share those recipes

so i'm hosting christmas eve this year, and in DHs family... its a big deal.
They are old school Italian (as in born and raised in Italy)... so they do the traditional fish thing, I'm allergic to fish, and my SIL and BILs g/f don't eat fish.. so I'll be making chicken cutlet and possibly a small ham...

I'm feeding 14 adults and 3 children.
MIL is making the fish dishes.
my mother is bringing stuffed mushrooms.

I have to make a pasta as well.

so I need ideas.

Also, I need recipes for appetizers and side dishes.

already on the list:

apps:
spinach dip
onion dip
reindeer chow
chips
Sopressata
cheese spread
stuffed mushrooms
seafood salad
pigs in a blanket

sides:
green beans
peas
potato croquet
stuffing
fried calamari
rice balls

main:
fish stuff- baccala, shrimp, etc.
pasta and seafood mix
chicken cutlet
small ham

dessert:
homemade cookies (mom made)
gonna take a shot at making red velvet cake
oreo truffles (mom made)
red velvet truffles (mom made)
gonna try to make balsamic truffles
apple crumb cake

I THINK two of my bils are bringing cakes... but I want to make something else too


** whatever is left over is being taken to my parents house for our christmas eve party and then to my brothers for christmas day.


I also have really cute star and christmas tree shaped marshmallows, any idea what i can do with them?

TIA

For cheese what I do is buy a block of cracker barrel, wedge of provolone and slice them. I serve it w crackers and pepperoni slices sometimes marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers too.
I have a good spin-artichoke dip from foodnetwork.com (look it up. 'Chefs' last name is Cruz.) I've made it before w rave reviews.

Check out Trader Joes for some help/time savers in regards to your dips/apps. Anything I've tried there in terms of dips has been delish! Also, they have pre-sliced cheese which totally saves precious minutes when you're dealing with a lineup like yours!

What about a classic wintery penne alla vodka for your pasta dish? Always a crowd pleaser! My mom has an awesome recipe so let me know if you're interested and I will ask her for it.

My friend makes an awesome shrip alfredo dish (does your fish allergy include shellfish?) with bowtie pasta. I can get that recipe for you too!

Or, what about penne with fress mozz, sundried tomatos, and eggplant? The mozz gets all melty and delish. You can use a pre-made pomodoro sauce...?

Does this help at all on the pasta front?

I like stringbeans with olive oil, salt, pepper, and sliced almonds.

Check out Epicurious.com - awesome site for receipes! I find it to be more practical than FoodNetwork.com