From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (2024)

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (1)

Another truly exceptional year is coming to an end, which means it's time to toast the season in kind. How best to do that? By gathering your nearest and dearest and treating them to festive drinks and the most delicious food, of course! Here, we're sharing our latest recipes and most delicious creations for any type or size of gathering. We hope they'll inspire you and help you to bring the fun to any scenario.

What kind of parties call for these ultra-festive recipes? If you ask us, anything goes. At your final book club meeting of the year, raise a toast with a tropical sparkling Ginger-and-Spice Punch. Host your group for drinks and small bites either inside by the fireplace or outside around a firepit. You can get convivial over crispy bites like those pictured here. A platter of Carrot, Zucchini, and Leek Fritters, Salmon-and-Mashed Potato Croquettes, and Spinach-and-Feta Patties with dipping sauces that pair with any and all of the snacks. If you want to up the ante, we also have a recipe for a molten triple cheese dip with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes that we defy anyone to resist.

For a sit-down with your inner circle, you'll need a marvelous main course. We've got you covered with options for a celebratory herb-crusted pork rib roast that serves eight to 12 or a stunning Orange-and-Saffron Scented Seafood Stew that serves eight and just needs some bread for mopping up the delicious juices. Whatever you do, don't forget dessert. Treat your friends to a snowy frosted chocolate cake layered with a decadent chocolate filling. It goes so well with warm sips like Candy Cane Hot Cocoa or Honey-Buttered Hot Toddy.

No matter what type of event you're hosting this holiday season, you can't go wrong with these fabulous recipes.

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Sparkling Ginger-and-Spice Rum Punch

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (2)

Nothing jump-starts a little soirée like an over-the-top pour—and it doesn't get more over the top than this heady, Caribbean-inspired co*cktail of black spiced rum with splashes of prosecco, ginger beer, and seltzer.

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Carrot, Zucchini, and Leek Fritters

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (3)

Crispy, golden snacks like these are a fanciful riff on potato latkes and a glorious addition to a holiday mixer. They honor Hanukkah (oil celebrates the enduring light of the menorah) and are totally irresistible.

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Salmon-and-Mashed-Potato Croquettes

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (4)

Cold-smoked salmon or tinned red salmon is bound with mashed potatoes and egg yolks and coated with panko. The result is an absolutely mouthwatering bite.

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Spinach-and-Feta Patties

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (5)

These crispy patties taste like bites of creamed spinach.

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Zesty Tomato Dipping Sauce

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (6)

Easy peasy and versatile too, this lively dipper starts with canned tomato sauce. It pairs with any and all of the crispy snacks.

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Curried-Sour-Cream Dipping Sauce

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (7)

A sophisticated dipping sauce that's as simple as mixing sour cream with curry powder and adding a pinch of cayenne pepper. Scatter some toasted sesame seeds over the top before serving alongside our crispy croquettes, fritters, and bites.

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Three-Cheese Artichoke-and-Sun-Dried-Tomato Dip

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (8)

There's something wonderfully comforting and neighborly about a bowl of warm, melty cheese dip, especially if you bring back—and break out—the fondue pot. This recipe blends cream cheese, Colby Jack, and Parmigiano for a serious belt of flavor.

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Pork Rib Roast with Apples, Fennel, and Potatoes

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (9)

French-cut rib roast is regal and festive, especially when encrusted with herbs and served whole on a bed of caramelized apples, fennel, onions, and baby potatoes.

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Saffron-and-Orange-Scented Seafood Stew

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (10)

Honor the Italian-American Feast of the Seven Fishes with a pot of seafood stew perfumed with orange and saffron. This version switches out pricey lobster and scallops for just-as-refined shrimp and white fish, so you can spend extra on a few threads of fresh saffron and the best seafood stock you can find.

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Toasted Garlic Butter and Herb Bread

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (11)

Quick herby toasts let you soak up the amazing broth—don't skimp on the stick of butter or the garlic.

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Chocolate-and-Vanilla Pudding Cake

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (12)

An old-fashioned layer cake conjures a winter wonderland when topped with white-chocolate buttercream as pale and thick as a fresh snowbank. Despite its black-tie formal appearance, this is a very pragmatic dessert. The dump-and-stir recipe bakes up light and doesn't flake off, so there's no need for a crumb coat when you frost it. And it's even better when you make it in advance: The milk-chocolate pudding in the middle and the icing have plenty of time to set, so the flavors intensify.

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Honey-Buttered Hot Toddy

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (13)

Host an evening around the firepit, with nightcaps for every wassailer. To gussy up a traditional hot toddy (made with whiskey, honey, lemon, and hot water), whisk some butter and spices into the honey. Use high-quality ingredients—orange-blossom or clover honey, cultured butter, vanilla paste, and a little pour of Cointreau—then add slices of lemon and stir with a cinnamon stick.

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Candy-Cane Hot Cocoa

From co*cktails and Bites to Main Courses and Desserts, These Are Our Best Recipes to Make for Holiday Parties (14)

For non-imbibers, go team cocoa. Heat a pan of milk with chopped white chocolate and a bit of peppermint extract. Whisk it until it's thick and frothy, then top with a dollop of whipped cream and a candy-cane garnish—we hear that's customary at the North Pole.

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