what's entertaining

Easter. Hoppin to it

I’ve been a blog delinquent.  I have a backlog to share but thought I would start here since it is Easter tomorrow…

If you’re lucky enough to have friends or family sharing Easter with you tomorrow – we wish you happy hosting.  Our number one rule when hosting big family gatherings is food – and lots of it! Variety for all the picky eaters and volume for all the voracious eaters.

The most delicate parts of hosting a big family function are often keeping everyone’s scheduling needs and eating needs in order in your head.  In our case tomorrow is a blur of our whole family together, two different church times, an egg hunt, three different nap times, two baptisms and a dinner for 18.  Crazy.  But the best kind of fun.

The biggest tip from me is prepare in advance, which doesn’t help for Easter since it’s two hours away… apologies for the delay. In my case sugar cookies as name plates were made on Tuesday, three varieties of potatoes were made Friday, Mille Feuille for dessert made Saturday and just finishing the sauce for the green beans tonight that will be steamed quickly tomorrow.  I’m not hosting tomorrow, my lovely sister is, but I’m thrilled to be contributing to the fun meal.  By having everything done in advance, the evening can be more about the people and less about the stress of getting food ready and out on the table.  It means less stress for you and for your guests who will no doubt be asking – ‘what can i do?’

We have an adult table and a kids table at big dinners like this one so that some level of conversation can happen for both groups.  We also ensure there is a special detail that’s fun to sit down to for our big family meals; it might be a Christmas cracker and joke, or an Easter sugar cookie dressed up like a carrot with your name on it, a game for kids while they wait for food, or a little box of crayons and kraft paper for kids.  Sitting down to dinner should be fun.  It should also still involve manners.  This means kids ask before leaving the table, practice table manners by trying new food, having conversations at normal levels and participating in traditions like grace.  This is a great, fun place to practice being polite for young ones and a wonderful place to reconnect over a lingering meal for everyone.  It also means as an adult waiting until everyone is seated to eat, minding the conversation topics (and how much you talk), and showing your appreciation for the food and the host.

our biggest bunny getting excited for Easter with his Easter ears on last night at dinner 🙂

Hosting means not expecting to have help with dinner prep or dishes (but being very thankful when gracious guests help you especially with clean up!) It means ensuring wine or beer glasses are full, people are smiling, and food is a plenty.  It means saving the victim from the chatty relative in an unassuming way, rescuing the small child from the barrage of cheek pinchers with a little wink, and freshening the air with grace when things go sour for a moment (figuratively or literally

).  All the little things that go wrong (they are inevitable) are met with a smile.  It’s the best job there is.  You are CEO of your home and president of your party – and you have the ability to make it the best dinner anyone has ever had, that day.

Enjoy – have fun – and we’ll all raise a glass to you!  And please, share your Easter traditions or etiquette here as well.  Happy Easter!

mmm dessert!

Top Five Things to Keep on Hand …

I’m always intrigued by what the best entertainers secrets are – what do they do if someone just drops by unannounced? What do they do to stay inspired? What do they keep at arms reach at all times?

These days my reading is limited to short magazine articles, sound bites, and web articles for the most part – so I subscribe to a number of blogs from those people I admire and would love to learn from on all accounts … some of them happen to be in the world of entertaining.  Here is what I’ve gathered that might be a little off the beaten path from those like Giada De Laurentiis,  Ina Garnden, and of course Martha as well as from the tops in the etiquette world …

1. Nuts. Across the board this seems to be a foodie’s quick and easy tip on keeping guests happy.  Whether it’s as an easy appy, a quick side with drinks before you head to dinner or a party staple – keep nuts on hand.  The top suggested nuts? Almonds, Cashews and peanuts. PS – nuts stay “good” in a sealed container for up to 3 months.

2. Parchment Paper. This one comes from the Barefoot Contessa who suggests that parchment makes food all that much more crisp and also saves you in the clean up process so you can spend more time enjoying people and less time in clean up mode. Huh. Less clean up. I’m in.

3. Lists. From weddings to small dinner parties, all of the food divas recount post-its, to-buy and to-do lists (week before, two days ahead, an hour ahead etc) as their top tip for seamless entertaining.  For some great party planning lists and questionnaires check out Martha’s party planning tips.

