'Tis the season: 5 expert tips for seamless holiday entertaining

(BPT) - As we gear up for the busy holiday season, a foolproof plan is essential for throwing an unforgettable party everyone will be talking about. Whether it's a casual weekend brunch, formal sit-down dinner or a glitzy cocktail party, you want to make sure the atmosphere is set, and that you're party ready.

Interior designer and artistic advisor to LG STUDIO appliances, Nate Berkus, is not just a design guru but also an expert party planner and host.

"The key to minimizing stress during the holiday entertaining season is to keep things simple, and be as prepared as possible," Berkus says. "Making sure everyone, including the host, is relaxed and enjoying themselves is the most important element of a good party. Whether it's the food, the décor and anything in between, nothing should feel uptight or over-complicated."

Berkus shares his best holiday entertaining tips - from the festive to the practical and, of course, always stylish.

It's OK to leave the cooking to someone else. 

Don't let the fact that you don't like to cook stop you from throwing a festive holiday get together. Call your favorite neighborhood restaurant and have them cater it. Decant the dishes on to beautiful plates, platters and bowls. No one will know you ordered in!

Make sure your kitchen is ready.

Fact: the kitchen ends up becoming command central at any party. Guests love to congregate there, despite your best efforts otherwise. Embrace the fact that people will gather at your kitchen island, and make it part of the party, whether it's setting up a food or drink station or adding in extra seating. Nothing feels more familiar and welcoming than a kitchen, especially during the holidays.

It's also important to make smart choices when it comes to your appliances, so they can do your work for you - and look good doing it. LG Studio's new Black Stainless Steel appliance line features a cutting-edge InstaView refrigerator, which incorporates a sleek glass front panel that illuminates with two quick knocks so you can see the contents inside without having to open the door - so helpful when you're entertaining. Guests can easily view and grab drink selections or a snack; it's the smart way to host.

Prep work is key.

Prepare as much as you can in advance. When you entertain, you want to be able to greet each and every guest as they arrive, and be a part of the party. Have your holiday cocktail already mixed and ready to go, the wine open and the sparkling water set up at a bar where guests can help themselves. Every horizontal space is an opportunity, so use trays, side tables and your kitchen island to set up food stations. You want your guests to feel at home.

Stick to a neutral color scheme.

People think they have to reach for traditional red and green decor, but the truth is it's much easier to work with a neutral palette. Use natural materials like woven baskets and mats, and layer in metallic accents. Things like brass candle holders and napkin rings will instantly up the glam factor. Pull greenery from the garden, and finish off your tablescape with candles.

Mix up the seating chart.

If you're doing a sit down dinner, change things up by seating the host in the middle of the table, rather than at the end, and plan out who sits around them. Your goal is to have people get to know each other, and spark unexpected connections and conversations. And nothing is chicer than a beautifully prepared place card at each setting. Your guests can also take it with them, as a small memento from the night.

For more entertaining tips and information on LG STUDIO appliances, visit LGStudio.com.

5 tricks to a happier, less stressful holiday season

(BPT) - Americans have a love-hate relationship with the holiday season. You may love the festive spirit and the opportunity to share time with friends and family, but dread all the work - and stress - involved in seasonal tasks, including meal preparation. However, it is possible to make it through the holidays with more happiness than humbugs. All it takes is a little planning and a few smart shortcuts.

Here are tips to help ensure your holiday season is as bright and stress-free as possible:

Budget your way to peace

Budgeting is a great way to not only ensure you don't end up with big bills after the holidays, but also to help you feel more in control throughout the season. Knowing exactly how much you have to spend will help you stay focused and on track. You can create multiple budgets to address different holiday spending needs, such as a gift budget, food budget and an entertainment budget. And if you go a little over in one area, like gifts, don't stress - just recalibrate in another!

Get the guest list in advance

Of course, everyone loves the unexpected pop in, and it's always smart around the holiday season to have snacks and small gifts on hand for unannounced guests. But when it comes to bigger gatherings, such as Thanksgiving dinner, a Hanukkah gathering or a Christmas or New Year's party, it's important to know who's coming ahead of time.

Getting your guest list in order well in advance can help you plan for how much food and drink to buy, and to accommodate any special dietary needs such as low-fat or gluten free.

Online invitation tools make it easy (and free) to send out invitations. Guests can RSVP online, and you can track who's responded, who you've yet to hear from, and who'll be coming.

