I'm doing Christmas this year; my stepmother did Thanksgiving. There will be ~20 which is the usual. No little kids, youngest is my 13-YO niece. For appetizers probably spanakopita from Costco and some of their chips/dip. Also getting Costco steaks to grill for the carnivores and my son has a freezerful of lobster tails he's bringing up for me to grill or broil. He also has a load of mahi he caught a couple of weeks ago and flash froze so I may fix some of that too. I'll make a big salad, starch will be baked potatoes and a batch of brown rice with veggies (I dump in a couple of cups of frozen diced mixed vegetables and they cook up nicely with the rice). A warm crusty loaf of bread finishes off the dinner menu, and for dessert I'll make a key lime pie--my tree finally started bearing this year so it's truly homemade. My family usually contributes some extra desserts, so whatever comes in we will eat. I'm planning a menu that isn't as labor intensive at dinner time as the turkey/potatoes/gravy spread. Everything can either be made ahead of time like the salad and rice, or if it has to be cooked it can be delegated. We'll have plenty of guys coming who will do grill patrol. Baked spuds and baguettes just get tossed into the oven. I hate parties that leave me feeling like I didn't even attend them because I was working the whole time! Unless there is a sudden surprise front we'll eat on the patio. The weather has been unusually warm and sunny this fall/winter (don't hate me!) so that will work out well. I'm having my roof, patio and outside of the house pressure cleaned before the holidays. Hoping that having a party will finally get us motivated to clean up the yard too! This fall has been grueling at everyone's jobs so my husband, my son and I have all been preoccupied and not stayed on top of things lately. Nothing like a deadline of people arriving at your house to get you moving.

I have Sharon's(chase) classic cheese cake in the oven as I type. I think that would work. If ya want to go with chocolate this one from Carol(dishesdone) is killer and then some. It is fine without the ice cream... Posted by dishesdone (My Page) on Fri, Mar 10, 06 at 21:26 This was also in this month's Chocolatier magazine and looked sinful! The recipe sounds long but if like to bake it really isn't that time consuming. Just lots of steps. LOL I served store bought Ice Cream so can't comment on the Frozen Milk recipe. Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake with Frozen Milk Frozen Milk: 3 1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Chocolate cake: 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons alkalized cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona), sifted 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 large eggs 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup canola oil 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water Ganache: 1 pound milk chocolate (preferably Valrhona Jivara or Guittard) 1 1/2 cups heavy cream Dacquoise layer: 1/3 cup sliced almonds 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 2 large egg whites, at room temperature 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped Peanut butter crunch: 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup Skippy creamy peanut butter 3 ounces milk chocolate (preferably Valrhona Jivara or Guittard) 1 cup Rice Krispies Make the Frozen Milk: Combine all ingredients except vanilla extract. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and set bowl in large bowl filled one-third of way with ice water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chilled, about 20 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Process in ice cream machine according to manufacturers instructions. (Frozen Milk is best when served the same day.) Make chocolate cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9" x 13" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together all wet ingredients except water; pour into dry ingredients. Stir until well combined. Add boiling water and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake until cake springs back when touched in middle, about 30-40 minutes. Cool cake in pan set on wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely. Make ganache: Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. In small saucepan, bring cream to a gentle boil and gradually whisk into melted chocolate. Set aside. Make dacquoise: Position rack in the center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Using 13" x 9" baking pan as a guide, trace a rectangle onto a piece of parchment paper. Turn paper over and place on a large baking sheet. Combine sliced almonds and confectioners' sugar in food processor and process until finely ground. Set aside. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites on medium speed to soft peaks, gradually adding granulated sugar while whipping. Once stiff and shiny, fold in almond flour mixture. Spread into 9" x 13" rectangle on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle top with chopped peanuts and bake until browned, 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool on wire rack. Make peanut butter crunch: In medium bowl, combine butter, peanut butter and chocolate. Place bowl over saucepan filled one-third of way with simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in Rice Krispies. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over dacquoise. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut chocolate cake in half horizontally for form 2 layers. Spread one-third of ganache on top of bottom half. Remove dacquoise from freezer and peel off parchment paper. Place dacquoise, peanut butter crunch-side up, on top of ganache covered cake; gently press to remove any air pockets. Spread half of remaining ganache over peanut butter crunch. Place second half of cake on top. Refrigerate until ganache is set, about 1 hour. Using serrated knife, carefully trim off rough edges of cake. Rewarm remaining ganache over a pot of simmering water, and spread over top of cake. Serve a square of cake with a scoop of frozen milk. Recipe by Nancy Olson, Peacock Alley, Waldorf-Astoria, NYC from Chocolatier Magazine March 2006 Cheescake Supreme (Sharon) 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter melted 40 ounces cream cheese (5, 8 oz packages) 1 3/4 cups sugar 3 TBSP flour grated rind of 1 lemon grated rind of 1/2 orange 5 eggs 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup whipping cream Fruit and glaze (Directions follow) Mix graham cracker crumbs sugar and melted butter. Butter a 10 inch springform pan. Press crumb mix into the bottom of the pan. Let the remainingg ingredients except cream come to room temp. Beat cheese until fluffy. Mix sugar and flour together and gradually mix into the cheese, beating mixture smooth. Mix in grated rinds. Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time beating well after each. Stir in cream. Pour over crust. Cook in preheated 500 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 and cook for 1 hour ( NOTE: I always seem to have to cook it longer than this to get it to set properly, usually 1 1/2 hours) Remove from oven, place on rack away from drafts and cool. When cool refrigerate in pan until cold. Remove from pan and place on serving plate. Top with fruit and glaze and refrigerate until serving time.~ Fruit and Glaze.... working from the centre out to the edge. Arrange 4 or 5 canned apricot halves around centre of cake(reserve juice) Circle the apricots with canned pineapple wedges, (4 rings quartered) reserve juice. Alternate fresh starwberry halves and green grapes to form outer circle. Mound about 1/3 cup blueberries in the very centre , inside the ring of apricots. To make glaze combine the apricot and pineapple syrups to make 3/4 of a cup. Add 1 TBSP of lemon juice. Combine 1 TBSP cornstarch with 2 TBSP cold water. Add to juices and cook stirring until thickened. Add a drop of yellow food colouring if desired. Spoon over fruit. Hope you have a great evening!! David

