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Simple recipes and activities can be a big hit at holiday gatherings

If you have fancy tableware, by all means, bring it ouf for your party. But that doesn’t mean you have to overspend on the food you prepare and serve.

MCT photo

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Money is at a premium this holiday season, but even without a lot of cash, you can have a party that’ll be the talk of the neighborhood.
Here are a few ideas for foods to serve and ways to decorate on a budget.
In the November issue of Southern Living magazine, North Carolina cooking-school teacher Sheri Castle tells how to throw a party in which friends pitch in. This will work even if you have a tiny kitchen, Castle said in a phone interview from her home in Chapel Hill.
“Set up stations that have most of what they need, so they’re not rifling through drawers. It’s not like setting up for surgery. Have ingredients, knife and towel at the workstation. Everybody’s in the same room and can socialize.”
The menu Castle created for the magazine included beef-and-asparagus bundles and brie tartlets with grape relish, but she said she also has made grilled sausages, kielbasa, or chicken and apple sausages. Serve these with Jezebel sauce or flavored mustards.
“If that’s too exotic, and if you’ve got men around, serve Little Smokies in a honey and soy sauce,” she said.
Almost every party these days includes a block of cream cheese with something dumped on it, Castle said, but she has jazzed up that idea. Flatten a block of cream cheese between sheets of foil or plastic wrap. Spread with pepper jelly, roll it up, and decorate the top with fruit or nuts.
“It’s not any more expensive, but it blows people away. It’s the simplest thing in the world. You can take something you already have and make it look a little bit different, and it’s party food.”
“At our grocery stores, we have packaged crepes, and you can do a million things with crepes. You can spread them with Nutella and fold into a handkerchief fold. Brush with butter, and pop into the oven until warmed through and the ends are lightly browned and crispy.
“We took little red potatoes and simmered them until done, like for potato salad. With the bottom of a glass or a tea towel, crush to the thickness of a potato pancake. Not mashed. They will be little rounds with scalloped edges. Brush with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for a few minutes, and top with sour cream, bacon, smoked salmon, or anything you put in a potato skin,” Castle said.
Miniature biscuits are a hit at Castle’s parties. Make miniature biscuits and add sausage or ham, or make sweet-potato biscuits and spread with chutney and white Cheddar cheese. Cut out the dough with a 1 1/2-inch cutter.
“Everybody will eat a biscuit,” she said.
In Castle’s neighborhood, when they light the luminarias, she has a hot-chocolate party. Castle makes “real” hot chocolate and puts out candy canes, M&Ms, Godiva chocolate liqueur and Grand Marnier. You can use a variety of cups that don’t match or use paper cups.
Another “affordable” party idea that lets the guests participate is a fondue party. The hostess simply preps a few ingredients, and the guests do the rest.
Lexington cooking instructor Phil Dunn had a special request for a fondue class and will be teaching how to make savory and sweet fondues.
“We are going to set up a series of fondue pots. It seems to be popular again, and it will look great, as I have a large granite island which everyone can either stand around or sit at tall bar stools. For a smaller area, a lazy susan would be good to have for the items being used in the fondue pots to be circulated on.”
In recent years, sales of fondue pots have skyrocketed, according to Ilana Simon, author of the “The Fondue Bible” (Robert Rose, $22.95). “Fonduing is a fun and easy way to entertain and is more sociable than your typical dinner party,” Simon said.
“I love throwing a fondue party, because on top of it being a wonderful sociable and relaxing dining experience, it is also an economical way to entertain,” Simon said.
You can serve high-quality beef tenderloin, chicken breast or shrimp to your guests, because one pound of your choice will easily serve four people at a fondue party. Serve your fondues with a green salad and rice pilaf, and vegetables for dunking.
At the end, add soaked rice stick noodles and any remaining vegetables or meat to the fondue broth and simmer for several minutes to create an amazing soup that is perfect for lunch the next day. A chocolate fondue is easy on the hostess and the pocketbook and is the ultimate closer, she said.
If you are planning a large fondue dinner party, you can serve the fondue buffet style. Cheese fondue works particularly well for larger groups. The fondue pot can be placed in the center of the dining room table on a heatproof mat or baking stone, with other appetizers nearby. Guests can come up to the table to dip and dunk cubes of French bread and vegetables into the delectable, creamy cheese fondue and sample some of the other appetizers, Simon said.
Another new fondue cookbook out this fall is “Fondue” by Lou Seibert Pappas (Chronicle Books, $14.95). She has a menu for a tree-trimming supper that features a classic Swiss cheese fondue, served with a green salad with red and gold cherry tomatoes, crusty French bread, and apple crisp with Calvados whipped cream.
After the menu is set, think about inexpensive decorations. Instead of elaborate centerpieces, do something at each place setting. Place single tulips or any single flower, and a lot of them, around the house.
“All one color,” florist and decorator Curtis Grace said. “Tulips are beautiful at Christmas. I love them. It’s a perfect time to get stuff out of your yard. Dried branches. Evergreen. Pine cones. Things that are dried in the yard are really pretty.”

“I love throwing a fondue party, because on top of it being a wonderful sociable and relaxing dining experience, it is also an economical way to entertain.”

Ilana Simon

Author