Starting from the beginning with a well thought out entertaining plan will determine everything from your menu to your choice of music.
Once you’ve determined your menu, take a few moments to write down each and every ingredient you’ll need for each course. Any event planner or caterer will tell you – staying organized is key! You’ve got a lot of things to think about: cooking, decorating, invitations, seating arrangements, games. It’ll be far easier and less stressful if you take a deep breath and take the time to organize. The last thing you want is to run back to the grocery store two or three times because you forgot a small ingredient!
On a separate document, make a list of every decor item you need. Put a checkmark next to any items you already own.
Most event coordinators will tell you: Begin planning early. Give yourself at least a month to plan. Here’s a simple checklist of your timeline for planning a dinner party.
A Month Before Your Event
Check Pinterest for unique themes
Brainstorm desired atmosphere and decor items
Create guest list
Begin planning menu
Three Weeks Before Your Event
Design and send invitations
Determine theme
Create a shopping list of required decor items
Begin shopping for decorations
Two Weeks Before Your Event
Guests RSVP; finalize the list of attendees
Check dietary needs for guests
Create seating arrangements
Finalize menu
Create a shopping list for ingredients
One Week Before Your Event
Choose music; begin creating a playlist
Create name cards if needed
Create ice-breaker question cards if needed
Deep clean house – Baseboards, lighting fixtures, etc.
Three Days Before Your Event
Use finalized shopping list; buy ingredients
Purchase alcoholic beverages – wine, champagne, beer, or cocktail mixes.
Purchase bottle-openers and corkscrews for opening wine.
The Day Before Your Event
Prepare as much of the menu as you can, so you can easily heat and serve the next day.
Trash out, restrooms clean
Begin decorating and laying out centerpieces, tablecloths, candles, flowers.
Hook-up playlist to make sure music plays
Go ahead and set your table as much as possible — one less thing to worry about tomorrow.
The Day Of Your Event
Prepare any remaining menu items
Warm-up previously-prepared foods
Layout hors-d’oeuvres and drinks for cocktail hour
Arrange all dishes for the prepared courses in the order you’ll need to serve them
Set the mood by lighting candles, turning on your playlist, and staging your home for guests.
Finally, get dressed for your holiday gathering
Ideally, all of this early-preparation will leave very little work for you to do on the actual day of your holiday gathering. Be sure to take some time for yourself. Drink a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, and take a few moments to enjoy your space before your guests arrive.
We have all encountered one or all of these situations at one time. We have provided not only the hosting faux pas but the tips to ensure that when it’s your turn to entertain, you will be able to navigate the hosting of your party with ease and avoid these all too common entertaining blunders.
1. A Flurry of Confusion
The hosts are still preparing food an hour after the party started. No one knows where to place their gifts or leave their coats. Guests are scrambling through kitchen drawers looking for a wine opener.
Tip: As hosts of a party, being prepared and on time is can be challenging. Your guests deserve to enter a well planned environment. Make a list of everything you need to do to prepare and utilize t time management skills. We have written an article that can help Holiday Entertaining Checklist.
2. The Snooze Fest
A formal holiday dinner party where you were seated for the next two hours alongside a guest you have absolutely nothing in common with.
Tip: When planning out the seating arrangement at a dinner party, make sure you seat people with like interests together. As the host it is your job to keep the conversations moving, Always be scanning the table for lulls in the conversation and find a commonality for people.
3. Menu Snafu
You leave a party hungry.
Tip There are many people with dietary restrictions. Make sure you are aware of allergies or known food sensitivities prior to planning your menu. Make sure there is enough food for the amount of guests. It is always better to have more than less.
4. Sporting of the Lampshade
You arrive to find earlier guests or worse, the hosts already well on their way to feeling no pain
Tip: Start a party off with less alcohol by offering a spritzer in lieu of a glass of wine. A light beer instead of a 10 % stout, or a punch with light alcohol rather than a shot.
5. The Glass House
You were told it was okay to bring your small children to the party only to find precious antiques placed all over the house at their eye level.
Tip: As the hosts, you do not have to redecorate your entire home but do place precious items above the reach of very small children. Make sure they do not have access to anything that can be harmful to themselves such as cleaning supplies, sharp objects or medicines.
6. The House is a Mess
You’re not sure what has happened, however it is apparent that the house keeper has not visited in sometime.
Tip: Cleaning over several days before your party is an easy way to ensure that you will have time for tidying up your home the day of your event. If you have clean laundry that is not going to be folded, tuck it away in a closet. No one wants to look at a pile of your undergarments while nibbling on an appetizer.
