For many people Chanukah is a non-stop party, with events and celebrations happening every night. Especially if you’re the host, it can feel a little hectic. With these insider party tips, you can throw a gourmet party without over-exerting yourself.
A Twist on Tradition
A Chanukah party is synonymous with potato latkes and donuts. But if you want to shake things up a bit, try a new latke recipe or make up your own and experiment with new combinations of vegetables and spices, like a curry spice mix.
Transform Your Table
For those who love to host, you know how tempting it is to experiment with new gourmet recipes. To keep your prep time to a minimum, stick mainly to familiar recipes. To make any dish look more gourmet, use fresh herbs or brightly colored vegetables as a garnish, and place fruit around desserts.
Embrace Your Inner Wine Connoisseur
Plan your wine and food menu together and place each wine next to the food it’s best paired with. Serve something unusual, like the Mt. Hermon Indigo, which has a distinctive purple color, and is a fruity blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Start the evening with sparkling wine, like Yarden Blanc de Blanc, to get everyone in a festive mood. During dinner, Galil Mountain Merlot is a wonderful choice for red wine lovers. For dessert, Yarden Muscat will make all your guests leave with a smile on their faces.
To keep wine at the correct temperature throughout the party, have a cooler filled with ice for the white wines. Red wines should be served at about 16-18 degrees Celsius, unless recommended otherwise on the label.
Whet Their Appetites
We won’t all have waiters passing out hors d’oeuvres but it is important to have something available for your guests as soon as they arrive. Bowls of nuts and unusual dried fruits are great for light pre-dinner munchies. When making a buffet, have a salad bar with various cut up vegetables and dressings for guests to make their own salad as a starter.
Create a New Look
With only a little expense and effort, you can easily create an alluring Chanukah-themed table. To keep it simple, stick with one color for your napkins, flower arrangement and dishes. To create an instant Chanukah twist, scatter dreidels and chocolate coins between plates. For the kids you can get little toys from the dollar store to sprinkle on the table as well.
With a little planning and these tips, your Chanukah bash will certainly be a success. Don’t forget to have fun while you’re preparing!
Wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah.
By Rachel Gross
