FUSS-FREE ENTERTAINING
Calgary food pros share tips
The best parties occur when everybody’s having a great time, and that includes the host. But how to enjoy your holiday fete when you’ve got performance anxiety? Cut the fuss out of Christmas entertaining with these helpful hacks from Calgary’s food and beverage stars.
BE CHEESY WITH A THEME
The premise behind Calgary food columnist Julie Van Rosendaal’s annual holiday bash is simple: polyester and cheese. Guests are asked to come wearing their finest polyester duds and bearing ( you guessed it) cheese. “Guests always ask to bring something anyway, and cheese makes it easy. You don’t have to cook unless you want to,” Van Rosendaal says.
Guests walk into an inviting atmosphere, where savoury scents waft through the air and the ’70sinspired attire ensures nobody takes themselves too seriously. Van Rosendaal prepares one hot dish such as gougères or baked brie, and continually adds to the cheeseboard if it needs topping up. Not only is the table fantastically groaning with cheese, but hosts can enjoy the leftovers all season long.
Instead of a proper (read: pricey) cheeseboard, Van Rosendaal recommends one large kitchen tile bought from a home improvement store. “They cost about a dollar and you can put those felt pads for furniture bottoms on it to prevent table scratches.”
As for the dress code, “We don’t enforce the polyester rule, but people really get into it. I get texts all year long from friends who’ve found their party clothes at Value Village,” says Van Rosendaal.
CROCK- POT IT
Charcut owner and co-chef Connie DeSousa has (in her opinion) an obscene number of Crock-Pots. But she puts them all to good use over the holidays.
“I don’t know why I have so many, but they’re great for entertaining when you want to keep things warm.”
At her annual soiree, DeSousa has a slow cooker filled with chili, one with a festive holiday soup and another with stew ( her mom’s recipe for chicken and dumplings is her go-to). And there’s always a slow cooker simmering with mulled wine. Instead of bowls, inexpensive holiday mugs procured from the dollar store are set out for guest to ladle into at will.
BEHOLD THE BUFFET
Charcut’s other co- chef and owner, John Jackson, is a fan of making one main meat dish and centring the party around it. He opts for international flavours such as rotisserie Greek spiced beef accompanied by pita and tzatziki or a Mexican braised pork shoulder with black beans. Set atop a cutting board on the dining room table, guests serve themselves, which provides a fun, interactive component to the party, as they build their own meal.
Focusing on one main component also takes the stress out of entertaining, says Jackson. “You marinate and cook the meat, then forget about it, knowing it’ll be done before your party. Hours before, you can do all the prep work for your sides and pull them out as people arrive. Once the party’s started, you’re enjoying it with your guests.”
MAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT
Nobody wants to stand around and play bartender all evening, which is perhaps one reason punch bowls have made a comeback. Consider making a large batch of non-alcoholic punch and placing a bottle of vodka beside it.
Nicole Fewell, owner and creator of Porter’s Tonic, recommends a self-serve bar. The 40-plus bottles of gin she’s gathered from around the world are set up beside soda water and all four flavours of her natural tonic. Just don’t expect any garnish. “There’s so much natural fruit flavour in our tonics, you don’t need to add anything else,” she quips.
Fewell has also become well known for her homemade Irish Cream, adapted from a recipe she found on EatNorth.ca. With a cherry vanilla flavour that’s reputedly off the hook, she grates tonka beans (procured from The Silk Road Spice Merchant) overtop the Baileys knock-off to amp it up.
I get texts all year long from friends who’ve found their party clothes at Value Village.