This is the time of year when we entertain, sometimes casually for soup and sandwiches; other times, we'll wanting to make the extra effort to entertain with an elaborate menu. When I was first diagnosed as having diabetes, the idea of celebrating, let alone, celebrating with food and friends, was difficult for me. It was only after I decided to learn how to live with diabetes and hold on to who I was as an individual that I could begin to once again enjoy this part of my life. Entertaining can be nerve racking if you're not sure of what you're doing as you prepare the food and decorate, but with bit of planning, it can become second nature.
Once you have decided on your menu, read and reread your recipes and decide what can be made ahead and what has to be made at the last minute. Decide if you need help serving and cleaning up and get on the phone, very early at this time of year, to help make sure you can enjoy the evening with your guests, and not have to remain in the kitchen with your make up slowly melting or your temper heating up. What you can't do, outsource, just as in business today. Decorations can be ordered from a florist, hors d'oeuvres can be bought prepackaged, bread can be baked in the loving oven of a good bakery shop, and the butcher can trim and tie your roast.
The menu we share with you has pleased our family so much that there is no cousin, aunt, stepmother, or uncle who has not asked for its recipes. It looks elegant, is aromatic, and your guests will never believe that you have made a dinner that looks so beautiful and is healthy at the same time. One of its greatest assets for me is that the meal is served at room temperature so that I don't have to worry about keeping food iced or hot. To underscore the quality of this menu, let me share an experience that I had with my husband. I made this dinner for friends so that you could see pictures of it here on www.diabetic-lifestyle.com. That night, after our guests left, my husband said, 'That was the best meat I can remember eating, and I don't even like meat. How many slices did I have, anyway?' The next day at lunch, he looked up from his soup and salad at a local restaurant and said the exact same thing, and that night, as we were eating leftovers, he looked up again, and just smiled. It did this cook's heart good. The menu includes many recipes, but that does not mean that you have to partake of them all. We have tried to include something for everyone; that is if you do not eat meat, the rice salad, asparagus, and soup will still be memorable. You will need to decide what fits into your exchanges and make a plan of how to make it through the party with grace while still remaining on target for calorie and food group intake. This is easier than you think if you remember serving size and variety of food offered, and if you recall the admonition from last year that parties are social celebrations, so be social with those friends for whom you have planned this very special evening.
Let's plan this party. We have given you recipes for six people because it's easier to double recipes for larger parties than to half them, at least that's what the 'experts' say, and because it is so good you may wish to make it during the year for your family. The first thing I do after calling friends and deciding on the menu is to take out serving pieces and look to make sure they do not need polishing. Many of us do not use our best anything except at holidays and sitting in the buffet or in a closet they may not be as shiny as we wish. Remember the last time your took that bread dish out of its protector only to find out that it was tarnished and your guests were probably walking out their doors to come over? After you have all the silver polished, the crystal sparkling, the plates all examined, and your linens selected, it's time for some fun.
Now you can be creative with your centerpiece and flowers for the house. One holiday season, I filled a large crystal bowl with oranges and placed white flowers between the oranges. The scent of the oranges and flowers was wonderful. Another time we used vegetables and moss with candles down the middle of the table, still another time we used silver deer, candles, dried vegetation and pine cones. If elegance is your theme, try a bowl of gardenias floating with small votive candles in the crystal bowl and at each place setting. Use wired ribbons to enhance your theme. Flowers, and banks of poinsettias make for glorious splashes of color where they are placed. If you are serving buffet on a table, try making different levels and then covering the table with a cloth. To do this use flat boxes, trays, even shoe boxes to build up the structure. Just make sure that your structure is secure so that you don't wind up with trays of food falling on top of each other. When you cover the infrastructure and place your decorations and food on it, you'll be amazed with the results. Have plans for your table or buffet, places designated for the banks of flowers, CDs selected, the hall closet emptied for guests' coats, and the guest powder room readied with hand towels and shaped soaps.
With that all done you can order the meat and bread, buy the food, and start to cook ahead what you can. One suggestion that has helped me is to use entertaining as a reason for cleaning out the refrigerator before I go to the market. I'm still amazed each time I do this how many unneeded bottles and containers find refuge in the back of our refrigerator. Now you have room for prepared foods, marinating beef and everything else. The cooking is underway and you are ready for the night. Put on that killer smile of yours, pop a cork or two for your guests, and sit back and listen to the ooh and ahs. Good job, well done.
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
