The author pictured at her holiday table display.
Entertaining and Styling Tips to Host the Best Holiday Gathering Yet
By Mary Abitanto | Photography by the author
If you are planning a festive family gathering to trim the tree, host a cocktail soiree, celebrate Christmas morning brunch, host an annual cookie swapping party, or host the seven fishes (an Italian tradition in my family) or another festive occasion, I have some party planning inspiration to celebrate the holidays in style. You will be remembered as a gracious host who put everything together seamlessly.
Cooking up Something Good
I share some delicious recipes here, but in my cookbook Gather For The Holidays you’ll find many more recipes like my popular Shrimp and Linguine (everyone raves over this), Seven-Layer Sweet Potato Lasagna with Smoked Gouda and Mushrooms topped with breakfast sausage (great for Christmas or New Year’s Day brunch), Healthy Vegetarian Lasagna made with cottage cheese, Spinach and Feta Stuffed Bread, and much more including handheld appetizers and scrumptious desserts, as well as helpful and easy tablescaping ideas, other time-saving tips, and even a turkey roasting guide.
The author taking cuttings from her Chinese juniper on her property.
Holiday Entertaining is in the Details
For a festive, eye-catching tablescape, choose a centerpiece theme — cut evergreens like Chinese juniper with berries from your garden, use fragrant herbs and eucalyptus, or an assortment of candles in varying heights; or use ornaments, fresh-cut flowers, or fresh fruit like pomegranates for a pop of color. I love mercury glass candlesticks with flameless candles. If you can find them with a slight patina that gives them a vintage look, buy those. Also, buy some battery-operated votive candles to place on the table — this looks stunning at an evening dinner. Another tip is to layer everything. If you are using a round dinner plate, use a round placemat and a round charger in similar color palettes, but two different textures. Add seeded eucalyptus (or any evergreen leaves) as the table runner, which gives everything an earthy undertone and pulls in the green for that Christmas color scheme.
Incorporate red (or green) ornaments into the table runner — red (or green) antiqued-glass ornaments provide a striking counterpoint against neutral-toned linens. Personalized embroidered cloth napkins are a nice touch. Place cards warmly welcome guests. I pull out Mom’s storied China (a cherished family heirloom) and my best sparkling wine glasses — remember that each piece tells a story. Make those glasses sparkle by washing them and then polishing them with a cloth napkin.
For a large gathering, I order matching chairs from a local rental place, so the table setting is well-pulled together. These added details will set the tone for a sophisticated and elevated holiday experience.
As we usher in the holidays, we are reminded of those who have gone before us and no longer sit at our table. We hold them collectively in our hearts as we gather. I deeply encourage you to explore your own family’s traditions and bring them back to life or to create new ones. Cheers to the holidays — let’s get cooking!
Time-Saving Tips:
1. Plan ahead by testing a few recipes in advance of your holiday meal or brunch.
2. Make things ahead like casseroles, cookies, breads, and baked pasta dishes and freeze them to save precious time.
3. Buy what you can in advance. If you are planning a festive charcuterie board, buy ingredients like an assortment of jarred olives, pickles, crackers (including gluten-free crackers), and gourmet cheeses. Manchego cheese is made from sheep’s milk and is nutty, salty, and creamy. I highly recommend it.
4. Build a menu including appetizers, mains, sides and desserts. Then write a separate shopping list of all the ingredients you need. If a guest wants to bring a dish, mark it down. You might be tempted to buy a pre-made dessert, but don’t skimp here, make one of my pies, cheesecake, gingerbread cake, or cookies from Gather For The Holidays.
5. Place the serving dishes on the dining room table and label them with the dish name. Also, add serving spoons.
6. Assign tasks for the days leading up to the holiday, so you don’t become overwhelmed with meal prep and cleaning the day of the party.
7. Serve appetizers on the kitchen table or set up an extra table like a card table (with a pressed linen), keep the island as your working space during your party.
8. Ask guests about allergies or sensitivities — that’s a big part of being a thoughtful host. It’s those little things that make guests feel welcome. I always go out of my way to make my gluten-free guests a special dessert or two!
9. Freeze holiday cookies a month in advance, like my cute snowman cookies made with sun nut butter top hats, chocolate chip eyes, and an orange sprinkle nose, and add a simple icing to make the snowman look like it’s melting.
Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
Serves 8
This is a great savory sweet potato recipe for entertaining during the holidays. My kids prefer this over the sugar-laden sweet potatoes piled high with sticky marshmallows — albeit good. This is also a crowd-pleasing favorite. Make this dish ahead in a cast iron skillet and reheat it in the oven or on the stovetop. Cast iron skillets are my go-to for holiday cooking, because everything stays warm.
Ingredients:
4 large organic sweet potatoes (or yams, roasted)
3-4 tablespoons light cream cheese
3 tablespoons light sour cream
1 (8-ounce) bag packaged finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large bunch fresh chives
Seasonings — sea salt, pepper, coriander, and paprika (to taste)
Olive oil cooking spray
Toppings — 3 tablespoons salted butter, diced
Other essentials:
Large, enameled cast iron skillet, highly recommended
Kitchen shears
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Start by roasting the sweet potatoes. First wash and scrub them. Cut them in half lengthwise and place them flesh side down onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spray them with olive oil spray. Cook them until fork tender, roughly 35-40 minutes or longer. Oven temperatures will vary.
Note: This is a time-saving tip, cutting the potatoes in half lengthwise to roast them. You may also keep them whole and pierce them and wrap them in foil to roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, if you are not pressed for time. Microwave cooking is another time-saving option.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Once the potatoes are done, allow them to cool. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes (discard skin). Transfer the sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Add the cream cheese and sour cream and mix. Then add the mozzarella cheese (reserve a handful for the top) and mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
Finely dice the chives or use a kitchen shear — we like a lot of chives; add as much or as little as you like. Toss this into the potato mixture. Add the sweet potato mixture to a large skillet and heat on low. Add a dash of coriander, black pepper, and salt to taste. Taste as you go to be sure you have a nice balanced flavor that is to your liking.