7. The “I Am Too Stuffy” Party
Pretentious people stand around in their own cliques while you try to fit in with small talk about the caviar.
Tip: In business situations, this can not always be avoided. But when hosting, it’s your job to match up the guest list appropriately.
8. The Uncomfortable Family Drama
You are forced to listen to Uncle Joe and his half-sister publicly air their respective families past grievances.
Tip: When putting together a guest list, sometimes you may not have a choice but to invite certain relatives. However, try to mitigate the drama by structuring a less formal seating arrangement.
9. Who left the dog out?
Fido is running amuck and jumping on everyone who had food in their hands.
Tip: Pets are great, but not always at your holiday party. Some well-meaning people do not understand that they should not feed your four legged friends. Accidentally dropped party food or spilled alcohol can be poisonous to pets.
10. Hosting if someone in your home is ill.
Tip: After all the world has been through since 2020 we should all know better. If someone becomes ill, it is better to contact all your invited guests to let them know you must cancel or postpone your festivities. It is never in good form to share an illness with guests.
Knowing that the holidays would soon be upon us, we asked the members of our Love of Food Facebook group to share their beautiful table settings and participate in a contest. These are some of the photos that are being considered for our contest. We have named each one in the caption under its photo.
If you would like to vote for your favorite, visit our Facebook Group using the link above. The contest will be pinned in the group until Dec 25th when the winner will be announced.
THE AUTUMN LEAVES TABLETHE REINDEER TABLETHE DINNER OF THE DEAD TABLETHE GILDAD BUTTERFLY TABLE THE RED GLASS TABLETHE BLACK WHITE AND RED TABLETHE BIRDS NEST TABLE THE CHRISTMAS BUFFET
When it comes to creating, serving, and showcasing food, the choices are limitless. From setting the tone for a fun party to a formal dinner, and everything in between. All you need is a little creativity, some dinnerware, table cloths, glassware, and holiday decor. A theme will make your food stand out and set the right mood for a memorable holiday meal.
Designing Your Holiday Table- Where Should You Begin?
Many times people shy away from entertaining because the idea of having to set up an extravagant table appears like a daunting task. But it does not have to be hard. The key is starting a week or two ahead of time and follow these simple steps.
1. Elegance or Fun
The first rule of thumb is to decide is who will be in attendance? Perhaps your guest list includes your very traditional mother in law, and or your new boss. If this is the case, the answer is simple. You should shoot for elegance above all else. If it’s a group of close friends and neighbors you may want to decide on a fun theme.
There can however be extenuating circumstances once you take your guest list into consideration. Can you have both? The answer is kind of… yes.
Case in point; this Thanksgiving we have little ones attending. While we still all want everyone to feel as if they were being treated to a wonderful meal, we had to consider spills, drips, table bumps and busy hands. We opted to ditch the formality but weave in a sprinkle of elegance. While our tables will not be magazine cover worthy and as fancy as previous years, we are blessed to have children in our lives.
Grandmother’s antique platters will not make their appearance. We will skip the tall candles and the decorative glass votives. Low profile decor that is more stable will dawn our table. The crystal long-stemmed wine glasses that can tip too easily will be replaced with stemless options. Instead of the fancy table cloths, our tables will be draped with cloths that will be no worse for their wear if/when they get spilled upon.
Our tables will still be quite festive, and have a hint of elegance but are more approachable for all the guests. The parents of the little ones will feel more relaxed, as will we, as the hosts. Here are some of the designs we plan to use.
The most important part of creating this sacred space where we will partake of our Thanksgiving meal is that each and everyone seated at the dining table is made to feel comfortable.
Now that you have considered who will be attending, what do you do next?
2. Select A Signature Piece and Build Around It
Start with one signature piece for inspiration that will help define the theme of your design, Sometimes it can be a fantastic dinner plate.
It does not always have to be the dinnerware that is your muse. We found this rooster placemat and decided the theme would be farm/country. From there we were able to gather pieces, gift bags and really hone in on the details. Fresh vegetables were even part of the decor.
Once we hosted a birthday dinner for a girlfriend from Texas and that gave us the idea of a fun cowgirl theme. The inspiration for this, believe it or not, was not the hat but the cute little checkered pigs we found at a craft store.
3. You Do Not Have to Break The Bank Creating a Centerpiece
Beautiful tables can be made from Items you source just about anywhere. These beautiful flowers are from a Crepe Myrtle tree located in our neighborhood. Tall weeds were growing around them so they were added for greenery. You can also find sticks or Cat N Nine tails. Even wheat grass can be a great way to add color and dimension to your tablescape. Just be sure to spray anything before coming in from the outside with a solution of dish soap and water to remove any insects hiding in tiny crevices.
