Over the holidays we spent several nights entertaining with our families. Given the responsibility of coming up with some different appetizer and finger food dishes, I turned to Pinterest. I had already created a Finger Food and Appetizer board so it was easy to go there and pick a few items that would work.

We needed food that was good for a casual get-together, not too greasy or unhealthy (good-bye buffalo chicken bites) and could be prepared ahead of time.

Here is what we made and all of them ended up being huge crowd pleasers. I also loved that they were so easy to do and required little prep time.

Pears with Goat Cheese, Cranberries and Pistachio

This was so simple and requires no cooking skills. Simply slice the pear, toss in fresh orange or lemon juice, add some goat cheese and press in a few dried cranberries and pistachios. I used orange juice and herbed goat cheese.

Find original recipe and picture from Sweet Potato Chronicles.

Baked Brie with Cranberries, Honey and Orange Zest

The recipe said fresh cranberries, but since I already had dried cranberries from the pears I just went with that to be more cost effective. No one noticed.

Find original recipe and picture from Real Simple blog.

Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups

We had to take advantage of being in Southern California and having access to a grill. These roll-ups I found (and pinned) on Cooking Light were great. The biggest challenge was thinly slicing the zucchini by hand, so I’d recommend using a mandoline if you have it.

Original recipe and picture from Cooking Light recipes.

Have you tried any recipes from Pinterest? How did it turn out?

Mark and I love to have people over. It allows for quality time, easy conversation without the noise of a loud restaurant or being on the timetable of a waiter trying to turn over a table. We both enjoy cooking and it’s a good way to make use of all our various kitchen gadgets. While I love the chance to go out and try a new restaurant in San Francisco, sometimes it’s nice to have a meal at home with good company.

The problem with entertaining is that sometimes I over-complicate and stress over silly things. Silly things like figuring out how to make 5 new, semi-complicated dishes that I saw on a blog that are really more than I bargained for or should be attempting at once. How do I get 3 hot dishes timed correctly to serve for dinner when I only have 1 electric oven? To decorate or not; will I seem like a crazy Martha Stewart if I make those labels I saw on Pinterest? Do we play games or not? What if they don’t like the food? I want the food to be fresh, but not spend the evening in the kitchen ignore the guests.

Do you get the picture? I worry over things that probably aren’t an issue or it’s an issue I’m creating (like attempting 5 new semi-complicated dishes an hour before company arrives). However, as time goes on I’m picking up our own ways to make things simple, but nice as well as getting new inspiration and ideas from other blogs or pinterest browsing.

This will be a new series on “easy entertaining” as I share tips I’ve learned over time, my own hosting successes and failures, ideas for the future, inspirational finds and my entertaining experiences along the way. Plus I’m hoping this series gives me the extra motivation to try new things when we have friends over.

Do you entertain often? Do you ever over-complicate?

*Here is one of the deleted posts from last week that was lost with it’s first few comments. Apologies if it’s a repeat for you. I’m still working on fixing a few links and pictures in old posts. Note to self–don’t let hosting expire*

If you look through some of my past recipe/food posts you will see The Steamy Kitchen blog mentioned several times and there is a reason.  I love Jaden’s simple yet seriously delicious recipes.

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I’ve been eying her book for awhile and recently splurged for the purchase when my local Border’s was going out of business and tempted me with discounts. The book is The Steamy Kitchen cookbook and it’s my new favorite.

Her book is just as wonderful and amazing as the blog.  Honestly I sometimes find Asian cooking intimidating and I’m Chinese.  I always feel like it’s too labor intensive, difficult and I’d have to spend a small fortune on Asian ingredients in some store that was not convenient to get to.  That is where Jaden’s expertise comes in.  Her recipes are easy to follow and no strange ingredients.  Even if there is one that you normally would not have on hand, she will give you a simple substitute.  Not to mention the writing in the book is similar to the blog, personable, funny and easy to read with detailed instructions that include pictures.

Every recipe looks absolutely wonderful and I’m tempted to cook only Asian food for a week straight.  However, I must pace myself or I’ll gain unnecessary amount of weight.

Do you cook any favorite Asian recipes?  What’s your most loved cookbook?

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. Just sharing some I love and am excited about. Although Jaden and Ree (The Pioneer Woman) were recently in San Francisco for BlogHer.  I told my husband that I hoped I would run into them. He said they’d think I was crazy although he does love every recipe I make from their cookbooks and blogs. I told him he just doesn’t understand the blogging world. I never did run into them to find out.

No idea why, but I have been on a tofu kick lately.  It’s cheap, stays good for a long time, is easy to cook and is healthy.  We’ve been using tofu for stir fry, soup, tacos, pizza and just by itself.

Here are a few tofu recipes that I’ve been making at home lately.

Tofu and Soba Noodles with Lemon Ginger Dressing (via Steamy Kitchen)

Love the extra little kick the cayenne pepper gives the dressing.  I’ve also been loving homemade dressing, but that is another story.

Tofu Steak (via Tasty Kitchen)

Love the texture and I like to serve along with a noodle or rice dish and top with the flavors and sauce from that dish.  Make sure to get as much water out as you can.  After slicing I put between paper towels and rest a pan lid on top gently pressing.  This helps the tofu not to break apart as much.

Next on my list of tofu recipes is this Spicy Eggplant and Tofu Stir Fry.

Do you like tofu? Any good recipes to try?

Remember when I told you I was going to make these Sriracha Chicken Hot Wings?

Well I made them the other night.  And all Mark could say was “Whoa these things are nuclear!!”  They were seriously hot.  Our lips were left with this tingling burn.  Water helped as we ate away, but was of no use in the burning aftermath.  This could only be remedied with delicious ice cream.

But they were good.  I’d maybe recommend taking the Sriracha down a notch and I’d say we both like spicy food.  If you have ever used with the stuff you know it packs some serious heat.  Think of consuming 1/4 cup and that is what we did.  We also added some extra soy sauce and some thai sweet chili sauce we had on hand.

Verdict? I recommend them.  Just be prepared with some ice cream for dessert.

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