6 Tips for Your New Year's Party

In our continuing blog series, "Holiday Entertaining," today we offer 6 tips to make your New Year's Eve or Day party cool, distinctive, and fun.

#1
If you want to serve a dinner, don't stress! Buy a pre-seasoned pork loin (as many as you need), and bake according to directions.  If side dishes aren't your strong point, buy several orders of an excellent pasta from a favorite restaurant and reheat (but when you reheat it, put a glop of butter on top before reheating, and cover to reheat--you'll thank me for this).  Maybe add a bought vegetable dish from an excellent restaurant or food emporium (reheat this with butter too).  Use nice plates, cutlery, glasses, and napkins, and everyone will be impressed and happy.

#2
For a fast, fun, no-cook dessert or to create a dessert bar, buy high quality frozen cheesecakes (such as from Costco or Trader Joe's), thaw a bit (not completely), then cut out small cheesecake bites with a square, round, star, or other shaped cookie cutter.  Avoid pre-made commercial cheesecake bites as they are cloying.  Cutting out these bites should not take you more than 15 minutes for a party of 25 guests or less.  And you can do the same thing with purchased brownies (best quality of course).  Then put the cut out cheesecake bites and/or cut out brownie bites on a tray or plates and sprinkle the cheesecake bites with cocoa powder and the brownie bites with powdered sugar.  People love the fun look of these little bites! And your creations will wow everyone, but aren't much work for you.

#3
Set up a champagne bar. There are several ways to do this.  One way is to set out bottles of champagne method beverages such as true Champagne, prosecco, cava, and sparkling wines.  Or choose a country or region where champagne method beverages are made and put out bottles of several different types from that country or region.  If you want to up it a notch, also put out fresh berries for people to put in their glasses with their champagne.  Or put out a tray of champagne cocktails (recipes abound on the web) as well, so your guests can try different variations on the champagne theme.

#4
In Spain it's traditional to begin eating a bunch of grapes when the clock begins striking midnight on New Year's Eve.  If you finish the grapes before the clock strikes midnight it's supposed to be good luck.  It's a fun activity with a group, anyway.  And you can even make the grapes part of the the decor of your party by putting the bunches, separated, on a tray, in cones, or on small plates and decorating with fresh berries.

#5
Party decor colors? Metallics and creams, of course, and we also like black and white, perhaps with touches of red or fuschia, as well as pale blue and silver or pale blue and midnight blue with gold accents.

#6
Tie long curling ribbon around the stems of your champagne flutes to make them festive too (just don't make the ribbons TOO long).

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Decor Ideas for End-Of-Year Gatherings

As the year draws to a close many of us will have gatherings of one type of another, for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day or even during this week, or next week. 

Some people leave their Christmas or Chanukah decorations as the same decorations for their end-of- or beginning of-year gatherings--and as long as they make the hosts and guests feel festive, why not?

Others change their decorations for their end-of-year gatherings, or did not decorate for Christmas or Chanukah. 

If you fall into the latter group, end-of-year or beginning-of-year gatherings present great opportunities to lift you and your guests out of the winter doldrums.

Traditional colors for end-of-year and beginning-of-year gatherings are cream, silver, and gold; in recent years, midnight blue has also become popular for decor for these parties.  But be careful not to use too much midnight blue as your gathering will look gloomy. 

Tablecloths, runners, trays, or other entertaining pieces can add "lightness" to your gathering, either by a light color (cream or pale gold cloth) or by the "shininess" of distinctive serving pieces.  End- and beginning-of-year parties are the best time of year to use stylish gold and silver serving trays and so forth as these colors are associated with that time of year, just as red and green, for example, are associated with Christmas. 

Or, for a "bridge" look, you can use red and gold or blue and gold.

A few years ago we did a Sunday afternoon tea for a neighbor at the beginning of January and did cream-on-cream tones with black and gold accents from pieces that the hostess owned, including a gold flower-shaped tray that held sherry glasses and sherry as well as the tea and sweets, and, as the day was overcast, everyone liked the design because they said it lifted them out of the winter blahs.

The thing to remember is, in most parts of the world the weather is dreary, so why invite guests to a dark cave for a party now?

But avoid brights for your end- or beginning-of-year gathering as they are jarring this time of year unless you live in a tropical climate.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Ideas 4 ur holiday sweets table? Central Market Truffle Assortment gift boxes & Dallas chocolatier choc Santas:
http://ping.fm/IECv2

Where to Buy Distinctive Last-Minute Holiday Serveware

OK, so despite the best-laid plans of mice and men you either have a planned holiday gathering and are still looking for a way to add a distinctive touch to your party or you've been hesitating and have finally decided to host a holiday gathering, but don't want it to look like a last-minute takeout fest.