4. Secret Dollar Store Finds
This past Halloween, we were challenged to set a great table using mostly Dollar Store finds. We hosted a dinner and a brunch using the same items. It was the best 15 dollars we ever spent. Storing these items does not make sense for our space, so the next day we packed it all up and made a donation to the local thrift store.
Thrift stores can be a great place to find pieces that you can use for your dinner parties. One time we hosted a birthday dinner for a friend who happens to really like the color blue. We found some pretty blue glassware sitting on the store shelves just begging for us to take it home. We made a small donation to a good cause and made our friend smile when she saw her favorite color proudly displayed on her table. When the party was over we gave her all the glassware to keep.
Thrifting is only one of the ways to have fun with your tablescapes. We know some of you cringe at the thought of using someone else’s dishes, but if you think about it you do this each time you dine out. Yes, it would be nice to walk into Sur La Table or Pottery Barn and purchase everything showcased, but unless your last name is Rockefeller, that kind of expenditure for each and every holiday is not sustainable. We even set our Christmas table with pretty red snowflake plates that we found in a box at a local thrift store. This year we donated them back to the same store. That is good example of re-use.
5. Incorporate and Repurpose Already Owned Pieces
You do not have to purchase dinnerware and decorative items for every holiday. The best way to make the most of pieces you love and a table look different is to repurpose them.
For the Halloween tables shown previously we repurposed everything and transformed the dinner table to a buffet. The tree in the middle of the table is an old jewelry tree that we found on clearance at Kirklands. This tree will make its reappearance on our Christmas table. Instead of spooky bats and orange lights it will sparkle with white lights and hold little ornaments. Perhaps it will be repurposed again at Easter where it can drip with pastel colored ribbons and dangle little eggs. One piece repurposed over and over.
Your table is your canvass to create on.
Think of it as a piece of art
Find your muse for inspiration
Follow the tips that we have provided
It does not matter if you will have lots of company or just an intimate holiday dinner. Like a Broadway production, a well staged table allows your food to shine as the star of the show. You and your guest will be seated in the front row. Your holiday dinner table is the vehicle for meaningful dialogue, laughs, and entertainment. Like a well written play the storyline of your dinner may be cherished for many years to come.
We hope you have found some creative inspiration and clear direction on getting started. To see more beautifully dressed tables you can preview of the submissions from our table scape contest on our Facebook Group Page.
Yes, you read that correctly! I know it is hard to believe that all that cinnamon-y goodness could be packed into a pancake and still taste like a cinnamon bun with icing, but low and behold I made them and they were amazing! These take a little bit more effort than just a regular old homemade pancake, but they are so worth it. I think this is a perfect treat for Christmas morning or any special occasion breakfast. In the past, we have made our own cinnamon rolls and that requires you make and proof dough, however with the pancake version your family will have all the flavors of the cinnamon rolls without all that time and effort.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix until dissolved
Set aside to cool
Once cooled, fill a piping bag or plastic baggie with tip cut off with the icing
Cinnamon Filling
Stir together all ingredients
Place inside a piping bag with a small tip (If you do not have a piping bag once ready to ice you can cut a small corner off a filled plastic baggie)
Pancakes
Whisk together the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients
Mix together lightly - do not overwork the batter, a few lumps are fine
Spray a pan or griddle with cooking spray
Over medium heat
Drop a scoop-full of the batter onto the pan (for rounder pancakes use an ice cream scoop)
Once the pancakes start to bubble, grab the bag of glaze and draw a round swirl starting from the inside of the circle outward. Do not draw the swirl too close to the edge of the pancake or the sugar can burn.
Check the bottom of the pancake flip when it is the desired color or light brown.
Let the cinnamon side cook and check your heat to make sure the sugars are not cooking too quickly. If you need to remove the pan from the heat and lower the temp.
Between each batch wipe out the pan to remove excess sugar.
Yes, you read that correctly! I know it is hard to believe that all that cinnamony goodness could be packed into a pancake and still taste like a cinnamon bun with icing, but low and behold I made them and they were amazing!
These take a little bit more effort than just a regular old homemade pancake, but they are so worth it. I think this is a perfect treat for Christmas morning or any special occasion breakfast.
In the past, we have made our own cinnamon rolls and that requires you make and proof dough, however with the pancake version your family will have all the flavors of the cinnamon rolls without all that time and effort.
