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The 12 Best Celebration Recipes

December 23, 2018 By justalittlebitofbacon Leave a Comment

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During the holidays, at anniversaries, and whenever family and friends come together you need some great celebration recipes! These 12 here are some of my favorites and some of my reader’s favorites, bringing people back to my site again and again.

Collage of four posts with text overlay - 12 of the Best Celebration Recipes.

Hello, all!

Over the years I’ve posted many celebration recipes since they are such fun to make and share. I just can’t resist! 🙂 And all of you out there can’t resist either since these posts have been perennial favorites, gracing tables all over at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and at all sorts of smaller gatherings.

Favorites Old and New

So today I’ve pulled of 12 of my best and most popular ones perfect for parties of all sorts, from holidays to birthdays to family reunions and more!

Some are old family favorites here at BitofBacon HQ and others are new favorites I developed just for sharing with you. Either way, they are perfect for sharing and enjoying with your family and friends.

Celebration Appetizers

It’s not a proper celebration unless you have a little nosh or some tasty bites before the main course. And these three appetizers are all great for parties. Why? Because they are both fast and easy to make along with being completely amazing to taste! Can’t go wrong with that.

From some simple cauliflower tapas to the more indulgent salmon caviar dip to the rich and creamy lobster bisque, you can find a celebratory appetizer to fit your needs. Need more ideas? Try my savory bites category, which is full of other tapas, meze, and noshes I love.

Pan Fried Spanish Cauliflower Tapas - These breaded fried cauliflower bites are a simple and tasty tapas dish you should make at your next get-together! Just a quick dunking in egg and breadcrumbs and a minute in a skillet and you are all done. Can be made ahead and reheated! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Pan Fried Spanish Cauliflower
Smoked salmon cream cheese dip is a great and easy holiday party appetizer and it's even better with salmon caviar added to the mix! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Caviar and Smoked Salmon Caviar Dip
After years of tinkering I've developed a quick lobster bisque that is as fabulous and full of flavor as it is simple and easy to make. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Fabulous Quick Lobster Bisque

Celebration Drinks

One of my favorite things is to develop tasty drink recipes perfect for parties and holidays! It’s just so fun to have a great drink to whip up and share with friends and family, don’t you think?

Here I have a warming hot eggnog, excellent for when you come in out of the snow, and a sparkling fizzy prosecco to have with your appetizers. For more yummy cocktails, visit my cocktail category!

Homemade hot bourbon eggnog is easy to make and will warm you right through. I think it's the perfect drink for cold and snowy days by the fire! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Homemade Hot Bourbon Eggnog
Easy, delicious, and full of bubbles! This pomegranate prosecco cocktail has everything you need for a great holiday drink. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Pomegranate Prosecco Cocktail

Celebration Dinners

While you can have a celebration gathering around small plates, drinks, and desserts, I love to have a great meal as the center of it all. If you do too, you can’t go wrong with any of these!

From everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving bread stuffing (which is amazing for any holiday!), to a showstopper pork porchetta, to some favorite sides like classic wedge salad and classic potato gratin (you love the classics!), to a seriously easy no-knead bread, there are a lot of great ideas here. For more general celebration recipes, check out my holiday favorites category.

Steakhouse-style classic wedge salad made from iceberg lettuce, topped with buttermilk blue cheese dressing, bacon, and tomatoes is a great dinner side. For date night or for a crowd.
Classic Wedge Salad
Classic Potato Gratin with Gruyere Cheese - In this classic and simple version of potato gratin, thinly sliced yellow potatoes alternate with layers of shredded gruyere, which is all bound together with garlic infused milk and baked to perfection. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Classic Potato Gratin
My Favorite Bread and Sausage Stuffing - This classic combination of bread, pork sausage, aromatics, and lots of sage produces a stuffing that says Thanksgiving to me. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Bread and Sausage Stuffing

Love making artisan bread but want it to be quick and easy? This rosemary no knead bread bakes up like a dream in your dutch oven and only takes a few minutes of work. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Olive Oil and Rosemary No Knead Bread
Boneless pork shoulder rubbed with herbs and garlic, then rolled and roasted makes a simple, rich, and intensely flavored pork porchetta. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Pork Shoulder Porchetta

Celebration Desserts

And you can’t have a celebration without dessert, right? If my page view stats tell me true, then I am absolutely right since my dessert recipes are daily favorites all throughout the year.

