Friday Feast - Lent Special

After-work entertaining usually requires significant amounts of planning, pre-making and freezing, but when an opportunity for an impromptu dinner for two pre-party trixies came up, I couldn't pass it by.

Though I normally reserve Fridays for frozen pizza and red wine, the (rudely) cold weather called for something a little heartier, and something that might do me a solid if I decided to go above my two-drink maximum.

I chose a risotto recipe that I got from my fancy friend Lilliam, who should be emulated in all kitchens everywhere, and dress it up with some Friday-friendly shrimp and asparagus. Risotto is a fancy-sounding dish that is easy to make if you have 45 minutes to spend stirring.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and a few table tricks that made my mid-move apartment seem slightly homier than the construction site that it is. Bon apetit!

The risotto itself is delicious, but as with all things, butter makes everything better.

With minimal preparation, setting the half of the table that wasn't piled up with boxes and casual dining dishes added an element of preparedness when, truthfully, I took a two-hour nap after work. A personal preference - all white dishes are the best things you can buy - they match everything. The napkins? TJ Maxx!

Chalkboard cups (Solo ones don't count unless your main dish is a keg of Busch Lite) are an easy way to assign seats without seeming controlling - because as you know, I'm not controlling.

A sign of a good friend is one that knows what white wine you would pick to pair with a seafood dish - how lucky I am to have a friend who knows that Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is items one through five on my list of favorite things.

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Lilliam's Risotto Recipe
You may be more comfortable in the kitchen than I am, but if you're a novice, the best thing you can do is follow recipes. Food network-watchers always try to get creative with spices and end up making something interesting... definitely interesting. I follow Lilliam's dummy-proof instructions to the letter, and recommend that you do, too.

5 cups vegetable stock (chicken stock will work)
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup plus 2 tblsp arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 tblsp butter

Bring the vegetable / chicken stock to simmer in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to very low and keep warm. Heat olive oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rice to onion and garlic, stir for about one minute. Add wine and stir until absorbed (about 30 seconds).

Add the simmering broth to the onion, garlic and rice 1/3 cup at a time (this is important - don't just dump it all in). Simmer until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy, allowing each 1/3 cup of broth to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring often. Once all the stock is added, remove from heat. Mix in the butter and parmesan cheese and season generously with salt and pepper.

That's it!

Ok, I know I told you not to mess with Lilliam's recipe, and hope you didn't... BUT. If you like some flavors more, be generous. I happen to like wine, cheese and butter like any good, corn-fed Midwestern girl, so I go a little heavier on that.

Also, for last night's risotto, under Lilliam's advice, I added the juice of one lemon, some shrimp (I used frozen) and roasted asparagus. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Five items for easy entertaining: Crate & Barrel

Emily Post once wrote about entertaining in an under-prepared kitchen. Given, she meant for people who didn't have a KitchenAid mixer (circa 1800) in their country house, but the point stands: it's hard to entertain if you don't have the supplies to do it.

I hate spending money on kitchen stuff. Hate it. I have a sick obsession with wine glasses and kitschy cocktail napkins, but beyond that, I'm lucky if I have as many matching plates as I do friends (and I'm not that popular).

Over the last few years, though, I've picked things up that are either essential to the process of preparing a party, or that have made my life so much easier that they're worth holding off on new J.Crew skinny jeans until next week.

Every once in a while, I'll be bringing these items to your attention (by store, for organized shopping). I hope you'll share some of your favorites with me - after all, getting to entertainment easy street is an evolution, not a revolution.

Here are my picks from Crate & Barrel: 


Two-piece chip and dip
As lovely as a Tostio's bag looks on the cocktail table, this pretty glass chip and dip makes even the most store-bought salsa look a little fancy. I have a few of these (unfortunately not this one... yet) and have found that they can house much more than chips and dips, like this one stocked with tasty little empanadas. ($36.95)

Place Cards: 
The most important part of your party is the food. Trust. All I care about in life is food, so if I'm full, the house can burn down and I'll still thank you for a marvelous evening. However, I've found that occasionally, it's the little touches that most people don't think of that get the most attention. These reusable place card holders can be stocked with any paper to create a seating arrangement and add a little control to the table (not that I'd ever want to control people...). Use your work paper cutter to cut a bunch of ivory card stock into sizes you like and keep them on hand for impromptu impressing. ($9.95 for four)

