This time of year, it seems there’s another holiday party every other night. First one for work, then one group of friends, then your spouse’s friends, then another group of friends, then cousins, then kids’ friends, and then all your dog’s friends from the park (anyone else?) It can be overwhelming to try to attempt to attend all of them, no matter how much you like the people involved, let alone make something to contribute to every party.

If you’re anything like us, making goodies to bring and share is one of the best parts of holiday parties! Black garlic, luckily, is such an easy ingredient to add. It can be used in dipping sauces (i.e. hummus with vegetables), or can be mixed into recipes to add a little punch of unique.

We’re here to help you avoid drowning in the holiday tidal wave with easy appetizers that will knock the socks off the friends, family or coworkers at one of your (many) upcoming parties. The holidays should be fun! And hopefully with these easy prep, incredibly delicious and not always terribly unhealthy recipes, they can be.

Cheers, and Happy Holidays!

Overstuffed Black Garlic Mushrooms

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients

• 20 fresh mushrooms

• 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 3 teaspoons minced Black Garlic

• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese

• 3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• Black Garlic Puree for topping

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and set aside, you’ll need these in a minute.

Use a damp cloth to wash the mushrooms. Cut any hard part off the mushroom stems and discard. Chop up the remaining mushroom stems so they are quite fine.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large non-stick skillet. Sauté the chopped mushroom stems and black garlic for 5-10 minutes. Turn the heat to low. Stir in cream cheese, parmesan cheese, black pepper and oregano. Stir well.

Spoon about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of mixture into each mushroom cap. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the mushrooms are nicely browned. Smear a little black garlic puree on top of each cap for explosive flavor!

Serve immediately.

Recipe shared by the Pinterest Community

Black Garlic Cheesy Crackers

Prep Time:  15 minutes | Bake Time:  15 minutes | Servings: 10-12

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour

• 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into tablespoon size chunks

• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

• 2 Black Garlic cloves, finely chopped

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend. The mixture will eventually turn into one big ball mixture.  Roll the ball mixture into a log about 1½ inches in diameter.  Slice the log into ¼ inches thick pieces and place each one flat on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe shared by our friend Jeff from New York

Black Garlic Bruschetta

Prep Time:  20 minutes | Bake Time:  7-8  minutes | Servings:  8-10

Ingredients

• 6-7 ripe plum tomatoes cored, seeded and coarsely chopped

• 1 clove of garlic minced

• 2 Black Garlic cloves, minced

• 1 cup of olive oil

• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar

• 8 fresh basil leaves chopped

• Salt & pepper to taste

• Italian bread

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, black garlic and balsamic vinegar. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Cut the bread diagonal slices and rub each side of the bread with olive oil. Add a spoonful of the tomatoes on each piece of bread. Bake for 7-8 min until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with basil leaves.

Recipe shared by the BGNA Kitchen

Black Garlic Eggrolls

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Bake Time:  30 minutes | Servings: 6-8  

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 3 avocados, halved, peeled and seeded

• 1 roma tomato, diced

• 1/4 cup diced red onion

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

• Juice of 1 lime

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 8 egg roll wrappers

For the cilantro dipping sauce

• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• 1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined, optional

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• 3 Black Garlic cloves, finely chopped

• Juice of 1 lime

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

To make the cilantro dipping sauce: combine cilantro, sour cream, jalapeno, mayonnaise, black garlic and lime juice in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat.

In a medium bowl, gently mash avocados using a potato masher. Add tomato, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper, to taste, and gently toss to combine.

Working one at a time, place avocado mixture in the center of each wrapper. Bring the bottom edge of the wrapper tightly over the filling, folding in the sides. Continue rolling until the top of the wrapper is reached. Using your finger, rub the edges of the wrapper with water, pressing to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and avocado mixture.

Working in batches, add egg rolls to the Dutch oven and fry until evenly golden brown and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve immediately with cilantro dipping sauce.

Recipe shared by the Pinterest Community.

Black Garlic Mozzarella Sticks

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time:  20 minutes   

Ingredients

• 1½ cups Italian-style dried breadcrumbs

• 1⅓ cups freshly grated Parmesan

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 (16-ounce) blocks pasteurized mozzarella cut into 4 by 1/2-inch sticks

• 4 large eggs, beaten to blend

• 1½ cups vegetable oil

• 2 Black Garlic cloves, finely chopped

Directions

Stir the bread crumbs, Parmesan, black garlic and salt in a medium bowl. Ensure the mixture is blended well.

Dip the cheese in the eggs and ensure the cheese is coated completely. Let the excess egg drip back into the bowl. Coat the cheese in the bread crumb mixture, patting down so it will stick and coat completely. Place the cheese sticks on a baking sheet.  

Repeat dipping the cheese sticks in the egg and bread crumb mixture to coat a second time. Place the cheese sticks back on the baking sheet. Cover and freeze. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the cheese sticks until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.

Recipe shared by our friend Wendy from New York.