"entertaining" news and stories

It's party season, and that means if you have any social life whatsoever, someone will be asking you to bring something to a get-together. Certain foods are obvious no-nos unless you're aiming for cheeky: anything made with aspic, blood sausage or Spam, for example. In general, you want to avoid needlessly messy, borderline unhealthy and unintentionally labor-intensive dishes, as well as ones that simply don't travel well.

The following rules apply no matter what kind of party (potluck, New Year's Eve, birthday, tailgating) or crowd (young, old, football freaks, opera fans). If you can't cook at all, bring good cheese and crackers. That's the universal crowd-pleaser.

Hummus
It seems like such a no-brainer -- who doesn't like dip at parties? But this one has a fatal flaw: garlic. All it takes is one big scoop to render your breath intolerable. Great for family get-togethers, not for swinging singles mixers. How about salsa instead?

Party plate. Photo: Taylor Gifts.

How many times have you, while trying to balance a plate full of hors d'oeuvres, a cocktail and a fork, lost at least one of those items? Maybe even down the front of your freshly dry-cleaned shirt? Or perhaps your own rug was the victim of such an incident at the last party you hosted.

That may change with the advent of the plastic party plate. These 10-by-10-inch plates with snap-off (and snap back on!) utensils come in red, black and clear, and while some not-so-environmentally-minded hostesses might think of these plates as disposable, we certainly don't. Since they're apparently made of a fairly sturdy plastic (sturdy enough to hold food and drink), and go for $8 for a set of four, we can't imagine anyone not using them again and again.

Of course, this just begets another question: Why use a party plate with snap-off utensils when you can use an old-school lunch tray and put regular utensils and wine glasses in their designated compartments? To each her own!

[Via Taylor Gifts]

• For those looking to dodge the Hamburger Helper, the Star offers up a super-adaptable one-skillet Italian meal full of ground round and veggies.
• An interview with Erma Peterson, a teacher turned cookbook writer, featuring the tastes of Kansas City -- and her Low-Fat Chocolate Raspberry Cake recipe, to boot!
• A two-sentence ode to Domaine Chazelles Vire Clesse 2007, a clean and lemony Chardonnay.
• A lesson in aquaculture: Why we need to eat fish, how we can get it safely, the best farmed seafood and a recipe for Catfish Tacos with Red Chili Salsa.
• Partying on a budget: Why at-home entertaining is good in this economy, and how to do it right.
• A 7-day menu planner, starting with lamb chops and Pumpkin Pie Mousse with Toasted Pecans (including a recipe).
• Online nutrition tools have now extended beyond calories and fat, with additional perks like listing specific nutrients, the "fullness factor" and glycemic impact.

Sorry to say my kitchen has a big boo-boo right now and is out of commission. Go figure? As soon as I finally get in the kitchen, I have to leave. Long story short, there was a leak in our pipes which warped the floors in our bedroom and living room. The construction crews came in and tore up the place looking for the leak, leaving a trail of dust ad hardwood flooring everywhere.

So, in the meantime, I thought I would share one of my favorites recipes to entertain with during the fall and winter months: Meatball Sliders. Yes, I know they aren't novel or even my idea, but I don't think they are served enough at functions. Easy to make and minimal clean-up keeps me going back to these over and over.

Do you make your meatballs in big batches? I sure do. The next time you make one of those tantalizing batches of goodness, roll a dozen or more meatballs in mini form, simmer in sauce and freeze them. That way, the night before the party you can start defrosting them and you're all set to go. I slice up some mozzarella (I tend not to use fresh because of the high water content) and stick them in the oven.

Tips and recipe after the jump.

Scanned from Time to Entertain by Charlotte Turgeon (1954)

Fifty-four years after this printing, I'm hard-pressed to argue with Ms Turgeon on the import of having a few staple schmancy things tucked around the house, should mid-week meal boredom encroach or a party break out. Can't say I'm especially aligned with her specifics, but that could easily be a function of the 5+ decade divide.

I pride myself on being able to entertain at a moment's notice, due to the presence of these just-slightly-left of my central (olive oil, stock, Parmesan, fish sauce, double-black soy, tomato paste, rice/red wine/balsamic vinegars, fresh herbs) everyday ingredients.