Simplifying the season

Entertaining
Don’t hide from holiday hosting. Karen Rachlin of Bite Catering provides her advice for simplifying seasonal entertaining.

Buy seasonal, local and fresh ingredients
Take cues from the season when planning your menu. Sweet potatoes, squash, beets and hearty greens like kale abound. In-season items not only taste better, they are usually more economical.

Prepare your menus ahead of time
Knowing what you want to make in advance means you can shop earlier for dry and non-perishable items and have the opportunity to tweak the menu if problems arise.

Practice new recipes in advance
It’s great to experiment and serve new recipes, but don’t wait until the day of your big holiday bash to unveil your first-ever Coq au Vin. Make it at least once for a friend or family member to ensure you have flavours and cooking times perfected by the big day. 

Share the cooking
Encourage your guests to bring their favourite festive dish and let them show off how fabulous it is. This not only saves you time, but money, too and adds a personal element to your event.

Add an interactive element
For the most part, people don’t want to be glued to their chair all night. Karen suggests food and drink stations as a great touch for any event. Set up bowls of mixed greens, salad fixing (nuts, dried cranberries, feta cheese, chick peas) and dressings. Provide Chinese takeout boxes and chopsticks (or forks) so your guests can create their own favourite salad. You can also use this method to serve pasta or a grain (quinoa, for example) with a plethora of fresh fixings and sauces.

Read more in Food & Entertaining and Party Planner