Next, level out the top of the dish with the back of a spoon. Add a small amount of mozzarella cheese to the top along with more chives, and a few dashes of paprika for a pop of color and to deepen the orange hue. Sprinkle the diced butter onto the top.
Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered. This will be a family favorite and a staple holiday side dish for years to come!
Goat Cheese-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Dates
Makes 24
These Goat Cheese-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Dates are a great combination of sweet and salty and will be adored and devoured by hungry guests. I like serving little handheld appetizers to keep people grazing and mingling throughout the night. They pair well with any sparkling wine.
Tip: don’t make too many appetizers, keep people hungry for your main dinner and side dishes and remind them to save room for dessert!
Ingredients:
1 package pitted organic dates, about 24
1 (4-ounce) package of goat cheese, room temperature
1 pound package turkey bacon (or regular bacon), about 12 slices
Honey
Garnish, fresh thyme sprigs
Other essentials:
Large baking sheet
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the dates in half lengthwise. Pinch them open and add ½ teaspoon of goat cheese inside each date. Press the cheese firmly inside the date with clean hands or a tiny spoon and close the date.
Cut the bacon in half widthwise. Place the open side of the date downward facing onto a ½ slice of bacon. Then wrap the bacon around the date and place it seam side down onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat this until all 24 dates are filled and wrapped.
Bake for 20 minutes. Then take them out of the oven and drizzle a little honey onto the dates and heat an additional 5 minutes at 400 degrees for 2 minutes.
Garnish with thyme. These are still great as leftovers for 1-2 days, if they last that long. I will sometimes make these ahead of guests coming and reheat them for a 2-3 minutes, then serve them warm.
For a vegetarian option, stuff the dates with goat cheese and heat them in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Top with walnuts and heat for 2 more minutes and add a drizzle of honey. Just as delicious!
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Squares
Yields 30
Savory meets sweet in these delectable cheesecake squares that are rich and creamy. They yield about 30 squares, not including the excess cut off to make them into perfect little squares. Warming the knife helps make a clean cut. Feel free to make these a day or two ahead of a holiday party. They will last up to four days or longer in the fridge.
Ingredients:
2 (16-ounce) containers light cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup milk, drizzle in slowly
Dash of ground ginger and cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon molasses
Other essentials:
Medium-sized baking sheet (that fits in the fridge)
High-speed blender (or food processor)
Stand mixer with paddle attachment
Topping:
1 cup pumpkin puree (or more)
Piping bag with wide piping tip (or plastic bag with the corner cut out)
Chopstick
Crust Ingredients:
1 (16-ounce) box molasses cookies, ginger snaps, or substitute with gluten-free cookies, pulsed
1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1½ sticks salted butter, melted
Drizzle water as needed
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place 1 large piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet. It should be large enough so that it extends over the sides of the baking sheet. You will then be able to pick up the whole cheesecake by holding onto the parchment paper. I crumble it up first, so it stays in place and doesn’t slide off the tray.
Prepare the crust:
Use a food processor or a blender and pulse two sleeves of cookies to create a powder-like consistency. Add 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Pulse to combine. Dump the ingredients in a large bowl. Warm the butter in a microwave safe dish for 15-25 seconds. Mix the melted butter with the cookie crumbs and slowly drizzle in some water until the crumbs become moistened throughout.
Pour the crust onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Press it firmly to create a large rectangle. If you put a piece of parchment paper over the crust, you can spread it out that way using your hands and it should not stick. Bake it in the oven for 8 minutes, so the crust is crunchy.
Prepare the cheesecake filling:
In the stand mixer bowl, add the cheeses and mix to combine on medium speed. Next, add the vanilla and white sugar (or more if you’d like it sweeter) and mix on medium speed. Add ⅛ of a teaspoon of molasses. Add a few dashes of cinnamon and ground ginger and taste it! Be sure it’s to your liking. You may want to add more cinnamon or ginger. Now add the flour and slowly drizzle in the milk. Mix on high speed until the filling is creamy and smooth, roughly 3 minutes. You may have a little milk remaining. Then mix with a spatula to be sure everything at the bottom is well incorporated. It’s a very thick filling so mix well.
Once the crust is done, take it out of the oven. Allow it cool. Then, slowly pour the filling onto the crust and evenly spread it with a spatula. Try not to get the cookie crumbs incorporated into the cheesecake filling. Spread the filling evenly on top of the crust. It will be about 3/4-inch thick. Now, pipe vertical lines of pumpkin puree onto the cheesecake (lengthwise), roughly 1 cup of pumpkin puree. Next, use a chopstick to swirl in the pumpkin puree. Have fun with it!
Place the cheesecake in the middle of the oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Oven temperatures will vary, so keep an eye on it. When it’s somewhat firm but still a little jiggly, but not runny, it is done.
Let it cool in the baking sheet for 1 hour, then pick it up by holding the parchment paper on the sides and transfer to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, place it onto the baking sheet, covered in the refrigerator for 4 hours, and serve.
Using a sharp knife, cut it into squares, about 2 by 3 inches, wipe the knife with a damp dish towel after each slice is cut. Cut off any excess rigid edges. You may find it easier to cut after it’s been refrigerated for 1 day.
Enjoy!
“Gather For The Holidays” is available in both paperback and hardback on Amazon. Follow me on Instagram and tag me @marioochcooks with your holiday creations, I’d love to see them.
