Some news + a party menu

Those of you who are regular readers know that I've been very busy these last several weeks finishing up my Ph.D. thesis. Well, I am very happy to announce that I successfully passed my thesis defense yesterday, which officially makes me Dr. Paradise! Thanks for sticking with me through this period of rather low posting frequency - I can't wait to get back to cooking and blogging now that I have more free time!

I am having a party at my apartment this weekend to celebrate completing my Ph.D., and as you might imagine, I've planned an extensive menu. It's going to be all hors d'oevres and dessert, including some recipes by local Boston bloggers. Here's what is on the list (I'll be posting all the recipes over the next couple weeks):

*Update*
Recipes have been posted and links added so you can easily find the recipes.

Savory

Roasted red pepper and eggplant dip

Persian yogurt and spinach dip

Herbed lima bean hummus

Zucchini and goat cheese rollatini with raisins and pistachios (from Cara's Cravings)
Italian stuffed mushrooms
Butternut squash and apple bruschetta (from Tri to Cook)
Pizza monkey bread (from Healthy and Sane and Confections of  Foodie Bride)
Gorgonzola tart with honeyed tomato butter
Pumpernickel toasts with cream cheese and smoked salmon
Spiced pecans with rum glaze

Sweet
Chocolate-whiskey bundt cake
Gingerbread whoopie pies with maple buttercream
Monster cookies (peanut butter oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and M&Ms)
Cranberry pecan caramel bars

My mom and I cooked several of the recipes today, and the cooking will continue until Saturday evening! I couldn't be happier right now =).

What are your favorite party recipes?

A holiday menu

I've been working a lot lately. In the past I've always made it a priority to cook homemade meals almost every day, but right now I just don't have time. As I've mentioned before, I'm in the final stretch of my Ph.D. and should be defending my thesis in just about 2 months! I'm not sure what will come next, and I'm taking my time figuring it out so that I can find something I enjoy. Anyway...I'm saying all this to let you know that I probably won't be blogging too frequently for the next few weeks. I'll try my best to make some blog-worthy recipes and tell you about them, but honestly nothing too interesting is coming out of my kitchen these days. So I hope you will bear with me for a while and still be around when I return in full force in a couple months!

Since I don't have a new recipe to tell you about today, I thought it would be fun to suggest a holiday menu made up of some of my previously posted recipes (I'm not actually hosting a holiday dinner this year, but it is fun to think about menus anyway!). I've been blogging long enough now that I have enough material to do roundups like this. So looking back on what I've made in the past, here is what I would cook for a (mostly vegetarian) holiday dinner party:

Start out with some feta and radish toasts and celery root and potato latkes

 

Get dinner started with a kale salad with sherry-walnut vinaigrette

 












Serve butternut squash and hazelnut lasagna as the main course 

 












With brussels sprouts with bacon dressing and/or broccoli rabe with garlic and lemon on the side

 











And finally, some cranberry pecan caramel bars for dessert!

(These bars are probably the most popular thing I've ever made, and they are perfect for the holidays! I brought them to Shannon's cookie swap over the weekend - check out her recap post if you want more cookie recipe ideas from some fabulous local bloggers)

Are you hosting a holiday gathering this year? What is on your menu?