December / 2001
Holiday Entertaining
Eat, Decorate, and Be Merry
by:  

As if perfectly planned, it snowed on the streets of Owensboro last year at Christmastime, a festive and unforgettable sight that RiverPark Center partygoers remarked on as they boarded the trolley to the next stop on their route.
In the business of making holiday party memories for others, RiverPark Center wanted to create some of its own. So its annual company Christmas get-together turned into a progressive holiday trolley party, with stops for cocktails and appetizers, entrée, and dessert at the homes of several board members.
"We spend time hosting other people's Christmas parties and making others' parties wonderful and nice," says Executive Director John Bolton. He helped planned the party for the management staff and crew members of the RiverPark Center, Owensboro's center for the performing arts. "We didn't want to have our party at the place where we're at all the time-that seemed too much like work. We thought a progressive party would be a way to get everybody out of the building and to other peoples' houses for a chance to socialize and get to know each other better."
"The trend has been toward holiday entertaining at home," notes Lisa Raterman, who owns an event management company in Ft. Wright. "And this season, because of the events of September 11, we're going to see a lot of home entertaining. People will want to open their homes to family and friends."
Raterman says that while the lavish or extravagant parties of the past may be off the holiday entertainment circuit, inviting company and companies over for seasonal good tidings is going to be very important.
"The whole focus is going to be about celebrating with friends and family-not about what side of the plate the fork goes on. It's going to be about a more relaxed, casual atmosphere."
Charlcye Hawk couldn't agree more. "In Kentucky at Christmas, we like to gather in old friends and family for an evening of good food, good music, and Southern shenanigans."
Last year, Hawk and her husband, Jim, hosted a cocktail buffet and carol singalong at their New Castle home, and the guests couldn't have cared less about proper fork placement; they were too busy chuckling over the family's holiday high jinks.
"My brother, David, tucked his trophy elk head into the covers of our downstairs bedroom. We simply told our guests that it was so cold one guest had already crawled under the covers. Everyone had a good laugh and some clever people used the antlers for a hat rack."
Humor is a handy ingredient that can add spice to any holiday party. The guest list is another. According to Hawk, the secret to any successful gathering is inviting "wonderful people who will participate in whatever you may be planning for the evening."
Organization also helps the hosts keep the party moving along-and in the direction in which they want it to go-and keep a sense of humor.
"If you intend to sing carols, make sure you have included lots of people who love to sing and perhaps a few good voices," suggests Hawk. "Supply either music books or copies of carols so everyone can follow along."
Guest lists and flow charts aside, the Hawks genuinely love to put out the welcome mat. Their holiday buffet is laden with traditional Kentucky foods like country ham on biscuits, cheese straws, hot pepper jelly on creamed cheese, and different family members' recipes for baked oysters, cheese balls, and cookies. New dishes, like bacon-wrapped dates and apple-mince pie, destined to become traditional favorites, wedge their way onto the buffet. Holiday décor is a harmonious blend of Hawk's heritage, which includes English, German, and French Huguenot ancestors.
"From the English, we Americans inherited the tradition of decking the halls with greens. I use pine, holly, boxwood, rose hips, sumac, ivy, and magnolia leaves. The Germans forced spring bulbs for Christmas so on the buffet table I decorate with silver baskets of holly and 'paperwhite' narcissus. The fragrance of the spring bulbs feels luxurious but this is actually very inexpensive."
"You can't beat sprigs of holly, especially the holly with red berries," adds Mary Riney, board member and treasurer at RiverPark Center. "You can place the holly in any room. I use this every year since I have several holly trees in my yard. Arrangements can be done at the last minute or ahead of time and they'll look nice for several days."
Riney and her husband, Ed, hosted the RiverPark party entourage for the main entrée, a catered feast headlined by Lemon Chicken Parmesan. In addition to a profusion of holly, Riney annually trims her home with silk poinsettias perched in brass planters and a collection of fragrant candles.
Clean and inviting scents, always an important element in creating ambiance in the home, become even more significant at Christmastime. Hawk feels her home simply isn't ready for the holidays until the aroma of cedar permeates the air.
"A childhood memory of my dad gathering a cedar tree from the farm for our Christmas is a precious one. Cedar is so fresh and smells green. I remember one year my mother made a paste of Lux soap powder snow to cover the branches. That was magical to a small child!
"Rely on your personal memories and your family's traditions to inspire you."
Riney agrees. One of her favorite holiday recipes was inspired by the first cookbook she ever owned, bought some 34 years ago when she "first set up housekeeping."
"It's a recipe for miniature pecan pies that was submitted by a Mrs. Catherine Booker in a book called Cooking Favorites of Daviess County Homemakers," she says. "I have had guests ask me if I will be making the pies for the party."
Riney says having an anticipated favorite food is one way to make a home feel warm and comfortable, which in turn makes the guests feel relaxed and welcome.
"I love using our fireplace when entertaining for the holidays for this reason," adds Riney. Her other suggestions: "Have music set at an easy-listen volume. Have plenty of food, especially snack-type foods, in various areas within easy reach. Have everything ready when your company comes, so you can enjoy the party as well. "
Hawk's best tip for hassle-free holiday entertaining and unharried hosts: "Just keep in mind that no one ever notices those flaws or inadequacies that you, the hostess, can so quickly catalog. Wonderful people, delicious food, and lots of laughter create the spirit of the season."

