Sure, I’ve “entertained” before, but this past weekend was my first time hosting a holiday in my home, and not just any holiday – this was Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year and one of the most religious holidays in the Jewish religion. No pressure at all, right? Even though Rosh Hashanah fell on a weekend this year, I opted to stay in Asheville and invite my friends (both Jewish and not) over to celebrate the New Year. I am so blessed to have my youngest sister, Arielle, in school at Warren Wilson College, just 15 minutes away and thought it was the perfect opportunity to have a satellite Bareket Rosh Hashanah dinner. I’ve always been grateful for my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends who have ever invited me to their home for a special occasion. It was always obvious that they put a lot of hard work into the meal and celebration, but until I was the “lead captain” on Friday evening, I have to admit that I never realized exactly how much hard work was involved… and I only had 7 mouths to feed! Thanksgiving with my family is typically at least 30 people. My mom always said that after 10 or 15 people, there wasn’t too much additional work involved to host 30 guests. Growing up in a family of 6, hitting 10 or 15 was pretty easy and standard, but I still think I need some more practice before I take on 30. Despite all the time and energy that went into making this New Year special and different from just a casual dinner with friends and family, I loved hosting my first holiday dinner in MY home and can see why sometimes my aunt and mom “argue” over who gets to host which holidays every year. Lucky for y’all, I’ve learned a few things along the way…

Figure out what you can do the day (or days / week) before and hop to it!

Cleaning, setting the table, chopping, cutting, marinating, baking, grilling, etc. is a lot to do the day of an event (especially if you’re a full-time student like me, or you work full time). Make a list of everything that needs to get done before your first guest arrives and see what you can do in advance. For example, I chopped cauliflower (more on that later), baked my banana bread and set the table on Thursday. This shaved about 2 hours off of my set-up time on Friday. I needed to borrow a friend’s table and chairs (thank you Wendy) because I couldn’t seat everyone around my kitchen table, which I also had to plan for in advance. If you’re using cloth napkins (which I highly recommend – not only are they eco-friendly, but it makes the guests feel super special, and is an easy and inexpensive way to “dress up” a meal) add washing and ironing napkins to your “to-do day/s before list”. If you like to decorate with flowers, you can add pick them up a day in advance as well. Selecting your menu and grocery shopping should also be taken care of in advance.

Guests do not equal Guinea Pigs!

Sure we all like to impress our guests with our delicious and creative culinary skills, but to reduce your stress level and save time, make sure you are selecting dishes that you’ve made in advance and know taste good! Not only will you know exactly how long they take to prepare, but this will keep any “surprises” at bay. Experiment and try new recipes on your own time. On my menu – Honey Chicken/Salmon/Tofu, salad with local veggies, quinnoa with roasted peppers onions and mushrooms, steamed broccoli and Popcorn Cauliflower. For dessert, wheat-free, sugar-free banana bread and a fruit salad. I have made everything before so I knew exactly how long everything took to cook and there were no surprises. Here is the recipe for Popcorn Cauliflower.

Ingredients:
2 heads of  cauliflower - cut head into medium sized florets, discard stems
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
5-7 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
In large bowl, combine the salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric and oil. Add cauliflower florets and toss evenly to coat.
Place in a single layer on baking sheet
Roast uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until the largest pieces can be pierced with a fork. If the tops are starting to get too brown, toss the cauliflower during the baking process.

Delegate! Delegate! Delegate!

Ask every guest or family attending to make a small contribution to the meal or evening – whether it’s as simple as bringing a bottle of wine, or something more involved like baking their famous apple pie, this will help check a few items off of your to-do list and make your guests feel helpful for contributing to the evening. I personally don’t ever like to show up at a special event in someone’s home empty handed, so when the host “assigns” a dish to me, I am appreciative. The guest should be capable of whatever duty you are assigning to them, so if you know they don’t like to bake, then don’t ask them to! Instead ask them to bring a bottle of wine or flowers. My friend Mimi just learned how to make challah from scratch, so what did I ask Mimi to bring… challah! It’s not rocket science. Here it is and it tasted as good as it looks!

My sister, Arielle, and her roomie, Erin, are one of the few privileged folks I know who have a garden full of vegetables so easily accessible. So what did I ask them to bring… vegetables for the salad! Here they are chopping away.

The science behind getting every dish to be done at the SAME time and ON time

Figure out what will take the longest to cook and start there. Work backwards from the time you want to serve the food to know when to light the stove and heat the oven. So if you plan on eating at 7 but your Honey Chicken takes an hour to bake, start heating the oven at 5:30 and be ready to put it in the oven by 6. Got 2 dishes that need the oven, but only have 1 oven? I had that problem with the Popcorn Cauliflower and Honey Chicken dishes. Then I remembered that the cauliflower is very versatile because it tastes great right out of the oven, room temp or cold. Honest! I made the cauliflower late in the afternoon so that the oven was free in the early evening to cook the chicken, which needed to be served warm.

Clean after, not before AND after

Ok, so you don’t want your guests to see your dirty socks on the floor or cup of tea sitting on the coffee table from earlier that morning, but why vacuum and mop if you know you’re going to have to do it again after the guests leave? More people + cooking + chopping + eating + drinking = more mess. Tidy up? Absolutely. But save the back breaking, labor intensive and time consuming cleaning for after the guests leave. One thing you should be sure to clean before guests arrive – all of your dirty dishes. Make sure the dishwasher is empty before the guests arrive so that clean up can be done on the spot as the table is cleared for the next course. Your dishwasher should be full and running as soon as the last guest closes your front door.

Entertaining is a lot of fun. Staying in with good company, a good bottle of wine and some great food is my favorite kind of “night out”. Who needs to go to restaurants with who-knows-what added into your food, loud music, smokey bars and over priced drinks when you can stay in, eat a healthy but tasty meal, and not be rushed out as soon as the check arrives?