Christmas Eve is our big family gathering, we include a dinner for 20. We serve buffet style, but sit at dining tables. (I discovered that 20 is the perfect number: 10 at the DR, 10 in the sunroom at two folding banquet tables) We went with a simple dinner menu this year: beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes (two trays from costco, they were great, and pretty in my new red-orange Dansk pan) and a simple Chistmas salad my aunt made. Elegant! Appetizers were made/brought by others: just shrimp w/sauce, an artichoke dip with crackers, and my kids always make the classic Lipton soup dip. Dessert was the most complicated: DH made his mom's Walnut glory cake which calls for 9 count'em 9 separated eggs. But it's not called "glory" for nothing! Our Scandinavian tradition calls for rice pudding which, for the first time, came from my kitchen. It was a tad soupy, but delicious. And folks brought cookies and candy. Christmas morning DH made our traditional "Eggs McDH" and mimosas. We forgot to make the fruit medley, but that's okay. Then we went to my folks' and my brothers met us up there, for baked French toast (made with Challah, best French toast ever!) and bacon. Christmas night is our quiet intimate dinner at home of leftovers, at the dining room table with the party dinnerware. Me, I felt like the Very Hungry Caterpillar: I ate "one nice green leaf and felt much better". Literally, I had the salad with no dressing lol! Ahhh.

Another thought. Check out Ina Garten's coconut cupcakes recipe on food network.com. The recipe makes about 24 and they are super delicious. Top with a cherry and they will look very Christmasy. I have made them and frozen them and they are still delicious. You could also make Hersheys Perfectly chocolate chocolate cake into cupcakes (they freeze well, also and then you would have a variety. Just be sure if you make the coconut cupcakes, to make only half a recipe of the frosting, trust me it's plenty. I once brought some of the coconut cupcakes to the cart attendants at our golf club and the one attendant about 60 years old said to me when I got back in from golfing. "Mrs. T. those cupcakes were so delicious, you want to know how delicious they were?" How delicious were they Dave......"They were so delicious, I wanted a cigarette afterwards!" LOL