8x10 Picture Frames
Okay, so you probably don't need to pick this up at C&B, but having this frame on hand for buffet-style dinners will save you explaining the extravagant menu you've put together. Simply write or type the menu (be funny - guys totally dig funny) on a regular sheet of paper and frame it by the food. You can acknowledge vegetarian vs. meat dishes, feta vs. goat and the presence of gluten without standing intimidatingly over people's plates. ($24.95 - check outlet for better deals)

Tiered Cupcake Stand
Saying goodbye can be such sweet sorrow, but this sweet little cupcake stand will leave you parting on the right note. It's more reusable than fresh flowers and won't block anyone's view. Whether you slaved over homemade cupcakes, picked some up at Magnolia or threw in some Betty Crockers, this tiered cupcake stand doubles as a lovely centerpiece to remind guests to save room for dessert ($29.95).

Stackable coffee mugs
Once dinner has been served and people are starting to slow down on the wine (not that my friends and I ever slow down on wine), offering coffee is a sobering signature end to a great meal. But just try carrying all those mugs back to the table - just try. You won't be able to, unless you have this trip-saving stacking mugs set. How smart is that? ($19.95)

Six solid finds on Craigslist - March Madness

If traditional online shopping has your pocketbook in a pinch, you may be familiar with a  little friend o' mine: Craigslist.org.

If you also happen to be one of the seven people on the site not looking for apartments or one night stands, there are some solid finds to be had. I've pulled a few pieces you might be interested in, and hope you'll send along a few you like.

I skipped the guillotine since it looked, uh, pre-used - but if that's your thing, just search for it. 

Happy shopping!

German Barmaid Wine Rack 

If you ich spreche ze Deutsche and have a fondness for kitsch, head out to Cedar Lake and check out this wonderfully weird German Barmaid wine rack, which holds two bottles of wine and two hanging glasses and a serving tray. Ain't she pretty? ($60)

Vintage 1950s Sevron China

I'm not familiar with Sevron, but a quick search tells me it's America's Distinctive Dinnerware. I may not be very distinguished, but I think this blue lace China would be perfect on an Easter table. ($65 for 46 pieces)

Patio cups, and a carrier too

Maybe I'm still reeling from St. Patrick's Day, but I'm obsessing a bit about this gold leaf drink set, probably a leftover from the 1950s. They look margarita-ready - perfect for patio dining, no? ($30)

1945 Military Letters

If you're a history buff or a romantic, you may be interested in these frameable letters from Alburta Baldwin to Captain Eugene Baldwin. Though he never received these sealed-with-a-kiss letters, donning your walls with her well wishes may bring some of the love from her to him, to you and yours. 

1960 Saks Fifth Avenue Dress

It's not my particular style, but this 1960s dress from the timelessly overpriced Saks Fifth Avenue has finally gone on sale. It's silk, chiffon and size 8. ($45 - photo is from back)

Photo is of back

Vintage Sheet Music

Whether you want to gather your friends around for some ivory tickling or just frame something kind of cool at Christmastime, this original sheet music and jacket set of Frank Sinatra's "Let it Snow" may be an interesting add to your collection. ($45)

Tales from the Bunker: Corporate event planning tips for parties big and small

If the title of today’s post brings to mind images of dark, dank rooms full of weapons and intense people, you’re not wrong. But you’re also probably not picturing the central hub of a Corporate event planner’s on-site office.

Ok, ok, maybe it’s not that dark and the only weapons we have are our laptops, Blackberries, walkie talkies and breathing techniques, but if you’ve ever planned a large scale corporate event, you know it’s not for the faint of heart.

As I mentioned in the inaugural post, hosting a dinner for two can be as elaborate and labor-intensive as a luncheon for two hundred (depending on how much you like the second person). Having spent several years (and a couple hundred sleepless nights) in Corporate event planning, I’ve found that the lessons from one often translate to the other.

No request is too big.

