Phillips - Happy holidays from the diva of do-ahead: a year of feasts to celebrate with family and friends

The Harvard Common Press

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Boston, Massachusetts 02118
www.harvardcommonpress.com

Copyright by Diane Phillips
Photographs copyright 2006 by Becky Luigart-Stayner
Cover photograph and author photo copyright 2006 by Brian Smale

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Phillips, Diane.

Happy holidays from the diva of do-ahead : a year of feasts to celebrate with family and friends/Diane Phillips.
p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 1-55832-320-1 (hardcover : alk. paper )ISBN 1-55832-321-X (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Holiday cookery. 2. Menus. I. Title
TX739.P53 2006

641.5'68dc22 2006002869

ISBN-13: 978-1-55832-320-9 (hardcover); 978-1-55832-321-6 (paperback)

ISBN-10: 1-55832-320-1 (hardcover); 1-55832-321-X (paperback)

Special bulk-order discounts are available on this and other Harvard Common Press books. Companies and organizations may purchase books for premiums or resale, or may arrange a custom edition, by contacting the Marketing Director at the address above.

Author photographs (cover and insert) by Brian Smale Cover food and prop styling by Steven DeJoy / Makeup by Mary Erickson Insert and text photography by Becky Luigart-Stayner Insert food styling by Ana Price Kelly / Insert prop styling by Jan Gautro and Fonda Shaia

eISBN 978-1-55832-531-9
v1.0815

For my familyChuck, Carrie, and Ryanfor making every day a happy holiday. Thanks, guys, this ones for you.

Celebrations are more than the food and decor; it is the guests who make the magic happen and turn celebrations into cherished memories. The same can be said of writing a book about celebrations; I would be remiss if I didnt thank my fellow revelers.

A toast to my family: my husband, Chuck, who helps make any celebration fun; our daughter, Carrie, whose zest for life makes parties more interesting and colorful; and our son, Ryan, who can be counted on to serve as bartender and all-around host-in-training.

My agent, Susan Ginsburg, has been a constant source of support and encouragement. Im not sure what Ive done to deserve the best cookbook agent on the planet, but I must be living right. Thanks also to her calm, patient assistant, Emily Saladino.

Thanks to all my road families, the staffs, volunteers, and students at the cooking schools where I teach across the country for allowing me to celebrate in their kitchens.

I would be remiss if I didnt toast the remarkable team at Great News! Cooking School here in San Diego for giving me a kitchen to call home. Their graciousness in allowing us to shoot the cover photo there was more than I could have hoped for, and I could not have imagined doing it anywhere else, because they have become my family. A standing ovation to Ron and Devora Eisenberg, Allison Sherwood, Sara Rose, Erika DEugenio, and the other dedicated staff members and volunteers who make my time in the kitchen here in San Diego so much funand to the students here in San Diego, you rock!

On the production side of things I would like to thank the entire gang at The Harvard Common Press for taking this book from conception to reality. A toast to publisher Bruce Shaw and the rest of the crew: Valerie Cimino, Jane Dornbusch, Virginia Downes, Pat Jalbert-Levine, Abby Collier, Betsy Young, Megan Weireter, Howard Stelzer, Ellie Levine, Janice Geary, Amy Etcheson, and copyeditor Jayne Yaffe Kemp.

I was blessed to work with photographer Becky Luigart-Stayner and stylists Jan Gautro, Fonda Shaia, and Ana Price Kelly for the interior photos. The cover photo is the result of photographer Brian Smales creativity and style, and I am so grateful that he was willing to leave Seattle to work here in San Diego. Thanks also to art director Ralph Fowler and stylists Steven DeJoy and Mary Erickson for a day filled with funthats a lot to celebrate!

Holidays conjure up memories of the past and visions of the future. Most of us have delicious memories of cookouts on the Fourth of July, a beautifully prepared Thanksgiving dinner, breakfast in bed we made for Mom on Mothers Day, or the annual neighborhood Halloween parties of our childhoods. We also may have grown-up nightmares about these same holidays, given the anxiety associated with preparing and serving a holiday meal. Not only is there food anxiety, but there is also the family anxiety created by so many relatives under one roof, critiquing everything from the table setting to your childrens manners to your new hairstyle. Putting a meal on the table is a feat even when you dont have all those people in your house! If you dont have a game plan, youll be in for the legendary Excedrin headache.

This is where I come in: Im the coach to help you get the dinner prepared ahead of time so you can enjoy your family and friends. Holidays arent only about the past and the futurethey are also about making the most of the present! Think of me as the Diva of Do-Ahead. I help you get over the food anxiety so that you can deal on your own with your family anxiety. (Medication and therapy may be the only true way to deal with that!) Ill give you the plan, the recipes, and the confidence to pull off memorable holiday parties: everything from a romantic dinner for two on Valentines Day to a lavish Thanksgiving feast for as many people as youd like to invite, all without the hassle of last-minute prep and party angst.

Holiday parties should be filled with the joy of hosting and sharing your home and food with your family and friends. Whether its a backyard bash for Dad on Fathers Day or an elegant Passover Seder, each holiday has its own great make-ahead menu as well as countdowns and helpful hints for decorating and serving. I love to entertain, and I teach thousands of students all over the country my approach to entertaining by breaking down recipes into simple, do-ahead steps that allow you to put together a menu easily, even for a large group. Preparing your dishes in advance, then reheating them just before serving or serving them at room temperature gives you an edge so that you can relax and enjoy your party. Trust me, this isnt the time to challenge your culinary abilities, so the recipes are straightforward but still delicious, with easy-to-find ingredients and simplified methods of preparation. If you want to farm out recipes to your family and friends, choose from the menu, then copy recipes for them to prepare. Make sure that when the party is over, you give them copies of the other recipes, or a copy of this bookshare your do-ahead savvy with others.

Getting Started

Okay, so youve decided that you are going to have a holiday party. (Or maybe youve been pushed into it by relatives who tell you its your turn.) Now what do you do? First, figure out how many people will be there. I know this advice may sound simplistic, but you should invite only people you want to be around. I once read that a famous hostess accepted dinner invitations only from people she wanted to ask to her house. Then she didnt have to feel guilty for not having reciprocated other invitations. Nothing is worse than having to endure the know-it-all who will dominate the table with opinions on everything from politics to the price of watercress. That being said, for family holidays you may have little choice but to hope that the know-it-all is going elsewhere! If not, take a deep breath and remember that such gatherings occur only a few times a year, and you will get through this one. Remember, Ill take care of the stress over the food, you just keep deep breathing and smiling when the know-it-all wants to know why you arent in the kitchen fussing!