Catering Pros Share Tips on
Throwing a Holiday Party with Flare

By Pat JaCoby I November 14, 2005

Chocolate fountain and dessert table is admired by Rose Lee Josephson, Faculty and Staff Assistance Program director, prior to "Learn at Lunch" event for staff members.

Practical and off-beat tips for hosting a holiday open house were presented by Julia Engstrom, director of UCSD Catering, while her side-kick, Bruce Millson, executive chef, demonstrated hors d'oeuvre preparation, during a special "Learn at Lunch" program Tuesday sponsored by the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP).

More than 190 staff and faculty members were on hand in the Price Center Ballroom to hear the humorous duo and to share in a luncheon which ranged from butternut squash soup to "sweets with a chocolate fountain," with Santa Sirloin, Meatball Robert and red and green foccacia pizza in between. Rose Lee Josephson, FSAP director, opened the program and noted that it was underwritten by the UCSD Staff Association.

Millson demonstrated the preparation of Holiday Brie en Croute, White Bean and Sun Dried Tomato Dip, and Artichoke Fondue while throwing out suggestions such as "using lots of mozzarella for your cheese -- it's cheap and less fattening," or preferring kosher salt to table salt.

Bruce Millson, UCSD executive chef, demonstrates the preparation of Holiday Brie en Croute during a presentation attended by 190 staff members in the Price Center Nov. 8.

Tips on entertaining for a holiday open house or reception, always practical but often unusual were advanced by Engstrom in her witty presentation. Included were:

. Don't stress out. When there are so many folks coming and the house is full, "the little imperfections are not noticed."

. Have your party early in the season or right after the holiday, "not the Saturday before Christmas and never during a Charger game."

. Have food that's easy to eat standing (no peel-and-eat shrimp, no bone-on food) and have all the food out at the same time.

. Make it family friendly (not black tie), "but that doesn't mean dogs."

. The event should last three hours maximum, and be over before darkness. (Do not let it go past 8 p.m., "people are not pretty at that time of night.")

Julia Engstrom, director of UCSD Catering, is joined by Bruce Millson, executive chef, at the conclusion of their popular presentation on hosting a holiday open house.

. Always place a card with ingredients by your food, to tell your guests what they are getting. (Be allergy-sensitive to peanuts, onions, shellfish, mention meat)

. Always have a vegetarian dish.

. Lock up your medications and jewelry. ("Sad but true. We've all seen 'Desperate Housewives.' Snooping is common."

. Don't go One-Buck-Chuck in your wines, upscale a bit. Signature drinks are the trend-martini bars, Sangria, holiday punch.

. Try to make non-alcoholic drinks as enticing as your alcoholic drinks. . Hire some help ("your baby-sitter or the grocery bag boy always need extra money")

. Work ahead of the game; set the table the day before.

. Set-up MUST include the following principles: plates first, napkins and utensils last; expensive food at the end.

. Keep a party file, put everything in it for the event-guest lists, copy of invitation, then do a debriefing the next day and include the problems and the no-show rate.

. Use "found" decorations from your garden or around the house, and save on a florist bill. Keep to a theme.

. Use your friends for a "defined contribution." If they ask "what can I bring," suggest something, "but not an appetizer from the friend who always comes late."

. The new black is beef; it's back in our diets, as is cheese. New flavors are Indian, Thai, Island Caribbean.

For recipes used in the "Party Like a Pro"event see www.catering.ucsd.edu.