Oh, you need your flight re-booked? You need me to ask six restaurants whether they’re totally Kosher, including an itemized list of dishes cooked in each pot and pan? You want a nice girl sent up to your room? Though I’m kidding about the last one, those in the luxury lane of life are perfectly comfortable asking requests of you that may seem a little… intense.

Once upon a Miami meeting, I was loading a group of power execs onto a bus to take them dining at the Delano when an emergency struck – no, really, someone had a heart attack. Everything ultimately turned out fine (though I almost needed to go splitsies with him on the defibrillator), but over the next few days, he asked us to re-book his flights to Spain, Ibiza and Africa, bring his items from the hotel to the hospital and call his family. I’m pretty sure if my time in SoFla hadn’t ended, I would have been filing his toenails before sunset the next day.

As a hostess, you’re always happy to help – especially in a trying time for a guest. But managing requests and making the guest comfortable with an 80% solution (umm… can I just email your wife?) will save you hours at the event and years on your life.

People have crazy preferences, and your job as the hostess is to get as close to making everyone happy as you can. Knowing peoples’ food allergies, frenemy situations and aversions to indoor / outdoor dining creates a seamless event with few to no last minute complaints.

No request is too small.

Not every 911 is an actual heart attack.

For instance, I once had a client approach me prior to a meeting in a Scottsdale hotel and ask me to go up to his room to see if he left his watch there. I wasn’t born yesterday and knew there was an 80% chance I’d end up chained to the bath tub until the maids found me when he checked out, but the client is always right (except about leaving his watch in his room – he was wearing it).

I’ve also had people calling my cell phone at three in the morning to print their boarding pass for noon the next day, knock on my door because someone went without a USA today and have headed back to the bunker in my PJs to answer some AV questions that just couldn’t wait.

Try very hard to accommodate people, and if it’s friends who cross the line into high maintenance, think very carefully about your next guest list.

And also, in hindsight, my place of yes mentality got the best of me in that situation – I had no business in that businessman’s hotel room and should have said no.

Eat.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the thousand and one tasks that you have to complete before the doorbell rings, but keeping your strength up will make you a) more effective and less tired, and b) less drunk when you start hitting the happy hour wine. Most meals start in the morning for the hostess doubling as a chef / maid / coat-check girl / delightful companion, so eating some healthy, whole foods throughout the day will ensure that your Susy Homemaker persona isn’t a Lazy Susan by the time the dirty dishes demand your attention.

Get over it.

My strategy for large and small events is to proactively prepare for every, single possible situation that could arise, from rain to the Rapture, and then to stay calm reactively when the one thing I didn’t prepare for happens.

Think of the heart attack above, or one of the clients having it out in a hallway with your keynote speaker, who happens to be a very powerful and controversial politician. An event planner’s mantra has to be somewhere between the boyscout’s “always be prepared” and Forrest Gump’s “shit happens.”

When something goes wrong, fix it, go to the bathroom and quietly freak out, then come out and start dealing with other crises, like a missing name badge.

Enjoy.

There’s no question that certain times during an event will be stressful, but that’s part of the fun. Indulge yourself when you can, whether it’s with a minute of starstruck staring at Patrick Dempsey in the lobby of the Waldorf or leaving a few dishes in the sink while you actually enjoy your meal. 

Visions of Summering (even though we're still Spring-ing)

Though it may only be March, the weather is marching on like May, and with all this Summer-like weather, visions of summering are dancing in my head early this year.

Summering is one of the most brilliant concepts introduced by our first world foremothers, in which women pack up the family station wagon before Memorial Day and go about the business of creating a second-house home for the kiddies until August threatens to become everything after.

Sorry guys, someone’s gotta stay in Gotham to make that green - I mean, you have two houses.

The real housewives all do it, and so I obviously want to emulate. Though (rudely) no one has offered to sweep me out of the workforce and onto the Michiana shores for the fairer months, by grace of generous family, I get away for a couple weeks each year to lovely and idyllic New Buffalo, Michigan.

Inevitably, we want to share this shared wealth with friends and yet more family, so end up entertaining. In terms of beach house decorum, flip flops are fine, paper plates are passable and grilling is an acceptable solution to any meal worth eating.

