Want to know how to throw the perfect holiday party? Check out the full series on
The Art of Manliness.
In my opinion, there’s no better way to celebrate
the holidays than by hosting a holiday dinner party for a group of your best
friends. Armed with great food, cold
drinks, festive tunes, and the sometimes creative costume, spending time with
the people you love is what makes the holiday season special.
Yet, for those of you who’ve ever hosted such a
bash, you know that a good time doesn’t come for free. In fact, quite a bit of hard work, planning,
and expense can go into hosting such affairs.
This is where I come in.
Throwing an outstanding holiday party can be a
piece of cake – so long as you have a game plan.
First things first, I would highly advise you to
avoid hosting a party that consists solely of hors d’oeuvres. From a
guest perspective, you tend to come away from such a party never feeling truly
satisfied. Don’t agree with me? Allow me to jog your memory – You stand
around all night, eating cream cheese filled concoctions, cocktail napkin in
hand, while you dodge the occasional awkward conversation, wondering if that
spinach and artichoke dip that came out 30 minutes ago is ever going to be
reheated. Sound familiar?
Moreover, hosting such a party can be very
expensive and time consuming. Each
appetizer typically contains 10 – 12 unique ingredients – many of which will
only sit in your spice rack unused. And
let’s not forget about prepping and serving.
Taking on such a challenge is like trying to serve eight or ten individual
meals to your guests. In other words,
it’s just not worth the hassle, or the expense.
Instead, I advocate hosting an actual dinner
party. Your guests will be impressed
when you serve an entire meal – all the while saving you time and money by
choosing a themed dinner that includes consistent ingredients and a viable prep
schedule.
With regards to prep and shopping – do not procrastinate. Make a list of all the ingredients you’ll
need and go shopping the day before, checking off every item on your list. When you get back home, put away and prep
your ingredients, double crossing off your ingredient list to make sure you
have everything on hand. This will allow
you to feel confident and not rushed when the big day arrives. Also, in the rare event that you find that
you missed an important ingredient; you still have time to make another run to
the store.
Doing all of your prep work the day before also
ensures that you spend your party enjoying the company of your guests. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way, with
many of holiday parties spent solo in my kitchen with a cast iron pan and a
whiskey on the rocks. Trust me, it
doesn’t look good to cook and drink alone – nor is it proper etiquette to host
a party and not spend time with your guests.
This meal makes use of some other key cooking tips when it comes to
entertaining for large groups.
- Choose a few items
that require little or no cooking. These
types of dishes can typically be served at room temperature, and do not
make use of precious kitchen space and tools. In this case, the antipasti platter
works perfectly. Other options
would include a crudite platter, hummus and vegetables, or even a large
salad.
- Items that can
be cooked or put together ‘on the fly’ minimize your time in the
kitchen. The Sautรฉed Shrimp,
Sautรฉed Spinach, and Yogurt and Berry Parfait all satisfy this
component. You can excuse yourself
from your guests for mere minutes while these dishes are prepared.
- For the main
course – go with a big hunk of meat.
No, seriously. In this case,
I’ve chosen a Standing Rib Roast, as it’s a classic dish of the
season. For other events – beef and
pork tenderloins, whole roasted chickens, pot roasts, or even a leg of
lamb make elegant dishes to serve large groups. You can literally ‘set it and forget
it’.
Of course, I’d be amiss to leave out one important
element of any holiday party – a well stocked bar.
Cold beer
on ice, wine selections, an assortment of liquors, mixers, and perhaps even a
signature punch or cocktail are all
special touches to make sure your guests take a load off and enjoy the evening. As the host it’s part of your job to make
sure your guests enjoy themselves responsibly – have a few cabs waiting on
standby for those that might imbibe past their normal bedtime.
Most importantly – have fun. Hosting holiday parties will create great
memories for years to come. And, if you
follow my game plan, I can guarantee your parties will become the talk of the
town!
Season’s greetings!
MM
APPETIZER
COURSE – the Antipasti Platter can be prepped hours in advance and set out
prior to your guest’s arrival. As most
of your guests have arrived, take a few minutes to put together the Sautรฉed shrimp–
the unique ‘out of the pan’ presentation will have your guests feeling like
they are getting an รก la table chef dining experience
Antipasti
Platter – the beauty of this versatile platter is that you can let your
imagination run free. Pick out an
assortment of your favorite cheeses, cured meats, vegetables, pickled goods,
breads, and crackers to serve to your guests.
