Spungen - The Holiday Kitchen - Party Food: Go-To Recipes for Cocktail Parties, Buffets, Sit-Down Dinners, and Holiday Feasts

THE

ARTISANAL

KITCHEN

PARTY

FOOD

Go-To Recipes for Cocktail Parties, Buffets, Sit-Down Dinners, and Holiday Feasts

Susan Spungen

artisan | New York

Also in This Series

The Artisanal Kitchen: Perfect Pasta

The Artisanal Kitchen: Perfect Pizza at Home

The Artisanal Kitchen: Vegetables the Italian Way

The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails

The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cookies

Contents

Chapter

-1

HOSTING WITH EASE

A gifted host makes it look easy. He or she knows the shortcuts that make entertaining less laborious and more enjoyable for everyone. Some of us were raised by such a person, but if these skills skipped a generation, this book will help you look as though you learned it all as a child.

A Hosts Four Golden Rules

Coddle your guests. Make them feel comfortable and welcome. Be hyperthoughtful: make a guests favorite dessert; provide comfy, inexpensive Chinese slippers to wear indoors on a wintry evening; or use the tableware that was a gift from the guests. Let people know youre thinking about them.

Plan ahead. A realistic plan is the key to success. Choose a menu with dishes that can be prepared ahead of time, leaving only the simplest taskslike heating a dish, cooking pasta or rice, or dressing a saladfor the last minute. Your goal should be to have as little sweat on your brow (and mess in the kitchen) as possible when the doorbell rings.

Less can be more. A few beautiful, well-conceived, and well-prepared dishes will go over big. If you have to make a million different things, somethingor everythingwill suffer. If you drive yourself to the edge of sanity in preparing the food and cleaning the house, youll feel like collapsing by the time your guests arrive. Keep it simple, and youll be ready when its time to have fun.

When the party starts, be in it. If you are running around frantically, with your guests asking, Are you sure theres nothing I can do?, who can relax? You want to enjoy the party with your guests. They came to see you, and a good host is present and engaged.

How to Plan a Menu

The goal is to get the maximum impact for the least amount of work, or at least figure out how to streamline the work, spreading it over several days, so you arent going crazy at the last minute. Trial and error is the best way to learn what not to do, but you will find an example of a successful menu at the start of each recipe chapter.

Three Lists You Cant Live Without

Spending a few minutes making lists will save you immeasurable time, not to mention stress, later on. Put a little box next to each item so you can have the satisfaction of checking it off as you accomplish each task. In the end, even if you dont refer back to the lists frequently, the act of making them will help you organize your thoughts and stay focused.

The Guest List. Strive for a mixer: instead of inviting a group of people who all know one another well, mix it up a bit and invite friends and acquaintances who may not know one another well, or at all. Its always nice if a guest knows someone, and he or she will know you, the host. Unless the party is an intimate affair, be a bit of a matchmaker, and try to bring together people who you think have things in common and who will enjoy meeting one another. Youll be surprised at how seemingly disparate friends will find common ground.

The Shopping List. Try to get everything youll need for cooking, except for perishable foods like salad greens, all at once, so you can spend your time in the kitchen, not running out for forgotten ingredients. Divide your master shopping list by sections of the storedairy, meat, fish, grocery, produceor by different stores if you need to make more than one stop for groceries. Add additional list sections for liquor and wine, other party supplies, and flowers.

The Prep List. Break your planning down into a list of tasks, day by day, and put them in order as best you can. What can you make ahead of time? Plan to get those jobs done early, so you can cross them off the list. Seeing everything on paper will give you a more realistic view of what you can accomplish, too, and whether youre being overly ambitious.

At the end of each day, revise the list as you cross some things off and get more detailed about the tasks still remaining. For the day of list, order the jobs chronologically with the first things first and the tasks you need to do just before your guests arrive last.

Invitations

Invitations should convey the who, what, when, and where of your event and evoke the tone of the party. From engraved to e-mailed, the invitation should embody the formalityor dress codeof the occasion. Throwing a ladies lunch? Go for something classic and comfortable, like stationery engraved with your initials. Hosting a potluck for coworkers? An e-mailed invitation means its an easygoing affair. Try using a casual, colorful electronic invitation for a big birthday bash. That way friends and relatives can keep track of who is coming, helping to build anticipation for the event.

How to Time an Invitation

Whether youre mailing invitations or inviting guests by phone, timing is key. Send an invitation too late and your friends may already be booked; send it too early and it might be misplaced or forgotten. The following advice should serve as a guideline for various occasions. Use your best judgment for your specific event.

How to Make Guests Mingle

Dont leave guests to awkwardly mingle at a party youre hosting. If its a crowd filled with people who dont know one another, its important to give people something to go on. When making introductions, try to jump-start the conversationexplain where you know each guest from, or bring up something they have in commonthen break away once a conversation has been sparked.

How to Appear Calm, Cool, and Collected

The art of hosting is making it look effortless; this is easiest for hosts who really love the pace and pressures of putting out a spread for friends. But even they know to ease this pace by planning parties for which most of the work can be done in advance.

The trickiest time is when your guests are arriving. You want to welcome them with open arms, but there are coats to put away, drinks to fetch, flowers to put in vases, and things in the kitchen to attend to. Keep your event running smoothly by making sure that your pre-party setup is complete before the first guests arrive. Transform anxiety into enthusiasm; both have an upbeat pace. Make a timeline for the evening in advance, mapping out when youll clear the cocktail snacks, make last-minute sauces in the kitchen, let ice cream soften, open after-dinner drinks, et cetera. The timeline should be as detailed as possible, turning the evening into a well-choreographed dance. Preparedness helps make everything look effortless.