For casual entertaining, these are a few of my favorite things (don’t judge me on my muumuu - it’s a summer house).

Beach Toys: Part of the fun of being away is having full days to do nothing but play. Providing toys (for human and other guests) can add an element of excitement to anyone who isn't content to kick back with a Nora Roberts trilogy for the week. Though it may only be March, the weather is marching on like May, and with all this Summer-like weather, visions of summering are dancing in my head early this year.

Wine (duh): If you're lucky enough to be staying the whole summer, you may not want to wash down breakfast with wine every morning, but what better way to relax on vacation than with a glass of cheap white? Having a few cute plastic wine glasses (though I love the ones below, monogrammed for my darling fairy godparents) can save you from adding to the assortment of beach glass with your favorite crystal stems. 

Burgers (double duh): Whether traditional or more creative (like my favorite turkey burger pictured below), burgers are a summer staple and require no more thought than whether guests prefer cheese or no cheese (also a good personality litmus test - what kind of serial killer goes no cheese?). 

Facilities: 

Though the great wide bathroom on the horizon works for most, some guests are squeamish about bathrooms, used towels and other natural parts of lake house living (squares). Make sure you have the things that people should bring for themselves, but will often forget - including beach towels, sunscreen, Diet Coke and, obviously, Amstel Lighte. 

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Make the most of each post-Memorial Day moment, because remember... this: 

soon turns into this: 

For more on being an excellent guest (aka getting invited back), check out the Posts on Post guide to guesting.

Wardrobe Malfunction

Ok, maybe it's a mixing bowl malfunction, but either way, you probably didn't factor in a costume change to your already tight timeline.

Most people connect aprons to their 85-year-old grandmothers or the strings that connect boyfriends to their doting mothers, but a cute apron can make prevent last minute outfit changes (especially if you're frying something) and be a cute conversation piece for friends and family.

No matter the occasion, an apron is a functional and fashionable accessory that might someday save your silk t-shirt.

A few I like are:

Fluttered chambray apron, Anthropologie, $19.95

Funky Chicken Kitchen Accessory, World Market, $9.95 (store-to-store availability)

Traditional chef's apron, William Sonoma, $19.95

And if it's a sexy party... 

Kitchen Threadz (endorsed by RHONY Sonja Morgan), kitchenthreadz.com, $100

Hi, welcome, can I take your coat?

"The real problem is in giving the innumerable casual and informal dinners for which professionals are not only expensive, but inappropriate. The problem of limited equipment would not present great difficulty if the tendency of the age were toward a slower pace, but the opposite is the case; no one wants to be kept waiting a second at table, and the world of fashion is growing more impatient and critical instead of less." -- Emily Post, Etiquette

Hostessing can be as much as a ten-person, ten-course sit-down dinner, or as small as a completely un-hyphenated beer on the front steps. Either event can be made as complicated or as simple as it is seen in the beholder’s eye.

“There’s a certain lady magic,” said my friend Cara once at a casual champagne brunch for 12, “that tells people when it’s time to stand up and help clear plates that I don’t have.”

She may have been wrong about her own possession of it, but she was right that there’s a certain instinct, whether for ladies, gentleman or barbarians in aprons, that lets people know how to eat, drink and be appropriately merry in pleasant company.

If you feel that something missing in your nature or nurture precludes you from having people over to your studio, townhouse or mansion and hosting them comfortably, then welcome.

Hosts is the new sister site to Posts on Post, an urban etiquette guide for people living, commuting and socializing in a city that is far too often rude. In short, how to behave. Here, rather than day to day etiquette, I’ll provide easy, accessible ideas for hosting polite company, no matter how limited your equipment, resources or space.

As someone who loves to entertain, but also loves throwing clothes on the floor, I have stumbled upon every shortcut, trick and last minute quick-fix in the book, all while keeping everyone’s wine glass full. In my years spent as a Corporate event planner, bridesmaid and poor man’s socialite, I’ve learned to be detailed, thorough and to not sweat anything smaller than the house being actually, literally on fire.

I hope this will resonate with you, and that you’ll try out some of my ideas while sending me some of your own. And of course, if there’s anything I can get you while you’re here, don’t be shy.