Even though my husband is an amazing Chef and can serve a five course plated dinner for 20 guests with ease, I tend to shy away from hosting parties like this simply because I like to take the path of least resistance. Being so busy in December, I want my husband and I to be able to enjoy our parties as much as our guests. With plated dinners over 6 or 8 guests, someone has to spend much of the time in the kitchen plating and serving. Unless you want to hire help. I feel entertaining larger groups is about being together and enjoying each other’s company, especially if you’re entertaining family or friends who don’t often visit. So I limit my holiday gatherings to two different types of meals that allow this: a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres party in the evening, and a buffet style brunch mid-day on a Saturday or Sunday.
Last year, our family gathering during the holiday consisted of
35 guests. I researched many different types of fun cocktails and collected the
supplies. Premixing as much as I could the day before, and assigning the bar
tending duties during the party to a family member, we offered festive Peach
Prosecco Bellini’s, traditional Tom and Jerry’s,
Calvados Martini, and what turned out to be the most popular, a rich Ultra
Alexander Martini. Our menu, as it turned out, did not follow any theme or
nationality. We simply choose items that we loved. We placed platters and
slow-cookers here and there instead of filling a single serving table.
Entertaining like this encourages guests to eat slowly, taking time in-between
items to enjoy every plate, and helps to create a pace of leisure. In our
hectic lives these days, it is nice to actually be able to slow down a bit. Of
course the menu choices are countless with this style of meal, which is what
makes planning them so fun. This is what we prepared:
• Caviar
with Egg Crumbles, Diced Onion, Creme Fresh, and Tiny Buckwheat Pancakes
• Seafood
Platter: Shrimp Cocktail, Crab Claws, and Raw Oysters with Creamed Horseradish,
Cocktail Sauce, Lemons, and Tabasco
• International
Cheese Display including Smoked Salmon, Egg Crumbles, Chopped Onion, Cream
Cheese, Relishes, Breads and Crackers
• Fresh
Fruit and Berries Platter
• Butternut
Squash Ravioli
• Mini
Gyros: Sliced Lamb, Chopped Tomatoes and Onions, and Mini Pita Bread
• Jambalaya
• White
Rice
• Duck
& Wild Rice Soup
• Assortment
of Christmas Cookies, ours mixed with several of our guests’, I like to mix them together
on one giant platter.
Although the menu took a couple hours to prepare earlier that
day, the only last minute things that needed attention were assembling the
Seafood Platter and cooking the Rice. Everything else was either placed on a
platter and refrigerated or in a slow-cooker to warm hours before. We were able
to enjoy a leisurely cocktail, watch the fire, and listen to holiday music for
an hour or so before our guests started to arrive. It is a good place to be.
It is so easy to prepare much of the food in advance and hold it
until dinner. Guests can graze on delectable items for a couple hours, sampling
things here and there while enjoying other activities. The thing I most
appreciate about this style of dining is that much of the clean up can be done
after your guests have left.
For Brunch the next day, a buffet is the rule of the day for me.
The only thing here that needed last minute attention was pulling the Quiche
and Chicken Sausage out of the oven. The soup and cider took care of itself in
the slow-cookers. Everything else was prepared the morning before. We served:
• Butternut
Squash Soup
• Maple
Bacon Quiche
• Chicken
Sausage with Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Festival
Salad
• Applesauce
Coffee Cake
• Spiced
Apple Cider
• Eggnog
Parties during the day take on a whole new family feel and you
can follow brunch with some fun winter activities like building a snow man or
ice skating. Most of the time, however, we opt for the good, old-fashioned
indoor activity of playing board games together.
Do yourself a favor and simplify your holiday entertaining. You
don’t have to skimp on the menu to enjoy your gathering as much
as your guests!
-Christine Schiltz
Owner & Catering Director
Lake Elmo Inn Event Center