To ensure that you can feed the entire group, plan to have about ¼ lb of
total goods per guest. Check out one of
my favorite pairings below. (Prep 20
mins, Cook N/A, Serves 8 – 10)
2 lbs Wisconsin
Aged Cheddar Cheese, sliced
1 lb
Sopressata or Hard Salami, thinly sliced
1 Loaf
French Bread, cubed and toasted
1 lb Marinated Olives
Arrange ingredients on a serving platter. Serve.
(If prepping in advance, cover platter with plastic wrap and keep in the
fridge until 30 minutes prior to service).
Sautรฉed
Shrimp – a play on the traditional shrimp cocktail, the unique presentation
of this dish makes it as much of a dining experience as it is an incredible
appetizer. (Prep 15 mins, Cook 10 mins,
Serves 8 – 10)
½ Stick
Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
3 lbs Large
Shrimp, peeled and deveined
¾ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ Cup White
Wine
Parsley, chopped for garnish
6 inch
Bamboo Skewers – to serve
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter into the olive
oil. Working very quickly, next add the
garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest and sautรฉ in the oil/butter mixture
for 30 seconds – careful not to burn.
Add shrimp, season with salt, and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, using a
wooden spoon to scrape up any of the bits from the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking for another 4 – 6 minutes,
or until the shrimp are firm and bright pink.
Remove from heat, garnish with parsley, and serve right out of the
skillet, using the skewers to pick up individual portions.
MAIN COURSE
– Standing Rib Roast has long been a holiday favorite – and for good
reason. Your guests will love the juicy,
flavorful meat – sopping up the juices in garlicky masked potatoes and bright,
colorful spinach. This classic meal will
make your holiday party memorable and special.
Standing
Rib Roast – a classic, delicious dish that’s perfect for entertaining. .
(Prep 15 mins, Cook 1.5 hours, Serves 8 – 10).
1 4 -5 lb
Rib Roast
¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
10 Cloves Garlic
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Meanwhile, place roast – rib side down – into a heavy bottomed skillet
and coat in olive oil. Season entire
roast very liberally with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and arrange
garlic cloves in the bottom of the pan.
Place roast into oven and cook for 1 – ½ hours (about 15 minutes per
pound), or until internal temperature reaches 125 degrees for medium rare. Remove from heat and rest for 20 minutes
before serving.
Garlic
Mashed Potatoes – utilizing the roasted garlic from the roast adds that
extra essence to these divine mashed potatoes.
Go to work on these while the roast is out of the oven and resting – as
this will ‘hold’ for up to 30 minutes or so without the need to reheat. Should you need more time, fold in a little
more cream and reheat the potatoes over low heat just before serving. (Prep 15 mins, Cook 25 mins, Serves 8 – 10).
5 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and
diced into 1 inch cubes
2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Heavy Cream
Roasted Garlic Cloves (from Rib Roast), skin removed
Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chives, finely chopped
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat; add potatoes and
cook until just fork tender, 10 – 12 minutes.
Remove and strain potatoes, allowing all of the water to evaporate. Reduce heat to low, and place the empty pot
back on the stove and melt the butter into the cream. Add potatoes, roasted garlic, and season with
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Using a masher or ricer, mash potatoes until desired consistency is
reached, adding more cream for a looser consistency. Garnish with chives and serve immediately.
Sautรฉed
Spinach – a light, quick, and easy side to help round out this fantastic
meal. (Prep 5 mins, Cook 5 mins, Serves
8 – 10).
¼ Cup Extra
Virgin Olive Oil
¼ Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
4 lbs Fresh Baby Spinach
Kosher Salt
½ Lemon
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat, add oil. Add red pepper flakes and sautรฉ for 30
seconds – 1 minute, careful not to brown.
Add spinach and sautรฉ until reduced and tender, 4 – 5 minutes. Season with kosher salt (to taste), and
finish with fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Serve.
DESSERT
COURSE – why fuss with baking a cake all day? Instead, this light and refreshing dessert
is served in individual portions – making you look like you spent extra time
and attention on each guest – but truth be told, this delicious dessert
couldn’t be easier!
Yogurt and Berry Parfait – satisfy your guests in no time with this simple
and beautiful dessert. Most grocers sell
pints of prepared berries which will save time and money when it comes to
prepping ingredients. Wait to add the
granola until just before serving. (Prep
5 mins, Cook N/A, Serves 8 – 10).
5 Cups
Low-fat Vanilla Yogurt
2 Pints
Mixed Berries (Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries)
2 Cups Granola
In individual serving glasses, add a generous
layer of vanilla yogurt. Top with
berries and granola. Serve.
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