Ingredients
Pancakes
1 Cup of Flour
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Cup of Milk
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon of Vegetable Oil
Cinnamon Filling
6 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
1/2 Stick of Butter Melted and Cool to the Touch
1/2 Tablespoon of Ground Cinnamon
Glaze
2 Ounces of Whipped Cream Cheese
1/2 A Stick of Butter
3/4 of a Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Glaze
In a small saucepan melt the butter, the vanilla
Add the cream cheese until melted
Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix until dissolved
Set aside to cool
Once cooled, fill a piping bag or plastic baggie with tip cut off with the icing
Cinnamon Filling
Stir together all ingredients
Place inside a piping bag with a small tip (If you do not have a piping bag once ready to ice you can cut a small corner off a filled plastic baggie)
Pancakes
Whisk together the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients
Mix together lightly – do not overwork the batter, a few lumps are fine
Spray a pan or griddle with cooking spray
Over medium heat
Drop a scoop-full of the batter onto the pan (for rounder pancakes use an ice cream scoop)
Once the pancakes start to bubble, grab the bag of glaze and draw a round swirl starting from the inside of the circle outward. Do not draw the swirl too close to the edge of the pancake or the sugar can burn.
Check the bottom of the pancake flip when it is the desired color or light brown.
Let the cinnamon side cook and check your heat to make sure the sugars are not cooking too quickly. If you need to remove the pan from the heat and lower the temp.
Between each batch wipe out the pan to remove excess sugar.
The Easter Bunny Antipasto Salad made the first appearance at my extended family’s Easter celebration. Being of Italian descent they celebrate Easter and derived a lot of joy out of this festive and elaborate salad. The kids ranged in ages, but all loved seeing the bunny make his appearance on a salad. It has become an Easter tradition. Enjoy!
1Small Head of Romaine and or Iceberg Lettuce as they are crispy enough to withstand the layers of items and will not wilt as easy as spring mix.
1CarrotSliced into thin strips for the whiskers and save 1 piece to cut a triangle for the nose
2Stalks of CelerySliced into “u” shapes
4Fresh Mushroomssliced
1Small Cucumberremove seeds
1/4Fresh Green Bell PepperSliced thin
4Green Onion( Slices the tops of them making slits in the stalks and use for the grass)
1Large Tomatosliced or 8 Cherry Tomatoes cut in half
1Small Can of Sliced Beets
1Small Jar of Marinated Artichoke Hearts
1/2Cupof Marinated Mushrooms
6Baby Cornfrom a jar or can found in the Asian aisle of any supermarket
1/4Cupof Red Roasted Peppers from the Jar
12Baby Gherkin Picklessweet
A Dozen or so Green Olives
A Dozen or so Black Olivescut one of the black olives in half for the eyes and one into thirds for the buttons
6Pepperoncini
12Slicesof Genoa Salamivery thin (Halve one of the slices for the inside of the ear, and shape out the belly and the feet with another 2 slices)
12Slicesof Prosciutto Hampaper thin
12Slicesof Roast Beefthin
12Slicesof Provolone Cheesevery thin ( 4 Slices are used to make the outline of the bunny. Cut one slice in half for the ears)
1/4Lb.of Sharp Provolonecut into very small cubes
12Med-Large ShrimpPeeled, deveined, cooked, and cooled
6Anchoviesrolled with capers
1Can of Tonoaka: Italian tuna fish
1/2Small Red Onionsliced thin
1Hard-boiled Eggsliced and use one slice for the tail
Instructions
Start with a large platter and place lettuce as the bottom layer.
Add the fresh vegetables first, spreading them out evenly so someone will receive a taste of each on a spoonful of salad (reserve what you will need for the bunny decoration).
Next layer on the jar and canned vegetables (hold out some of the olives for decorating, reserve what you will need for the bunny decoration).
Then layer the deli meats and cheeses (reserve what you will need for the bunny decoration). I roll most of the meats and cheese whenever possible.
Lastly, add the seafood, I always place the tono in the top middle unless I know someone hates it, then I place to one side so they can avoid it.
Make the bunny decoration on top of the entire salad.
There are so many great things about making these little lovelies. First of all, they are quick, if you watch the video you can see that we ran through the entire process in seven minutes or so. It was less than 60 seconds to heat the chocolate in the microwaveThe second thing is there are only 2 ingredients The melting chocolate and the strawberries
Pour a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of chocolate discs (found in any craft store) into a paper bowl.
Lay a large piece of parchment paper or wax paper on the counter.
Heat in the microwave at 20-second intervals until you are left with only a few discs not melted. Stir in between each 20-second interval.
