My easiest entertaining tip goes hand in hand with all the desserts we featured last week. The most important part about entertaining is the interaction, so if you don't have time to throw a lavish dinner party, just stick to sweets. A few friends, an hour after work, and something sweet to munch on makes for a lovely get-together.
And I don't even make the dessert myself! For that I turn to my local Strawberry Hill bakery in Kansas, who make the best Povitica. Not in Kansas City? You can also find them at Costco or online.
Tell us: if you're going to clean your house would you rather serve a full meal? Or are you happy with something small, simple, and sweet?
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Luckily, I have a genetic predisposition (or a Croatian grandmother and mother who taught me well ;-) for making povitica. It's just one of those heavenly desserts that isn't too sweet, accompanies coffee well, and wows all who aren't in the know about nut roll. (Plus they freeze incredibly well.) I highly recommend it for entertaining a few people.
Personally, whether I'm serving a full meal or a simple, sweet treat I clean my home. We live in a loft so every little mess shows. I know my friends don't care if our home is clean, but I feel more at ease when it is.
Now, whether to serve a full meal or something simple and sweet? Hm, while I am perfectly content eating simply, I feel pressure to provide guests with so many options and inevitably serve a full meal. With male guests this seems to be a necessity. They eat SO MUCH.
I would serve sweet treats like this if friends turned up out of the blue before 6pm. If I specifically invite people over and they make the effort to come, I offer a full meal, and I would consider the host pretty lazy/mean if was invited for dinner and was offered only a selection of cakes. Not to say that this type of gathering might not be very convivial (for a tea-time get-together perhaps), but I would not consider offering a selection of sweets an acceptable substitute for a "lavish dinner party". And I don't get that you would prioritize cleaning your house over cooking something delicious for your guests.
I do, however, often buy a fabulous starter and dessert.
Tea! One of my favorite "parties" this past winter was having a couple of friends over for leftover Christmas cookies and tea in pretty teacups and saucers.
I often have parties where I make the bulk of the savory snacks and ask people to bring potluck dessert (only if they ask what they can bring) and booze. Unfortunately, many of my friends are not foodies like me, so they bring store-bought cake or cookies which are just not as good as homemade. I just wish I had the time and the will to do it all!
Maybe a dessert party really is what I need, so I can make lots of different types of desserts and wow my friends. ;)
My staple for tea and entertaining is... The Filthy Brownie
Utterly decadent and wicked, its a great conversation maker and goes down very well. Plus you can store it in the freezer to whip out at a moments notice.
Think cookie dough, Rolo's, brownies.... layered, served warm or cold
Laura x
http://www.coffeetoastandlondon.com/2012/04/filthy-brownies.html