I don’t know about you, but I’m silly with parties this time of year. Whether it’s a Christmas party, office get-together, book club, New Year’s Eve celebration, or a going-away party, it seems like there’s always something going on. Lately, I’ve been trying out new recipes for these things that are fairly easy to do, and I’ve found a lot of winners! Check out the list below for party-friendly recipes that are sure to please.

 

Creamy Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 rotisserie chicken
16 oz cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup of buffalo sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot®, but you can use whatever you like)

Throw it in a crock pot until everything is creamy, stir then serve.

So this one is super simple and it leaves room for variables if you want. For example, you can use ranch dressing or bleu cheese dressing instead of the sour cream or use extra hot sauce for a little more kick. I was in a hurry the second time I made this, and the grocery store only had lemon pepper rotisserie chicken left. I think it actually turned out better though! You can also add bleu cheese crumbles if you want, but I’m not a huge bleu cheese fan, so I left that out. Here’s a recipe similar to the one I used.

 

White Chicken Chili

I had this one for book club last week, and we actually ended up talking about the chili more than the book... Since then, more than one person has asked me for the recipe for their next get-together. This particular recipe comes from The Chunky Chef, and it was so good, I’m just going to paste the link. I did end up using green onions instead of yellow (because that’s what I had), one can of white beans with chili sauce instead of two plain ones, and taco seasoning instead of all the individual spices, but you do you. 

Mulled Wine

Hot mulled wine is one of my absolute favorite cold-weather drinks, and it usually goes pretty quickly at parties. Just gather together a bottle of your favorite red wine, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, an orange, some honey, and a splash of apple cider. You can also get a sachet of mulling spices from some grocery stores and most specialty stores (I think I even saw some in TJ Maxx this year). You can add as much or as little spice as you’d like, depending on how wine-forward you want it to be, but my recommendation is:
- 1 bottle of red wine

- 6 cloves

- 2 cinnamon sticks (You can use ground cinnamon in a pinch, but be extra sure to strain the liquid before you serve. Believe me, getting a mouthful of cinnamon at the end of a great mug of hot wine is not ideal.)

- 1/2 of an orange, zested and sliced

- ¼ cup honey

- 4 cups apple cider

You can either make this on the stovetop by bringing to a boil and then reducing it to a simmer for a few minutes or just throw it in the crockpot and cook it low and slow. Definitely strain out those spices though if you didn’t use a sachet. If you want more hot beverages to impress your friends and family, check out this article.

Fluffy Pumpkin Pie Dip

After dinner, pass around the coffee and some of this amazing pumpkin pie dip. I had this right before Thanksgiving this year and I think I might make it again for Christmas.

12 oz cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup canned Pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
2 cups whipped topping *

Instructions
Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in pumpkin and spices.
Gently fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serve with graham crackers. Click here to see the recipe I followed.

What are your favorite cold-weather recipes? Let us know on Facebook @VisitCharlestonSC or tag us on Instagram @visit_charleston_sc.