Earlier this month I hosted my annual Christmas party, The Holly Ball (a.k.a the Ball Party).
At the Holly Ball, all the food is ball-shaped.
This was the 4th Holly Ball*** (5th if you count the inaugural party, A Very Manny Christmas–a celebration for my friend Manny’s 50th birthday).
Speaking of Manny, I am using him to illustrate the spread for this year’s ball (because I didn’t take any pictures of the food).
I’m not going to give you the recipes for all the balls, but here are a choice few that you may (or may not) want to try yourself!
Firstly the Turkey Curried Meatballs from The Playboy Gourmet by Thomas Mario (1972).
I make these with turkey because it’s good to have variety at a party. They also remind me of Bridget Jones’ mother’s “Annual Turkey Curry Buffet.”
Big difference: these are quite yummy and always a huge hit with the guests. These balls are a permanent dish on the Holly Ball table.
Everyone always asks for the recipe, so here it is:
I do highly recommend that dish.
Shrimp Balls are another big hit. They are from this weird cookbook–which is bound by string!!!
I change it up a bit, however. I don’t roll the balls in nuts–instead I roll them in crushed oyster crackers and serve them with cocktail sauce.
There is NEVER a leftover shrimp ball!
I did try a couple of new recipes this year.
The first one is from the Smirnoff Brunch Book (1971)
I had high hopes–ham? Good. Cheese? Good. BALLED? Hell, yes.
Sadly, these were a FAIL. They didn’t keep their shape and didn’t taste hammy at all. They were not even worthy of a photo.
Another new dish was submitted by fellow food blogger and Pieathlete, S. O’Neil of A Book of Cookrye.
Apricot Balls.
Or Apruciat Balls?
The recipe was a bit vague, so I improvised. I selected almond as my nut and I used the meat grinder attachment on my KitchenAid mixer to grind up the nuts and the dried fruit.
I love using the meat grinder!
These were a huge success!
So apricotty and almondy. And I was able to make them ahead of time and freeze them. They hold up really well. I 100% endorse this dish.
So that’s it, another Holly Ball for the books!
***Pre-Holly Ball, my first Christmas party was for the Mayor’s Christmas Parade in Hampden. We all lovingly referred to my rowhome as the House of 1200 Cox.
My dear friend Robert pointed out that I’ve gone from Cox to Balls.
This year’s punches:
Merry Christmas, everyone!!!!
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How fun is this????? Thanks for telling us about it, posting a picture, and sharing some recipes!
My pleasure! Happy new year!
Of course am curious what beer balls, mildred cocktail balls and the cherry balls are all about! Thanks for great oyster cracker breading idea. Bet everyone had a great time. Manny looks fun:) Cosmo -and- whiskey punch sound perfect. Happy Christmas!
Debbie's cherry balls are delicious and will definitely appear on the table again next year.
Here is the post where I found the original recipe:
http://cakercooking.blogspot.com/2014/02/reader-recipe-cherry-balls.html
Thanks for another fabulous and entertaining year of recipes and hijinks! I'm envious of everyone who got to attend your Holly Ball, it sounds like so much fun. Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year! See you in 2023.
Happy new year, my friend!
I am saving up to come to Baltimore SPECIFICALLY to gatecrash one of your Holly Balls. I will drink all the punches, eat all the balls and then get straight back on the plane to London. I am not joking x
You know you have an open invite!
I adore the little note in the front of the cookbook encouraging readers to call the person who submitted the recipe if they had any questions! I can't imagine doing such a thing (or it being practical in anywhere but the smallest of small towns), but it's just such a lovely homemade touch. (Plus, a lot of those community cookbooks have pretty glaring errors. A lot of mine come with a little page of corrections tucked in somewhere, and those only cover the mistakes somebody noticed before the book got sent out...)
I also love Margot's photobomb. It looks like she's seriously considering jumping into something.
Community cookbooks are always so great. It's such a cute book--but I have no idea where it's from. I suspect somewhere in Western PA.
Sounds like everyone had a ball at your party (sorry -- couldn't resist). I also feel better about myself knowing that I'm not the only person with more than one punch set. Note to self: look for a green one -- that's gorgeous! Especially love Margot's cameo.
Margot is always the queen of the party!