Holiday Hostess Hacks: The Perfect Fall Crudités Platter


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Holiday Hostess Hacks: Guide to the Ultimate Vegetables Crudites Platter by southern lifestyle blogger Stephanie Ziajka from Diary of a Debutante, pretty crudite platter, Hellmann's organic mayonnaise recipes, fresh creamy spinach dip recipe, fresh buffalo dip recipe, fresh dill dip recipe, crudite dip recipes

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and as much as I love entertaining, I also love a good stress-reducing hostess hack. Of all the things I’ve tried, assembling an easy fall crudité platter is one of my favorites. Since the holidays aren’t the holidays without some degree of culinary catastrophe, I love knowing our guests are happy, satisfied, and, most importantly, out of the kitchen until dinner is served. Crudités (pronounced crew-dee-tay) are light enough to not spoil anyone’s appetite but substantial enough to keep the hangries away. Keep reading for all my best vegetable crudite platter tips!

Another helpful holiday hack I’ve learned is to always do my grocery shopping at Whole Foods. I can never remember who has what dietary restriction, so it’s nice knowing that I’m only serving real and organic ingredients. Since mayonnaise is such a common holiday pantry staple, I was elated to find Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise at Whole Foods the other day. I checked the label, and Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise is made with only the purest organic ingredients, like organic cage-free eggs and organic expeller-pressed oil. It contains no artificial flavors or preservatives and is versatile enough to be used in a variety of recipes (like yummy dips). In today’s post, I’m sharing the recipes for my go-to fresh herb dip, spicy buffalo dip, and creamy spinach dip, all of which are made with Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise! 

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Crudites Dipping Sauce Guide

Assembling the perfect holiday crudites platter starts with the right homemade dips. I like to include a variety of 2-3 different recipes to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. My favorites are fresh herb, spicy buffalo, and creamy spinach.

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Fresh Herb Dip

Adapted from the Food Network, this delicious homemade herb dip is light, tangy, and perfect for dipping fresh vegetables crudites.

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Here’s everything you’ll need to make this homemade fresh herb dip:

  • 1/2 cup Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise (available at Whole Foods!)
  • 1/2 cup light organic sour cream
  • 3 fresh scallions, green and white parts, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. For more dill flavoring, increase minced dill to two tablespoons.

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Spicy Buffalo Dip

A Hellmann’s original recipe, this delicious spicy buffalo dip is easy as ever and adds great flavor to healthy vegetables crudités.

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Here’s everything you’ll need to make this homemade spicy buffalo dip:

  • 1/2 cup Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise (available at Whole Foods!)
  • 1/4 cup organic parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add an additional tablespoon of cayenne pepper sauce for extra spiciness.

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Creamy Spinach Dip

Made with Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise, non-fat Greek yogurt, chopped spinach, and fresh herbs, this creamy spinach dip is a lighter chilled alternative to the warm holiday staple.

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Here’s everything you’ll need to make this homemade creamy spinach dip:

  • 1/2 cup Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise (available at Whole Foods!)
  • 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh scallions, white part only
  • 10 ounces fresh organic spinach, cooked, cooled, and squeezed dry
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • Dash of cayenne pepper sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. This recipe yields about around 2 cups, so for spatial reasons, you may want to transfer to a small bowl to make more room on your vegetable crudite platter. For added crunch and flavor, add another 2-3 scallions!

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How to Assemble a Vegetable Crudite Platter

Once you’ve decided which dips to serve, choose your veggies. Focus on colorful seasonal produce, since that’s where you’re going to find the best tasting vegetables at the lowest prices. Whole Foods is really good about highlighting seasonal produce, but if you’re not still sure what’s in season and what’s not, this Seasonal Produce Guide is a lifesaver.

In addition to fresh produce, include a variety of seasonal herbs and citrus (not only do they make beautiful garnishes, they can also add extra flavor!), cooked veggies, and pickled goodies on your veggie platter. Also, as odd as it sounds, the more colorful the crudité, the better. Channel autumnal tones with different colored bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, radishes, olives, and more.

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As far as cooking the veggies goes, there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. Vegetables can be grilled, baked, or pan-fried. You can also blanch carrots, asparagus, and broccoli to bring out their rich color. 

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Last but not least, use a large platter. Trust me, you’ll underestimate how much produce you have, and it’s much easier to patch up holes and fill empty space with garnishes and extra ramekins than it is to magically create extra room. 

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What are your go-to hostess hacks? I’m not great at managing stress, especially around the holidays, and I’ll take all the help I can get. I’d love to hear your tips!

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