I attended a few holiday parties around Christmas and was pleasantly surprised at the healthy party foods that were served. I was able to get recipes from some of the hostesses and their consent to share.

I attended the North Shore Landing party before Christmas. Joy Williams and her husband Darrell had a festive spread and plenty of options. I really enjoyed her broccoli and cauliflower salad.

Joy’s Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
1 small head of cauliflower
1 small bunch of broccoli
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 jar pimentos

Break cauliflower and broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Add chopped onion and pimentos. Make dressing by whisking together the sour cream, vinegar, sugar, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. Joy served chopped cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon on the side. That was an excellent idea, because cheese and bacon make everything better, but the cheese and bacon don’t get too mushy from the dressing.

My sister-in-law is an excellent cook and she is always so thoughtful. When she comes to our house for dinner, she always brings an appetizer. She knows that I’ll be so busy making the dinner that I probably won’t give any thought to the hungry folks waiting for everything to get to the table.

Terri’s Broccoli Cheese Ball
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 c. cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. broccoli, chopped
1/2 c. small onion

Mix together the cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Then fold in broccoli and onion. Spray cooking spray on your hands to help form the ingredients into a ball.

Terri’s Blue Cheese Ball
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. Gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix all the ingredients together and form a ball.
Before refrigerating, Terri always rolls the cheese balls in chopped parsley or crumbled bacon. Serve with chips.