Decorations to Emphasize Easy Elegance
Kathy Roesel, an agent with the Kenton County Cooperative Extension Service, says that food has become a key focus in gift-giving and in decorating.

Cran-Brandy Snifters
Take large glass brandy snifter or other glass vase and fill one-third with water. Add fresh cranberries. Place small floating candle in the middle of the cranberries. Trim stem with greenery.

Floral Ice Bowls
Freeze water between two nested bowls (can be glass or metal). After partial freezing, remove from freezer and gently remove smaller bowl. Lightly press flowers into semi-frozen water and return to freezer. Serve seasonal fruit or other cold item in bowls.

Boughs of Holly
Gather holly, pine, ivy-whatever is available from your yard or farm. Drape the greens behind mirrors, around windows, over pictures, and in vases. Tuck bows in holiday colors into the greens.

Glass Mix Recipes
Try giving premixed food gifts this holiday season. Layer the dry ingredients for a favorite cookie, brownie, muffin, or other baking recipe in a glass container (i.e., flour, oatmeal, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and cloves for an oatmeal cookie recipe). Print the recipe on holiday card stock, roll up, and tie with a ribbon. Trim the jar with ribbon and recipe.

Favorite holiday recipes

Mini Skyline Bites

1 box Jif cornbread mix
1 can Skyline chili or other chili
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Prepare cornbread mix according to package instructions. Pour batter into small mini-muffin pan and bake as directed on box. Remove from oven and immediately push a thumbprint in the middle of each muffin. When ready to serve, place a teaspoon or so of chili in thumbprint and cover with shredded cheddar cheese. Heat in oven or microwave until cheese melts. Add a dollop of sour cream and serve.
Lisa Raterman, LA Raterman Event Management

Miniature Pecan Pies

Crust

1 cup plain flour
1 (3-oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 stick butter

Filling
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup light brown sugar

Mix all ingredients for crust. Roll into 24 balls and press into miniature muffin pans with fingers. Drop a few chopped pecans in each crust. Add one teaspoon of filling in each pie and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Mary Riney, RiverPark Center board member

Cheese Pate

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 chopped green onions
2 Tablespoons real bacon bits
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste

Cream together cheeses, mayonnaise, onions, bacon bits, and parsley. Spread in a baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Top as desired with cayenne and paprika. Bake at 300° for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite crackers.
Marilyn Mills, RiverPark Center board member

Rueben Dip

1 small jar or can (16 oz.) sauerkraut
8 oz. Swiss cheese, grated
1 cup Thousand Island salad dressing
2 (3-oz.) pkgs. corned beef, chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a baking dish. Bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot with rye crackers or small party rye bread slices.
Marilyn Mills, RiverPark Center board member

White Chocolate Party Mix

1 lb. white chocolate
3 cups Rice Chex cereal
3 cups Corn Chex cereal
3 cups Cheerios cereal
2 cups stick pretzels
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
1 (12-oz.) pkg. M&M's plain candy

Slowly melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water. Combine cereals, pretzels, peanuts, and M&M's in a large bowl. Slowly pour chocolate over mixture and stir evenly to coat. Spread the mixture on wax paper to cool. Break into small pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Marilyn Mills, RiverPark Center board member

Party Planning 101
Lisa Raterman, owner of an events management company in Ft. Wright, offers these tips for planning a hassle-free holiday party:

*Plan early. Decide what mood you want to set for the evening. Will the gathering be formal or informal? Is there a theme? Planning early is especially important if the hosts will seek outside support for music, food, decorations, etc.
*Know who your guests are so you're not serving beer and cheese to the duck a l'orange group. Also, make sure guests are compatible.
*Develop a time schedule for preparing the food. "You can't make everything the day of your party and expect to have a clean house," says Raterman. "Know what you can prepare ahead and freeze. As much as you can get done in advance is good."
*Provide an atmosphere that is about enjoying the holidays and the spirit of the year.

"The important thing is that people come, relax, and enjoy themselves. That's why it's important to know who's going to be at the party, what you want to accomplish, and what you want your guests to walk away with-and that's a sense of really having enjoyed themselves."