Entertaining

• For maximum flavour, cheese should be served at room temperature. Soft cheese warms up sooner than firm cheese and should be placed on cheeseboards just prior to serving.
  

• Arrange large wedges of cheese on cheeseboards and provide at least one knife for each kind of cheese to avoid intermingling of flavours.
  

• Red, green and black grapes are a good accompaniment to cheese and an attractive garnish as well.
  

• Serve unseasoned crackers, such as water biscuits and Melba toast, with cheese. Serve French bread with soft cheese. Light rye bread blends well with strong cheese.
  

• Remember to have some mineral water and lemon or lime wedges available for those who do not wish to partake of the wine. Ginger ale is also a nice alternative.

Baked Caramel Popcorn

A great hostess gift idea!

Melt 1 cup (250 mL) butter. Stir in 2 cups (500 mL) firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup (125 mL) golden or dark corn syrup and 1 tsp. (5 mL) salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 tsp. (2 mL) baking soda and 1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla. Pour over 24 cups (6 L) popped popcorn in 2 greased foil-lined roasting pans. Toss to coat evenly. Bake at 250° F (120° C) for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Break into chunks to serve. Store tightly covered in a cool place for up to 2 weeks. Do not freeze.

Cosmopolitan Martinis

In a cocktail shaker, combine 1 1/2 ounces each vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry cocktail and fresh lime juice with ice cubes. Shake thoroughly. Strain into glasses and serve.

Freeze Ahead Entertaining

The holiday season is a great time to entertain.  Freezing dishes ahead of the event is one way to help reduce the stress and leave you more relaxed to enjoy your guests.  Click here

Hostess Gift Ideas

• A disposable camera and mini photo album
  

• A basket for plants, fruit or magazines

• A batch of Baked Caramel Corn

• A decorative candle

• A loaf of specialty bread or a jar of gourmet jam

• A new paperback book with a grosgrain ribbon bookmark

• A pad of pretty sticky notes and a pen
  

• A picture frame and appropriate picture
  

• Aromatherapy or mineral bath soak product

• ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen cookbooks
  

• Coffee mug with a coffee house gift certificate inside
  

• Food items - a specialty salsa, a nut mix, maple or birch tree syrup, gourmet jam or a special jar of homemade marmalade

• Handcrafted drawstring travel bags for shoes, laundry or jewelry

• Homemade granola in a decorative container

• Notepaper or notecards

• Pretty fabric or paper napkins and napkin holders
  

• Wine stoppers from a wine outlet

Party Success Tips

• A wise hostess plans ahead. Plan thoroughly, including the smallest details. Make lists of everything and keep notes.
  

• Music establishes the flavour of the party, provides background and can even be a conversation starter. Playing a mix of country, rock, opera, jazz and blues shifts the ambience from fast to slow, serious to energetic, and livens a party.
  

• Keep decorations simple. In fact, once a party has started, most guests don’t even notice the decorations.
  

• Set a goal to be completely ready one hour before guests arrive. This allows time for the unexpected or gives time to catch your breath before the fun begins.
  

• Keep a detailed record for guidance the next time you entertain. Be sure to add new ideas or record the things you want to do differently.

Serving Wine

When choosing wine, select one to either complement or contrast the food being served. In general, the heavier the food the more full-bodied and intensely flavourful the wine should be. If serving more than one kind of wine at a meal, keep the following suggestions in mind. Serve white wine before red wine (except for dessert wine), dry wine before sweet wine, young before old and lesser before greater. For example, at a dinner party, a dry red dinner wine may be followed with a sweet white wine or champagne for dessert. Generally, in order to bring out its full flavour, red wine should be enjoyed at room temperature and white wine served cool. The sweeter the white wine, the colder it should be. Blush wine also tastes better chilled.

Storing Wine

Wine, like all food, is perishable. Wine deteriorates mainly due to exposure to air, heat and light. Store wine in a cool dark dry place. The temperature range for storing wine is from 45° - 70° F (7° - 21° C), with the ideal temperature being 55° F (13° C). Wine sealed with a cork should be placed on its side. This prevents the cork from drying out and shrinking, allowing air to enter the bottle. Champagne, however, should be stored in an upright position. Wine bottles with screw caps may be stored in any position.