What To Bring When You’re Asked To Bring A Thing

Brought to you by Woolworths.

You’re either one of two people, I think. You get invited to a party and you’re asked to bring a thing. Some people, like myself, might see it as invitation for a challenge. A challenge to create something delicious and exciting to bring to the party. I get all keen to make something amazing, and I make promises of delights that I later wish I didn’t because reality kicks in and I realise I don’t have the time, nor the motivation. But I knock together something anyway {not like I had planned, but something nonetheless!}. And then there are those that take the stress-free route. These are people I aspire to be. They don’t over-commit. They choose easy, and grab it on the go, or make something that takes minutes and not hours. I want to be these people. I am working on it.

This Christmas period you’ll no doubt be asked to bring something to a party or get together. I know I have five of these such things happening in the next few weeks. So, I have created six dishes that you {and I!} can throw together when you’ve invited to a shin-dig and you’re asked to bring a thing. They don’t take hours to make. They’re a little bit cheat-y. The taste delicious. And you can grab all the ingredients from your local Woolworths {or do as I do, and get them delivered to your door}.

What To Bring When You’re Asked To Bring A Thing

What to bring when you're asked to bring a thingTomato, bocconcini, salami and basil bites.

Is that the most delicious mouthful you’ve ever seen on a skewer. These are so easy to make. Just thread baby bocconcini, a basil leave, a slice of mild salami and a cherry tomato onto a small skewer. You could even drizzle with balsamic glaze or pesto if you wanted to be a little bit fancier! Pile them into a plate and serve.

What to bring when you're asked to bring a thing

Chocolate brownie Christmas trees. You’re going to love this, because the washing up is so minimal. Woolworths has brownie kits that come with their own tray {perfect when you’re staying at someone’s house and they don’t have the baking stuff you need, or you just don’t want to bother with the washing up}. Bake the brownies, top with a little icing {cheat by using the Betty Crocker icing to save time} and top with Christmas M&Ms, and a candy cane trunk.

What to bring when you're asked to bring a thing

The cheesy cheese ball and crackers. Line a baking tray with baking paper, and scatter with 1/2 cup of walnut crumbs. Bake for 5 minutes at 180ºC. Place 125g of crackers into a food processor and blitz. Place the 250g cream cheese and 1 cup of tasty grated cheese in a mixer, and whiz until combined. Add in the crackers, a small capsicum chopped, 1/4 cup of finely chopped chives, and a little salt and pepper. Shape into a ball. Place the walnuts and some chopped parsley onto a plate and then roll the cheese ball until covered. Serve with crackers.

What to bring when you're asked to bring a thing

Salted caramel cheesecakes topped with sliced fig. OMG. These cheesecakes are the BEST THING ever. They’ve got salted caramel drizzled on top, and then surprise little blobs of caramel between the base and the cheesecake layer. Obsessed. You don’t even need to get fancy with the figs if you don’t want to, because the cheesecakes are everything on their own {but the figs take them to the next level}. Basically it’s as difficult as taking yourself to the freezer section at Woolworths, picking up the cheesecakes and buying them, and then popping sliced fresh figs on top. Done.

Psst. You’re also totally allowed to pretend that you made the cheesecakes yourself. I won’t tell anyone.

What to bring when you're asked to bring a thing

Cheese and bacon cob dip. Who doesn’t love a cob dip? For this delicious one, preheat your oven to 180ºC. Cut the top of your cob loaf, and scoop out the insides. Break the insides and top into smaller pieces and place on a baking tray with your cob loaf. Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan and add a chopped onion and 200g of bacon diced. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked. Add in 250g of cream cheese, 2/3 cup cream, 2/3 sour cream and 1 cup of grated cheese. Stir to combine. Spoon into the cob loaf, and cook for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

What to bring when you're asked to bring a thing

Berry nice pavlova. This one is so impressive and so simple at the same time. You can just grab an old faithful pavlova base from Woolies, and top with whipped cream and berries… as well as a few mint leaves, because Christmas. If you’re feeling particularly festive, you could dust the blueberries with gold powder, again because Christmas. Otherwise keep them as they are.

So now, the only real question is… what will you bring when you’re asked to bring a thing?

3 thoughts on “What To Bring When You’re Asked To Bring A Thing”

  1. Yum! That just made me hungry! I usually throw together a suuuuper simple but delicious Orzo salad. Orzo pasta with a tub of pesto stirred through, juice of a lemon, some chopped up semi-dried tomatos, feta, spring onions and a sprinkle of pinenuts on top. If I’m feeling more fancy and have some time up my sleeve I’ll chuck in some roasted pumpkin, spinach and chorizo!

  2. Yum! That just made me hungry! I usually throw together a suuuuper simple but delicious Orzo salad. Orzo pasta with a tub of pesto stirred through, juice of a lemon, some chopped up semi-dried tomatos, feta, spring onions and a sprinkle of pinenuts on top. If I’m feeling more fancy and have some time up my sleeve I’ll chuck in some roasted pumpkin, spinach and chorizo!

Comments are closed.