Then you’ll have a little baby lamb chop that you can pick up with its own utensil. I might get four Frenched racks of lamb, roast them off and make a big sauce. ![]() I like heavy enough for dinner but served in appetizer portions. I don’t love big sit-down dinners at the holidays. Either that or it’s sit-down with maybe six people. I like to go heavy on hors d’oeuvres so if you didn’t eat dinner you felt like you’d eaten something. I have this big platter of cheese balls and all kinds of things to eat them with. This year, I put the goat cheese one in chopped parsley, and then I rolled the chutney one in chopped cranberries so then you have green and red. And then I’ll roll then in different things. And I might mix one with goat cheese and scallion. One might have Roquefort and cognac and a little shallot. Then I divide it into two or three balls and I personalize each ball. I start with a base mixture that basically has cream cheese, butter and seasoning. LSQ: Don’t laugh, but one of my favorite things to do are cheese balls. Switching gears a little, I wanted to ask you about the type of party you like to host around the holidays. Something like that just shows, “Oh, I thought about it and I put my hands on it.”ĬOTS: It’s simple, but it’s still lovely and, like you said, it’s not something that someone has to serve that night. Even if you just have almonds or pecans in your pantry all you need is salt, sugar, a little bit of spice and you’ve got a spiced nut that you can put in a recycled old jam jar. I simply don’t have too much time, so that’s why I look for simple things like, for example, spiced nuts. A little handmade touch shows that you have taken some time. To me, the biggest gift that we can give to people at this stage of the game is time. That’s why when I show up somewhere I don’t try to outdo or prove anything. I’m happy if you make a pot of beans for me if I’m not making it myself. LSQ: I’m such a simple person in my heart. When the Executive Food Director for Martha Stewart Living shows up at their house I imagine some people are a little on edge about how their party goes. It looks like it’s a gift, it isn’t just meant to be used that night.ĬOTS: Plus, it’s got that personal touch without a whole lot of effort on your part. Even if it only sits one day and they want to use it it’s great. So you’ve got the clear with the beautiful lemon peel. Then I just put the lemon peel in the vodka, buy a nice-shaped bottle, take off the commercial label, clean up the bottle and put on a bow. I buy vodka and a bunch of Meyer lemons and I just peel off the peel and try to do it in a nice circular sort of spiral. Around this time of year I do the simplest, simplest thing. LSQ: I always think about bringing something that’s not going to complicate the hostess’ life. What do you typically like to bring as a hostess gift when you’re invited to somebody’s house around the holidays? I didn’t grow up with that but I just started doing it myself and then my family just loved it.ĬOTS: I wanted to ask you about when you attend gatherings. It’s one of those things about building traditions – if I tried to stop doing that I would have a riot on my hands. I can’t even make enough of them anymore. And then it gives off all those drippings and I make individual Yorkshire puddings. It’s actually quite easy to cook if you handle it properly. Only once a year would I buy something like that. So I make a big Italian feast for Christmas Eve and then for Christmas Day we have a six-rib standing rib roast. We have our traditions for Christmas Eve: we do the Italian side of the food chain on Friday night and then we do the English side on Saturday. ![]() Lucinda Scala Quinn: Normally, we stay in New York. You’ll find a great recipe for Panettone French Toast at the end of this post.Ĭooking On the Side: What are you and your family planning to do for the holidays this year? A spokesperson for Bauducco Panettone, Lucinda also shared some tasty ways to enjoy the sweet, Italian specialty cake during the holidays. Whether you’re attending a holiday party this week and need ideas for the perfect hostess gift or you’re looking for a homey comfort dish to serve on Christmas morning our interview will give you some great options. ![]() Holiday entertaining tips and traditions were the topics of a lovely conversation I had last week with Lucinda Scala Quinn, Executive Director of Food & Entertaining at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, cookbook author and host of Hallmark Channel’s Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn.
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