Where to buy stylish serveware at this last minute? Don't despair.  With one trip you can be ready.

Budget

If you're on a budget and you like a more mod look, the place to go is IKEA.

Recommended:

• SVALKA goblets and champagne flutes--and here's an idea: serve any non-hot beverages, whether wine, champagne, a cocktail, or anything non-alchoholic, even water, in the flutes.  Your beverages will look so nice!
• Serving pieces: GROGGY stainless trays, ARV BROLLOP cake stand with lid and serving plates, IKEA 365+ serving plates, GOTTIS and MALTID serving bowls

Avoid anything plastic from IKEA or anywhere else as it doesn't look stylish (perhaps only if you're serving small children?)

Another place to check is Cost Plus World Markets--Their markdown prices are very good and they tend to have a wider selection of square, rectangle, and oval white porcelain serving pieces than IKEA, and sometimes have nice beaten gold trays from India, for example, that would go well with either traditional or mod holiday decor.

Not on a Budget

• Neiman-Marcus--ABSOLUTELY the best and most beautiful serveware in styles from traditional to mod and whimsical if you can afford it
• Pottery Barn
• Williams-Sonoma
• Crate & Barrel
• Sur La Table--And if you absolutely must use disposables at your gathering, their bamboo plates are a lovely golden color and will look wonderful as well as being eco friendly
• Department stores--They mark down right before Christmas, so you can pick up some great pieces at great prices

In our experience the mass retailers' serveware quality is not very durable, so we don't recommend it as it's a waste of money if it won't last at least a few years without breaking.  In fact, the IKEA serveware is more reliable and often less expensive than that of the mass retailers like Target and Wal-Mart.

One fell swoop to distinctive tableware for your gathering

To save time, check out websites and note what you like, then head to the store(s) and check out the sales table-you might find something you like better!

Then, armed with your new stylish serveware, you're ready to make your holiday gathering distinctive.

Enjoy.

Best wishes for a beautiful, delicious, and magical Christmas from all of us,

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com

Looking for distinctive stemware for your holiday event? Pottery Barn's rimmed coupes and goblets:
http://ping.fm/vf4eN

Red food color makes cupcakes dry; to avoid, Red Velvet Cupcakes w Buttermilk recipe:
http://bit.ly/34Goc3

8 More Beverage Ideas for Holiday Events

As we move in the last rush toward our holiday events, today we offer 8 more ideas for distinctive beverages to serve at holiday events.

Non Alcoholic

Sodas with a Twist
Buy bottles of Italian limoncello sodas, French Oranginas, Mexican Jarritos, Spanish KAS...And thus embrace an international theme.  You can achieve a wonderful effect with a rainbow of sodas.  Or go nostalgic and buy bottles of artisan root beer or your regional soft drink.

Orange Eggnog Punch
1 qt. eggnog
1 can (12 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed, or 2 cans of peach nectar
1 can (12 oz.) ginger ale

In pitcher mix eggnog and orange juice or peach nectar.  Pour in ginger ale and stir.

House Snapple
Make your usual recipe of lemon, sweetened iced tea.  Add 1-2 cans Jumex peach nectar and juice of 1-3 fresh oranges.  Taste and add more sugar if needed.

Cranberry-Lime Punch
Mix 1 large bottle cranberry or cran-apple juice, 1 can (12 oz.) ginger ale, and 1-2 scoops lime sherbert.  Stir to dissolve sherbert.  Add a little more sugar if needed.

Alcoholic

Irish Coffee
Still great in winter! And festive.  Coffee, Bailey's Irish Cream, whipped cream to garnish the cups.

Raspberry a Go Go
Stir together one bottle white wine, 2 small bottles raspberry beer or 1/2 cup Creme de Cassis, 1 small bottle ginger ale, and 1 pint raspberry ice cream. 

Hot Sangría
Make your favorite sangría recipe and add 2 cinnamon sticks and 1-3 tbsp., or to taste, of honey. Heat on low 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon and serve warm.

Coffee with Liqueur
In the European tradition, add a liqueur such as cognac, Amaretto, Frangelico, Gran Marnier, or eau-de-vie to hot coffee and stir.  Warms you right up.

Enjoy.

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com