretzel Crunch
Choose fresh Granny Smith apples and other crisp green apples. The crisp apple pieces complement the sweet, soft caramel filling in these no-cook caramel apple appetizers. Other apple appetizers skewered on toothpicks feature apple pieces and a Rolo candy on top of a mini pretzel for sweet and salty flavors. Mini pretzel twists are used as a starting point. One Rolo chocolate is added to each pretzel twist and warmed but not fully melted in the oven. An apple is cut into 1-inch chunks. Lemon juice is added to keep apple chunks from browning. Toothpicks are used to assemble the snack. Individual pieces are treats, not whole caramel apples. Keep an eye on the Rolos. You want them soft enough to push pieces of apple into but not so soft that they start fusing with each other. Three to five minutes in a 275-degree oven works well for the Rolos. The biggest problem people have with this recipe is overbaking the sheet pan, which makes the Rolos too soft and causes them to fuse. Serve ready-to-eat appetizers on the same day they are made, especially for Halloween and other functions and charcuterie boards. Appetizers that can be stored will get soft. Leftover apple slices can be stored in the refrigerator, and new appetizers can be made the next day with leftover pretzels and Rolos.
6. Sheet Pan Pizza With Soft Thick Crust and Fresh Basil
For easy pizza night, make pizza dough ahead of time and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours to proof. Make pizza sauce while the dough undergoes its second proof. This flat thick-crust pizza recipe serves four and features a soft crust and pizza toppings of tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. All-purpose flour, active dry yeast, warm water, salt, and olive oil are ingredients in the dough. Olive oil coats a 25 cm by 30 cm pan. Drained canned tomatoes are pureed with basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make sauce. After the first bake, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses are added to the pan but are not mixed into the dough before baking. After the second proof, the dough should be soft and airy, and you should be able to knead it with oil between your fingers. Dimpling the pizza dough helps it stay soft and airy. Pizza dough with sauce should bake first. Sprinkle Parmesan and two kinds of mozzarella on the pizza before the second bake. Problems during preparation may include reduced proofing time. The recipe advises that the dough be proofed until it has tripled, then made soft and airy. Serve with a five-minute rest and fresh basil. Keep sliced pizza in airtight containers in the refrigerator up to three days or in freezer bags up to one month. Thaw frozen pizza before reheating in an oven or microwave.
7. Mistletoe Margarita with Cranberry Juice and Fresh Lime
I make this Mistletoe Margarita when I want an easy holiday drink that's also refreshing. Cranberry juice, blanco tequila, and fresh lime juice give this drink a tangy flavor. Layering sugar on the rim and adding rosemary as a garnish give this drink a holiday flair. The rosemary adds aroma with each sip of the cocktail. Use regular cranberry juice that is not sweetened or mixed with other ingredients, as cranberry cocktail is very sweet and will overwhelm other cranberry flavors I'd like in this cocktail. I always use fresh lime juice. I taste the cocktail in the shaker before serving to decide if I need to add more agave nectar or lime juice. Shake for 15 to 20 seconds or until the shaker is very cold to the touch. Cold temperatures help lighten the drink and blend the agave nectar with the orange juice and tequila. I recommend using a Boston shaker if possible, but other shakers will work. Add fresh ice to a glass with a rim after straining the margarita. The ice used to shake the margarita began melting before you strained it and would make the margarita too watery if served in the same glass. Fresh cranberries make a mistletoe decoration for margaritas. Place rosemary and a lime slice around the rim of the glass.
8. Crispy Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Brine and Cornstarch Crust
Serve this fried chicken with other foods at family gatherings to encourage participation. Brine and fry chicken drumsticks and thighs in buttermilk seasoned with herbs and spices and dredge them in a flour and cornstarch batter to make a crispy crust around juicy dark-meat chicken. Buttermilk is used as a flavor and tenderizing agent in this recipe. Buffalo hot sauce adds flavor but no heat. All-purpose flour is used to coat the chicken in this recipe. Cornstarch is a main ingredient in this recipe that, when mixed with flour, creates a crisper coating than flour alone. Use a high-smoke-point oil, such as vegetable oil, which is inexpensive and has a neutral flavor. The coating is adequately applied if it adheres to the chicken and is allowed to stand for 10 to 15 minutes after application. Oil temperature for cooking should be between 300 and 350°F. Lower temperatures lead to excessive oil absorption; higher temperatures can cause the coating to burn before the chicken is done. Use a thermometer to check the temperature. Avoid crowding the pan. Turn chicken pieces once. Serve the chicken alongside potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, or macaroni and cheese. Cooking tips for multiple chickens: Rather than covering cooked chickens, place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet and keep in a warm oven. Covering cooked chickens can cause them to steam and lose their crispy texture. Reheat chicken skin in an oven or air fryer to help restore its crispiness.
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