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    • Ideas for Serving Appetizers
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  • Home
  • Services
    • Wedding Catering
    • Corporate Event Catering
    • Breakfast Catering
  • Mexican and Tex-Mex
    • Loaded Nachos
    • The Staples of Mexican Food
    • Cheese Enchilada
    • Turkey Empanadas
    • Empanadas with Cheese and Spinach
    • Breakfast Quesadilla
    • The Art of the Tortilla
    • Cuban Mojo Chicken
    • Shredded Chicken Tacos
  • Cocktails and Drinks
    • The Punch Bowl
    • How Much Alcohol You'll Need For Your Party
    • Port Wine
    • Bloody Mary and Spicy Pepper Margarita
    • Blood Orange Margarita (with Habanero)
    • Eggnog Cocktails
    • Strawberry Mojito and Strawberry Daiquiri
    • Airplane Daiquiri
    • French and German Wines
    • Mango Mai Tai
    • Mexican Coffee
  • Desserts and Sweets
    • Layer Cakes
    • Chocolate Nut Gateau
    • Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
    • Molten Chocolate Cake
    • Chocolate Pudding Squares
    • Peanut Butter Pie
    • Tips for Buttercream Frosting
    • How to Bake Macarons
    • Chocolate Fudge
    • Making Chocolate Pie
    • Red Velvet Bundt Cake
    • Types of Pies
    • Red Velvet Cheesecake and Pumpkin Cheesecake
    • Oreo Cheesecake
    • Pumpkin Crumble Pie
    • How to Make Cinnamon Rolls
    • Dessert Flavors
    • Cappuccino Brownies
    • Meringue Cookies
    • Baking Cheesecake
    • Skillet Super Cookie
    • Turtle Cheesecake
    • How to Bake Chocolate Cake
    • Tips For Baking Cookies
    • No-Egg Cookie Dough
    • How To Bake Cupcakes
    • Pineapple Coconut Chess Pie
    • Homemade Snickers Bar
    • Apple Empanadas
    • Nutella Cheesecake
  • Burgers
    • Black Bean Burger
    • Barbecue Ranch Burger
    • Bacon Burger
    • Blue Cheese Burgers
    • Sloppy Joes
    • Swiss Onion and Mushroom Burger
  • Meat and Fish
    • Beef Pot Roast
    • Benefits of Slow Cooking
    • Chicken Liver Mousse
    • Poached Chicken à la Crème
    • Beef Tenderloin and Squash Soup
    • How to Butter Baste Meat
    • Herb Roasted Chicken
    • Making Chicken with Orange Liqueur
    • How to Cook Chicken
    • How to Cook Salmon
    • Paleo Salmon Cakes
    • Chicken Meatballs
    • Spiced Beef
    • Thanksgiving with Whoopi Goldberg
    • 11 Ways to Cook
    • What is Slow Food?
    • Basics of Soup
  • Bread and Starches
    • Pasta with Cajun Chicken
    • Bread-Making Terminology
    • How to Cook Pasta
    • How to Cook Grits
    • Baking Bread
    • Cheesy Chicken Pasta Casserole
  • Eggs and Cheese
    • Poutine
    • Blue Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
    • Soufflé
    • How to Make the Croque Monsieur
    • Baked Mac and Cheese
    • Avocado Grilled Cheese
    • Big Grilled Cheese
    • Deviled Eggs Recipe
    • Ham and Cheese Omelet
    • How to Scramble Eggs
    • How to Cook Eggs
    • Fondue Ideas
  • Asian
    • The Tradition of Bibimbap
    • Chicken Satay
    • Sweet Coconut Balls
    • Making Dumplings
    • Fried Wontons
    • Chicken Kababs
    • Chicken Triangle Appetizers
    • Flavored Yogurts
    • Spiced Roast Lamb
    • Shrimp Dumplings
  • African
    • Moroccan Chicken Bastilla
    • Kefta Briouat
  • Middle Eastern Dishes
    • Chicken Shawarma
    • Turkish Cigarette Pastries
    • How to Make Falafel
    • Turkish Coffee
  • Entertaining and Catering
    • Catering Venues
    • How to Be a Host
    • Easy Entertaining Ideas
    • Summer Party Ideas
    • French Service
    • Catering a Buffet
    • The Catering Customer's Needs
    • Ambience in Entertaining
    • Flowers for Table Decoration
    • Ideas for Serving Appetizers
    • Spring Lunch
  • About Us
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Ambience for Entertaining

Believe it or not, there are actually worthwhile books out there about entertaining, containing some good advice and food for thought. In this post we're including an excerpt from one of these books regarding the importance of creating ambience when you are playing host. This excerpt is from the book "Veranda Entertaining" and is written by Clinton Smith:

Ambience

Pouring champagne at an outdoor candlelight dinner.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong when you entertain - a lot - whether it’s brunch, lunch, dinner, cocktails, or even breakfast in bed. I’ll discuss the entire list throughout, but in the meantime, there is one important thing that you can control: ambience. When it’s done correctly, nobody will notice (sorry!), but if you get it wrong, you’ll be the talk of the neighborhood (and not in a good way - again, sorry!). Call it what you will - mood lighting, candlelight, dinner under the stars. And create it however you can - flickering votives, pendants on dimmers, moonlight, flameless pillars. Ambience is simple and straightforward, yet many people dismiss it, ignore it, or forget it. There are so many other unknown variables when you entertain - invitations lost in the mail, last-minute cancellations, mess-ups in the kitchen, soufflés that fall flat - so make ambience your first priority and check it off your list ahead of time. 

It’s probably the one thing you can do a month in advance! But note: If you only see your dining room or entertaining space in the daytime and are planning on entertaining at night, don’t be surprised if the picture-perfect evening you envisioned doesn’t live up to the dream. A friend of mine always found her dining room too dark, so she created a table runner out of small mirrors to reflect the flickering candlelight. The effect was stunning, and everyone looked their best. 

Appetizers

Finger foods, canapés, hors d’oeuvres. Whatever you call them, they prove the adage that good things come in small packages. But a few words of advice If you have waitstaff serving, don’t choose anything that requires more than one hand to eat. Your guests will have to come up with awkward, acrobatic moves to juggle their wineglass and a plate while trying to hold a beef slider with both hands - it’s neither a pretty nor a gracious scene. And please don’t pass nibbles that require guests to think about where to stash a dirty toothpick, shrimp carcass, or empty skewer afterward; provide them with an easy solution for disposal, even if it’s just an extra napkin. Finally, make sure you offer enough food to balance out the alcohol consumed during cocktail hour. No one enjoys a tipsy dinner companion. 

Basics

What do you need to entertain? Whether it’s a successful party for a dozen or a casual inner for a few friends on a Tuesday night, preparedness is key. If you’re always scrambling to put something together, you’ll never do it right. Being a great entertainer and host is about having a well-stocked pantry and bar at the ready. (Don’t forget the mixers!) Being able to call upon a cadre of recipes that you can prepare in a flash will make everything much easier and less daunting. If you’re not a cook, a roast chicken from the local market can be a lifesaver. One of the best dinner parties I ever attended was when the host served thin flatbread pizzas with Gruyére and ham and a lightly dressed arugula salad along with a few bottles of Chianti. Luckily, she confided the pizza’s provenance - her grocer’s freezer. One other rule of entertaining: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether it’s calling upon the prepared-foods section at the market or hiring someone to man the bar and serve drinks (and assist with cleanup), having extra hands to help out can go a long way in making for a stress-free evening.
- from "Veranda Entertaining" by Clinton Smith
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