no stress holiday party

sorry for the lack of posts lately. i know some of you (ahem maggie ahem) can't make it through your work day without an update from your intrepid and humble (ha) blogger. i apologize for making you suffer. however, the holidays have been getting crazy already. between cooking, baking, going to parties, shopping and blogging for buycincy, and watching ridiculous amounts of food channel holiday specials, i have had barely a minute to write on here.

last night i hosted my book club's holiday party. i do this every year and i love it. i really like having certain events every year that i always throw a party for (my birthday, the book club holiday party, and the superbowl). plus it's an excuse for me to bust out all my favorite appetizer recipes and get together with my friends and the important people in their lives. i really love entertaining and yet i am very type-b as emma is always telling me so it's always an adventure to see whether i am going to finish everything on time.

for my birthday party in 2007, when my friend lavine (who shares my birthday) came to visit, i went all out. we had the grill going with jerk chicken wings, my world famous burgers, veggie burgers, and nathan's hot dogs. i made hummus, pesto pasta salad, salsa, and i can't even remember what other sides. we had wine, beer, and a head-spinning array of mixed drinks. i spent so much damn time cooking that i had no time to relax or talk to anyone. in the past i had always had a bunch of roommates to share party duties with, so cooking a bunch of things and making drinks was never a problem. neither was cleaning up. but after that party, when i was on my own, i was exhausted. i hadn't enjoyed my party at all since i was running around the entire time. never again, i decided.

avani and henry urge you to SAY NO to holiday party stress

since then i have been on a quest to throw parties that are easy as hell and require very little preparation and even less time during the party. i want to socialize with my guests, not be running around between the stove and the grill.

for last night's book club party, i took this relaxed approach to the extreme. i woke up on saturday morning still not having even shopped. i rolled out of bed at about 10 and whipped up some hummus (my best yet!). then i spent the morning watching the food channel. after i ate some lunch, then spent the early afternoon cleaning what i had time for in my apartment, and then i quickly wrote up a list of what i wanted to make:
-dim sum
-guacamole and salsa with tortilla chips
-goat cheese stuffed roasted pepper strips
-garlic fries
-sushi
-hummus with pita and carrots
-crackers with lox and cream cheese
-an olive and cheese platter

earlier in the week i had emailed my friends and asked them to bring desserts or wine/beer to share. i'm not a big dessert person so that's always a pain in the ass for me. laura called right before i went to the grocery store so i asked her to pick up some olives and cheese. two more things off the list.

i threw some rice in the rice cooker and headed off to the grocery store at 3:45 (my party was starting at 7). the olive bar was out of roasted red peppers so i crossed that off my list. instead i picked up some yummy looking roasted and marinated tomatoes. i wandered through the store and got everything else i needed. in the coffee aisle, i saw beth f. who was like "what the hell are you doing here? go home and get ready for the party!" i laughed and leisurely finished my shopping. then i stopped at the photo booth to print off some pictures for my friends.

i got home at 5:15. yes readers, i had less than 2 hours to cook for my party. first i threw some bread in the oven. while that was baking i put the brie and grapes i had bought on a plate and put it on the table, along with the hummus, pita, and carrots. then i mashed up some avocadoes with cilantro, lime, salt, garlic, and onion, and put that out with chips and store bought salsa (herdez salsa casera, medium, in case you are wondering).

the bread came out of the oven and i put in the trader joe's garlic fries. i pulled the rice out of the rice cooker, fanned it, and added the rice vinegar. then i quickly smeared herbed cream cheese on little rye bread slices, slapped on some smoked salmon, sprinkled the plate with chives, and put it on the table.

i began steaming the dim sum, all purchased at CAM, in the rice cooker. while that was steaming, i pulled the fries out of the oven and mixed them with the garlic sauce. done. then i whipped up some dim sum dipping sauce.

the spread

my final task was the sushi, which i started at about 6:15. within a half hour, i had cut the veggies and rolled and cut 5 rolls. i don't know how this happened. when emma showed up at 7:05, all i had left was some cleanup, pulling the last dumplings out of the steamer, and putting a few final plates on the table. i poured us each a glass of wine and my job was done.

my guests showed up and contributed drinks, cheeses, olives, artichoke salad, pumpkin chocolate chip bars, strawberries, almond pound cake, and homemade chocolate truffles. everything was delicious. the best part is that i had fun and didn't spend a minute worrying about the food for the rest of the night. somehow i actually pulled off a holiday party with no stress. success!