It’s the holiday season...

It’s crunch time! The holidays are here, and if you’re starting to plan your gatherings, I thought I’d share some of my favorite entertaining tips and holiday recipes to help make this year your best yet. Take a look and leave a comment below to share your holiday plans – I’d love to hear about them!

A Few Holiday Entertaining Tips:

• When entertaining around the holidays, hosts are encouraged to keep it simple in the appetizer category. Though party food has come a long way over the last two decades and people are exposed to more exotic choices, there are a few appetizers that were big in the 1970s and are still big today, like shrimp with cocktail sauce, or bacon-wrapped scallops. They are simply delicious and people look forward to having them at a holiday celebration. 

• Have you given yourself enough lead time and created a timeline for your preparation? More lead time means having the ability to give your guests more choices when it comes to food and the atmosphere. A good timeline will help you plan out exactly what you will need to do for preparation and the day of the party, and will bring you organization to help you avoid those anxiety-ridden last-minute issues. Having a good plan will allow the host to relax and to take more “me” time before guests arrive and during the party when it’s time to enjoy themselves.

• Hosts who enjoy handling all the cooking themselves should be smart to take strategic shortcuts in the kitchen. Instead of spending hours cleaning, peeling and cutting raw vegetables or fruit, they should consider purchasing ready-to-serve platters that will taste and look just as good.

My Favorite Holiday Meal:

*Please click on the links to access the full recipes!*

• Appetizer: Savory  Mushroom Profiteroles
• Main Course: Roasted Lobster Tails with Shallot-Thyme Butter; Cauliflower Vanilla Puree; and Roasted Asparagus with Mushrooms and Lemon
• Dessert: To follow the tip of taking a strategic shortcut in the kitchen, bring home a delicious Italian cookie tray or chocolate dome from Wegmans
• Wine Pairing: Villamont Puligny Montrachet Sous Pult Premier Cru 2010

Enjoy, and happy holidays to you and yours!