Using a cocktail fork or skewer dip your strawberries one by one and place onto the paper. Let them cool and harden. This does not take long at all!
Video
Notes
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries in colored sugarDip'd Strawberries in just chocolateThe third thing is, the fact that you can dip almost anything. I dipped pretzels in addition to the strawberries. But bananas are fabulous dipped and frozen, yum! They are a great alternative to ice cream because you can just have a bite and be satisfied.The fourth reason I like this recipe is its versatility. You can see in the picture strawberries in various colors of chocolate and drizzled color. T plating is also fun with the rainbow sugar. You can roll them in nuts edible gold sugar or leave them plain. Here is a serving tip: Once dry we serve them in a dish typically used for deviled eggs.
There are so many great things about making these little lovelies. First of all, they are quick, if you watch the video you can see that we ran through the entire process in seven minutes or so. It was less than 60 seconds to heat the chocolate in the microwave.
The second thing is there are only 2 ingredients
The Chocolate
The Strawberries
The third thing is, the fact that you can dip almost anything. I dipped pretzels in addition to the strawberries. But bananas are fabulous dipped and frozen, yum! They are a great alternative to ice cream because you can just have a bite and be satisfied.
The fourth reason I like this recipe is its versatility. You can see in the last picture that Nicole made her strawberries in various colors of chocolate and she drizzled color on top to make her’s look pretty. Her plating is also fun with the rainbow sugar. Mine sit in a dish typically used for deviled eggs.
That last reason I like this recipe is the cleanup. All you need to do is throw away the paper bowl and the parchment paper. Can it get any easier?
These crumbly, chewy, slightly sweet Italian cookies have been in my life for as long as I can remember. I am fortunate that my husband enjoys baking these every Easter and Christmas.(Makes approximately 48 cookies)
Roll dough into little balls and drop onto the cookie sheet
Bake for 10-12 minutes until bottoms of cookies are browned
Mix up the frosting and once cookies are still slightly warm use a teaspoon to drizzle onto the cookie starting from the middle of the cookie in a circular motion
Top with either a cherry or sprinkles
Let cool completely and make sure icing has hardened before stacking or placing in container
Video
Notes
Decorate with 1/2 slices of Maraschino cherries faced down or Sprinkles
The star of the Thanksgiving meal is the turkey. I used a 14.5 lb. frozen turkey. I removed it from the freezer to the refrigerator on Saturday to be ready on Thursday. It is important to brine the bird for moisture, so we will start with those ingredients. I made my brine more of a marinade than a traditional brine. (A traditional brine calls for more salt and you have to rinse it down before cooking). I planned to smoke my turkey using a steam pot in my smoker to hold in even more moisture and infuse additional flavor. I will share that also below. Lastly, I rubbed the turkey. This was by far the best turkey I have ever made!
Brine
2 Gallons of Water
18 Ounces of Vegetable Stock
1/3 Cup of Sea Salt
2 Bay leaves
1 Apple (sliced)
1 Onion (rough cut)
1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary
1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme
1 Sprig of Sage
Steam Pot (I used my blue dutch oven to put in the smoker under the bird) I used mostly all the same ingredients as above.
Add all brine/marinade ingredients to a large pot or oversized bowl. (remember I made a quasi brine that was more like a marinade so no need to boil and cool or to rinse the next day).
Soak overnight.
Pull the turkey from the brine after 12 hours and pat completely dry with paper towels. (This is an important step for the skin to cook properly in the smoker).
For the Rub
Mix all the ingredients with a food processor or immersion blender
Apply the rub with your hands all over the dry turkey before smoking it.
Reserve some for basting in a small pot on the stove.
For the Steam Pot
Add in all the ingredients and once your smoker has been lit and the smoke is the right color, set the steam pot down into the grill, right on the reflector plates and then place your grill racks over it.
For the Grill
I made a little foil packet of the fresh herbs, sealed it well and poked 3 tiny holes in it and set it down right on the coals (optional)
I placed a small piece of applewood in the smoker for a mild smoke flavor.
For the Turkey
Place the turkey on the racks in the grill for 2 hours at 350 degrees F.
At 1 hour and 40 minutes, preheat your indoor oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove the turkey and place it in a roasting pan. Baste it with the extra mixture of butter and herbs.
Transfer it to your oven. Baste one more time over the next hour.
Tent it with a piece of aluminum foil if the skin appears to be getting too dark before the temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
When the temp is 160 degrees F pull the turkey from the oven and wrap it in aluminum foil completely and let it sit for 45 mins to an hour before carving.