4. Beverages. You can get away without serving a pop-by guest food but should always offer a drink.  Say you get dropped off after an event and your kind chauffeur walks you inside or a neighbour pops by for a quick afternoon visit?  Always have a few bottles of wine on hand – white and red.  The experts suggest having a “house” wine that you purchase by the case and keep stored but close by.  Friends have also taught us an assortment of teas makes for an easy afternoon visit beverage and leaves you with options day or night.

5. Puff pastry. Surprised you with that one – didn’t I?  This one makes my top five because I constantly read of super easy recipes either for breakfast treats (like Apple turnovers) or evening delights that use a cheater puff pastry.  So if you have surprise house guests or are making an elaborate dinner and want an easy but still homemade dessert (like cinnamon twists) – this one is something you might not think of – but is so nice to have on hand in the freezer.

Have a great day!

It’s a Party! Tips, Tricks, and Etiquette: a mini-series event

Planning an “event” is one of my very favorite things to do.  Whether it is a wedding, a kids birthday, or a fabulous dinner with friends – they are each unique, exciting and they each hold the potential for making memories that will last a lifetime.  I was writing out some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years to try to fit into one post, and my brilliant husband suggested that this should be a series rather than one epic post.  So here it is; over the next number of posts we’ll suggest some great techniques, time savers and fabulous details for hosting events of all kinds as well as some pointers on the polite side of hosting and attending events of all kinds.

A few general tips to get you started for any event: know your audience, set your goal, and be realistic but inventive with what you have to work with.

Audience

Are these close friends or business acquaintances? Are there children involved?  Is this a grown-up only soiree? Are there any dietary factors to keep in mind? Any sensitive topics to avoid or make other guests discretely aware of? Is the group large or intimate?

All of these questions will help to dictate the time of the event, type of food you prepare, and manner in which you invite your guests.

For example, with regard to timing; you wouldn’t host a dinner party as late as 7pm if you’re inviting guests with their toddlers – but if its a baby sitter night you might even consider starting the evening at 730 so parents have the time to tuck in little ones before they come over.

If you have vegetarian guests or those with dietary restrictions like allergies make sure you accommodate for their needs without making a big deal so that they don’t feel singled out.  If you are unsure, either ask the person privately prior to having the event, or provide a number of options on the day of the event.  I’ll sometimes prepare a meal with many options like a big cobb salad with all the options in rows for selecting what you prefer, or a make your own pizza night for casual dinners.  Lay it out so that people can serve themselves and you avoid any awkward moments for both you as the host and your guests – and everyone enjoys the casual atmosphere.

If you are inviting business colleagues or a larger group of peers, an email invitation often works well.  If it’s a special group of people you don’t see often a written invitation is a lovely touch.  If its close friends for a dinner get together tonight or tomorrow a phone call is a great way to quickly connect and more personal than an email.

Goal Setting

It might sound ridiculous; but the best way to be satisfied after putting in the effort to host any kind of event is to know what you want to get out of it.  So instead of just saying “lets have a party for Johnny”; make sure you take a moment and truly understand your motivations and what you’d like your guests to get out of the event… Do you want to do an informal poll to ensure everyone you invite can come? Do you want to have people stay long into the night or have a set start and finish time?Do you want people walking away thinking about the great conversation they had, or the food they ate, or the way your venue looked (or all of the above)?

My first post on this blog was about our annual Christmas Party.  This year, our goals for that event changed and we had to be honest with ourselves in the planning stage as to what we truly wanted in order to ensure its success.  For us that meant changing the time because kids were involved for the first time, changing the theme away from cocktail to mid-afternoon, and ensuring well ahead of time that the timing and type of event worked for our guests because we wanted to ensure as many of our friends could make it as possible.

Ingenuity meets Reality:

When I started planning events, my better half would cringe.  I would try to cram 10 appies, 3 mains, and 3 dessert options into the six hours we had on a saturday to prepare for a big dinner.  I would then throw in the need for us to have elaborate flower arrangements (that I arranged), fun activities (optional of course) and some cool giveaway for the end of the evening.  I LOVE to entertain, but I’ve become more realistic about what I can get done and more selective about where I throw my energy.

I’m not an advocate of the Coscto party (“oh it was so easy! We just bought it all at Costco!” sound familiar? Yech) I also don’t think we can all do as Martha suggests, and hire good help for our occasions… but I do think you can make some parts of any party very easy on you and add some amazing flourish with ingenious little details that make your event special…

And so we shall begin … on our mini series event of planning (and attending) fabulous events…