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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

You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails or liking my Facebook or Pinterest (see the form and icons in the sidebar or below the recipe card)

– 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

My homemade stovetop ground beef and bean chili is a classic comfort food made even better! It's spiced with dried chiles along a few fresh chiles to balance the flavors and simmered with beer. Great with tortilla chips, avocados, and all the toppings. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #chili #chilirecipe #comfortfood #groundbeef

Rich and Meaty Ground Beef and Bean Chili

My Italian sausage pasta bake (pasta al forno Siciliana) combines rigatoni with browned sausage in a simple tomato sauce all topped with gooey smoked mozzarella cheese. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #italianrecipes #pastarecipes #bakedpasta #smokedmozzarella #italiansausage

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake (Pasta al Forno Siciliana)

My favorite sour cream pancake batter is mixed with sauteed spiced apples in these apple cinnamon pancakes for the perfect fall and winter breakfast. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Sour Cream Apple Cinnamon “Apple Pie” Pancakes

Homemade Meyer lemon raspberry bars are great twist on classic lemon bars! Start with a simple flaky and buttery shortbread crust and then top that with a thick and rich layer of lemon and raspberry curd. Tart, amazing, and a beautiful reddish-orange color.

Meyer Lemon Raspberry Bars

Pull out your cast iron skillet to make these amazing breaded cheese stuffed pork chops for two! Start these Italian style bone-in chops on the stove top then move to the oven and finish up by making a quick sauce to serve over pasta. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #porkchops #porkrecipes #italianrecipes #datenightrecipes #dinnerfortwo

Herb and Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops with Pasta

Canned fire roasted tomatoes are the secret to an easy and delicious tomato basil soup! No cream needed for a rich flavor and a great soup.

Tomato Basil Soup with a Red Wine Crouton

Reader Favorites

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

Zucchini cheddar biscuits are soft, tender and full of shredded zucchini and sharp cheddar. Just drop them onto the baking tray and go. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Soft and Tender Zucchini Cheddar Biscuits

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb - Butterflied lamb is rubbed overnight with a flavorful herb and garlic mixture and then quickly grilled for a perfect dinner. It takes just 15 minutes to bring this roast to a beautifully seared outside and medium rare inside. Great for Easter dinner or for any cookout get-together. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with a Herb Rub

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

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

Throw out everything you know about making pie crust to make the best easy flaky pie crust you've ever made. Simple, all butter, no fail! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Easy Flaky Pie Crust Recipe

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