|
You are here: main
 articles
food article archive |
|
Elegant Entertaining
With Ease
Pre-made appetizers paired with a few personal touches put an elegant and stress-free twist on holiday entertaining. 
(Family Features) - Looking for a way to simplify your holiday to-do list? Whether you're planning a large party or an intimate family gathering, celebrating with friends and family is often the best part of the holiday season. Why not make your celebration one you'll remember more for the time you spent out of the kitchen than in it?
Consider hosting a holiday hors d'oeuvre party. A simple and elegant alternative to a sit-down or buffet-style dinner party, this option gives you the freedom to serve a variety of appetizers and beverages and to cater to almost any palate, while keeping preparation and cleanup to a minimum.
Imagine your table lavishly spread with platters of mouth-watering miniature crab cakes, tender tiny quiche, perfectly sliced deli spirals and flaky mushroom turnovers - and all it takes to prepare the feast is thawing things out or placing them in the oven. While this might sound like a holiday daydream, in reality, the menu is within any host's reach. Supermarkets and warehouse club stores both offer a wide assortment of high-quality, pre-made frozen appetizers, like those mentioned above by Nancy's.
For those who want to keep it simple but aren't satisfied until they add their own personal touch, consider a few simple, from-scratch sauces that will add a unique flair to purchased appetizers. Guests are sure to notice your extra effort when they're presented with mounded bowls of blue cheese dip, white wine cream sauce, sun-dried tomato and garlic aioli and cranberry sauce. These dips and sauces can also do double-duty with cracker and vegetable trays, so you can add even more variety and pizzazz without extra work. To round out the feast, offer your beverages of choice like wine, champagne, sodas, hot-spiced cider or eggnog.
To ensure that your party planning stays stress-free, you can prepare the dips and sauces up to 24 hours ahead and keep them refrigerated. Finally, make sure you read the appetizer packages ahead of time. Some items require only thawing, while others may need a quick turn in the oven.
Now that you have your holiday get-together planned, and you've cut your party prep to a minimum, you just might come to a very jolly realization: Your holiday to-do list just got shorter.
Party Planning Tips
Need a little extra help for that party? Let Nancy lend a hand. Go to www.nancys.com and use free e-mail invitations for your party ¡ they'll even keep track of your RSVPs. Or, go to Nancy's party builder and enter the number of guests and duration of your party. You'll get locations of the stores nearest you that sell the appetizers, plus recommendations on how many appetizers you'll need. You'll also find links to a party planning checklist, rules of thumb for how much food and drink to serve and themed party suggestions.
Blue Cheese DipPrep time: 10 minutes Process time: 2 minutes Yield: about 1 cup 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream Salt and pepper to taste In a food processor fitted with metal blade, combine blue cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. Pulse until ingredients are incorporated; add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving bowl. Recommended with: Nancy's Genoa Salami & Monterey Jack Spiral, Tomato & Provolone Spiral Sun-Dried Tomato and Garlic Aioli Prep time: 10 minutes Process time: 3 minutes Yield: about 1 cup 1 large clove garlic, quartered 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream Salt and pepper to taste In a food processor, pulse garlic until finely chopped. Add sun-dried tomatoes and chop. Add mayonnaise, sour cream and salt and pepper. Pulse until ingredients are incorporated. Transfer to serving bowl. Recommended with: Nancy's Genoa Salami & Monterey Jack Spiral, Turkey Pesto Spiral, Tomato & Provolone Spiral White Wine Cream Sauce Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Yield: about 2 cups 2 tablespoons butter 4 teaspoons minced shallots 1/2 cup white wine 1 pint heavy cream 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/4 teaspoon salt Salt and pepper to taste Melt butter in large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté 1 minute. Add wine and cream; cook 12 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add salt and parsley. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to serving bowl. Note: If you prepare white wine cream sauce ahead and refrigerate, it will need to be re-heated. Warm up 2 ounces of cream in saucepan and bring to simmer. Then add refrigerated cream sauce by whisking in slowly. Continue whisking until hot and bubbly; add 1 tablespoon butter to finish. Recommended with: Nancy's Mushroom Turnovers Cranberry Sauce Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes Yield: about 2 cups 1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tablespoon orange zest 1/2 cup red wine 3/4 cup maple syrup Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat; bring to boil. When cranberries start to pop, reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 20 minutes, partially covered. Stir occasionally; make sure mixture doesn't boil over. Transfer to serving bowl. Recommended with: Nancy's Cheese Soufflé, Turkey & Pepper Jack Spiral SOURCE: Nancy's Specialty Foods
 Recipes | Food Articles | Food Safety | Culinary Schools Copyright ©2008 culinary.net Before using materials from this site, please read our usage agreement.
|
