107 party recipes

Frozen fruit punch made with mashed bananas, crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries, and orange juice, then broken into icy chunks and topped with ginger ale and white wine. A slushy, fruity party punch.

Crunchy Golden Grahams cereal coated in melted chocolate and peanut butter, tossed with pecans and golden raisins, then dusted in powdered sugar. A no-bake snack mix that vanishes at every holiday party.

Layers of creamy mashed avocado, tangy sour cream with taco seasoning, beans, fresh tomatoes, and melty cheddar make this no-cook chalupa dip a Tex-Mex party hit in just 10 minutes flat.

Popcorn cake binds popped popcorn, mixed nuts, and rainbow gumdrops with melted marshmallows and butter, then molds it all into a tube pan. A no-bake retro showstopper for parties and bake sales.

Chili verde stew for a crowd: browned pork simmered with potatoes, corn, green peppers, and tomatoes in a cumin-and-oregano broth. A hearty big-batch stew built to feed a hungry party.

Peanut butter cookie dough wrapped around mini Snickers or Mars bars on a stick. Golden, chewy, and loaded with candy bar surprise in every bite. A total showstopper for bake sales and holiday parties.

Classic no-bake Ohio buckeye candy with creamy peanut butter centers dipped in rich melted chocolate. These iconic peanut butter balls are a must for holiday cookie trays, game day parties, and Buckeye fans everywhere.

Double death by chocolate bundt cake built from a chocolate cake mix doctored with chocolate pudding, sour cream, and a full bag of chocolate chips. A no-fail rich chocolate bundt for parties and potlucks.

Flourless chestnut and pecan torte with a bourbon-coffee-chocolate filling, bittersweet chocolate ganache icing, and bourbon chantilly cream. Rich, nutty, and deeply warming. The kind of torte that ends a dinner party with a standing ovation.

This is an authentic family recipe that my mother taught me in 1950 in New Orleans. It makes a great dinner party main dish. Like chinese food, it is long on chopping and assembling, but goes together and cooks rather quickly.

Parkin is a variety of gingerbread, good warming stuff to eat out of doors in cold weather. When I was a child, it was always a firm favourite for the firework party on Bonfire Night each year. This is adapted from my mother's recipe.