We’re having a party!!!   Through our experiences in planning and preparing for many social and corporate events, we have consolidated five helpful tips to assist you with your next event.  

Use quality ingredients.

Consider what is ingredients are in season and.  Seasonal ingredients are often foods that are traditionally served at the holidays.  Finding a twist on the serving method of traditional ingredients brings interest to the offering.  Try serving spiced Pumpkin Soufflés instead of Pumpkin Pie.  Serve them warm. They are so light and delicious, no one will be missing the pie.

 

Keep a well-stocked kitchen.

A successful cook has planned ahead and keeps good quality staple ingredients ready in their pantry.  Staple ingredients include milk, cream, butter and eggs. In your pantry, have good quality extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, flour, sugars and spices.  Kitchen equipment should be accessible and in good working condition. A standing mixer is the most used appliance in my kitchen, used for preparing dough and batches to be baked, fresh whipped cream and meringues.  It simply makes life easier by allowing hands free. 

 

Keep it simple.

Choose recipes that you are familiar with or ones that are simple in their steps.  While entertaining may seem like a good time to show your stuff, you will have much less stress if you select simple, familiar and delicious recipes. 

 

To be dramatic or striking, your decorations do not need to be expensive or elaborate.  I like to choose simple elegant or classic.  What is your focal piece?  Perhaps it is the Christmas tree, the lights or the food!  Often, I will choose a specific color, and run that color scheme all though out.  Silver candles, silver trimmed serving dishes, silver embellishments in the wreaths, on the tree, hanging in the hall.  Tie your decorations into the focal point or color theme.  Choose colors that compliment the focal point, or choose an off-setting color, such as a satin red overlay for the table top.  For a festive tablescape, don’t forget the BLING!  Sparkly, shimmery and shiny are all musts for a holiday party. 

 

Use “make ahead” recipes.

When selecting menus, choose some that are ok to make a day or two before.  Inevitably, something seems to come up at the last minute, or unexpectedly.   Don’t let that rattle you.  You will be much more flexible on the day of your party if you have managed to make most of your food items ahead. 

Alternatively, recipes that utilize your oven versus your stove top give you “hands free.”  Try baked dishes, such as roasts, casseroles, and sauces.  When people seek my advise on menus when they are entertaining, I like to suggests Meatballs in Marinara sauce.  I recommend this for three simple reasons. 

 

1.        The dish is recognizable and familiar to guests. They will eat and enjoy it because they don’t have to guess what it is.

2.       The dish is delicious and satisfying.  My father has often told me, “You can put Marinara on an old leather shoe,  and it will make it fantastic!”

3.       The dish is ultra easy and can be prepared with minimal or no stove top activity and finished in the oven.

 

Finish with a memorable dessert.

Enjoying dessert is likely one of the last things your guests will experience at your party.  By making the dessert special, and memorable, you will send your guests off with thoughts of a good time at your place. 

Quite often, when I am creating menus for events, I plan the dessert first.  The rest of the menu should be delicious…but I want the dessert to be spectacular.  It is the nightcap.  It is the crown of the evening.  I want the dessert to do something wonderful in the mouth.  It is simply the course that must stand above all the others.  It is the course that should receive its due in accolades.  A wonderful dessert leaves the guests murmuring between the m-m-m’s and giving that expression of pure bliss on their faces.  An appetizer or an entrée has potential to do this, but it is the purpose and duty of a dessert.

 

Best wishes to you for a successful party!