Here are two popular ones my readers enjoy making for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other gatherings throughout the year. Chocolate chip butterscotch bars are an easy and kid friendly bar cookie and fresh cranberry cookies are a sweet tart flavor explosion great for nibbling on. While these are popular (and amazing!), there are plenty more in my desserts category.

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars - These one bowl bars have all the comfort of an old-fashioned butterscotch bar and the added pleasure of gooey chocolate chips in every bite. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars
The fresh cranberries in these fresh cranberry cookies give them such a bright and zingy flavor which is completely different from dried cranberries! Don't just use fresh cranberries for sauce. Make cookies! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Fresh Cranberry Cookies

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– Happy Celebrating, Annemarie

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Filed Under: dinner and party menus, holiday favorites, resources, roundup post

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Hello, I’m Annemarie

Welcome to my kitchen! I’m a Italian-American girl who loves fresh foods, local ingredients, and all sorts of comfort foods. Here you will find Mediterranean flavors and recipes from a New England perspective.

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Winter Recipes

For easy, weeknight comfort food caramelize some shredded cabbage and make this recipe for pasta with cabbage, breadcrumbs, and walnuts. Great as a vegetarian dinner or for meatless Monday! | justalittlebitofbacon.com #vegetariandinner #italianrecipes #pastarecipes #cabbage #pasta #comfortfood

Pasta with Browned Cabbage and Breadcrumbs

This New Year's Eve appetizer menu is full of all sorts of ideas for a Mediterranean small plates party: savory, sweet and cocktails too. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

New Year’s Eve Appetizer Party Menu

Comfort food at its best! Roasted red pepper and tomato soup is easy, creamy, and perfect for weeknight dinner or for company. Great with fried croutons, slices of crusty bread, or grilled cheese. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #souprecipes #tomatosoup #tomatoes #redpeppers #comfortfood

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup - Comforting, creamy, cheesy, and now even easier to make, this potato leek soup delivers all the flavor for only minutes of work. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Cheesy Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup

This Brussels sprouts spotlight tells you everything you wanted to know about Brussels sprouts. How to cook them, where they come from, how they taste, and more! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Ingredient Spotlight – All About Brussels Sprouts

Blue Cheese and Brussels Sprout Salad - Pan roasted Brussels sprouts are paired with blue cheese and tossed with a tangy mustard vinaigrette in this fast and flavorful salad. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Blue Cheese & Brussels Sprout Salad

Reader Favorites

Learn how to make the best homemade butterscotch sauce! This easy dessert sauce needs only a few minutes and a few ingredients for delicious old fashioned flavor! Use on ice cream, over cake, in buttercream frosting, and more. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #butterscotch #butterscotchsauce #dessertrecipes #dessertsauce #dessert

Old Fashioned Homemade Butterscotch Sauce

Pan Fried Spanish Cauliflower Tapas - These breaded fried cauliflower bites are a simple and tasty tapas dish you should make at your next get-together! Just a quick dunking in egg and breadcrumbs and a minute in a skillet and you are all done. Can be made ahead and reheated! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Pan Fried Spanish Cauliflower Tapas

Beer Braised Pulled Chicken Tacos - These tacos feature slow cooked chicken braised in beer and finished with adobo sauce all layered with spicy coleslaw and guacamole. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Beer Braised Pulled Chicken Tacos

Cold sweet potato salad is topped with dried cranberries and pecans, then tossed with a maple syrup and mustard dressing. Perfect for summertime picnics and for the Thanksgiving table. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Cold Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries and Pecans

Rich & Complex Traditional Bolognese Sauce - A long, slow simmer builds layers of flavor and makes this Bolognese sauce so rich and complex! Meaty, silky, and hearty. This is a sauce worth having on your stove all day long. Make some for today and freeze some for tomorrow. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Rich & Complex Traditional Bolognese Sauce

Love making artisan bread but want it to be quick and easy? This rosemary no knead bread bakes up like a dream in your dutch oven and only takes a few minutes of work. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Olive Oil and Rosemary No Knead Bread

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