The Unspoken Kitchen Code

According to Chef’s Resources here is a rundown of the Unspoken Kitchen code. Let us know what you think and if there are some things which have been missed 

The Kitchen Code: (In no particular order) 

•  1. You show up early and are at your station early, ready to work. 
•  2. You arrive in a presentable fashion: showered, shaved, brushed, combed, and in a clean uniform. Last night’s entertainment is not discernable. 
•  3. You have a genuine enthusiasm for good food, good technique, and culinary advancement, regardless of how much you already think you know. 
•  4. You maintain a good attitude, finding satisfaction in doing good work. 
•  5. You are coachable and don’t get defensive when criticized. 
•  6. You are not a know-it-all (the opposite of being coachable). 
•  7. You don’t take yourself too seriously and are able to laugh at yourself if you fucked up…but you also learn from it. 
•  8. You do not dwell upon or allow the feelings associated with a fuck-up to distract you. Instead, you keep your mental focus in the game and move on. If you need to discuss it with Chef then do so after service has ended. 
•  9. You season everything with the “correct” amount of seasoning as per the Chef’s preference (not your own). 
• 10. You taste everything in your station, making sure it is correctly made and of proper quality. 
• 11. Dull knives are disrespectful to ingredients – you have a sharp knife at all times. 
• 12. You NEVER use someone else's knives without their permission. As Anthony Bourdain says, “Don’t touch my dick, don’t touch my knife.” 
• 13. You do not complain – especially about those things which cannot be controlled, such as customer requests/returns, the restaurant hours of operation, having to work weekends/holidays, how busy or slow it is, etc. all. 
• 14. You show respect for the food, for the Chef, and for how we want things done at THIS restaurant (not the way some other chef did it at some other restaurant you worked at…we don’t care). 
• 15. You show respect for fellow co-workers (team members); this includes cooks, dishwashers, bussers, prep cooks, food runners, expeditors, and servers (yes, the servers too!). 
• 16. You do not expect or demand respect from others. You understand that respect is earned: a) by being equal or better than everyone else in the kitchen, and b) by treating everyone else like they are equal or better than you. 
• 17. You understand the importance of a fully staffed crew and you do not call in sick so you can go to that concert or party. 
• 18. You consistently show up for work…if you are sick then be prepared to provide a Dr's note to prove it (too many have violated the other members of the Saturday night crew by calling in sick to go to a party). 
• 19. If you have a mild cold, or a headache, or a hangover, you are not sick…show up for work. 
• 20. You don’t get sick often. 
• 21. You have the ability to stay focused under pressure – expect to be in the weeds often… and work your way out of it alone. 
• 22. You’re not afraid to ask for help if your station gets slammed…but you understand that help may not be available. 
• 23. If your station gets utterly hammered and you sink, you don’t give up and walk off the Line…you break out a shovel and dig your way out. 
• 24. You are aware of the kitchen flow and take initiative…if your fellow cook is buried, you help them out. 
• 25. You always rotate product properly, practicing FIFO (First In, First Out) 
• 26. You always have enough mise en place for your shift. 
• 27. You never throw a product out due to over-prepping. 
• 28. You NEVER steal someone else’s mise en place. 
• 29. You always prep fresh products daily…do not make tomorrow’s chiffonade today. 
• 30. When running low on a product for your station’s prep you always let the chef know before the last of it is gone. 
• 31. Never 86 anything unless there is no more product to prep. When running low on a menu item you always give the chef at least a one-hour warning before having to 86 it. This allows a count-down for the servers so no customer orders it when it is gone, and it allows time to try to prep more or find a replacement. 
•  32. You are fast, but not sloppy…your station is clean and organized even in the middle of the push. 33. You always have an extra gear available when needed. 
•  34. You follow established safe holding temperatures and verify that your products in the hot Bain Marie and refrigerated holding inserts are at temp. You sanitize everything that comes in contact with food, ie. thermometers, utensils etc. 
• 35. You organize your time efficiently, always planning ahead…you make fewer trips to the walk-in, always carrying something both ways. 
•  36. You take your breaks when it’s slow, and only with the chef’s permission.
•  37. You restock your station before taking your breaks. 
•  38. You manage your food well – if it needs to be in the window in 2 minutes you can make it happen. Or if you’re told to slow a dish for 4 minutes you know how to do that as well. 
•  39. You have an appetite to learn more, regardless of how much or little you already know. 
•  40. You prepare and present the food exactly as the Chef has taught you…every time.
•  41. When you’re having a great day you focus, prepare, & present the food properly throughout your entire shift. 
•  42. When you’re having a shitty day you focus, prepare, & present the food properly throughout your entire shift. 
•  43. You do it right, without taking shortcuts, even if it’s a tedious pain in the ass. This is called Professional Discipline.
•  44. You do not bring your personal drama to work with you. You take control of, and are responsible for, your “Emotional Wake”. 
•  45. You are not afraid to ask appropriate questions about proper procedure…do not hack up an entire tenderloin because you are too arrogant, or too scared, to ask for a demo. 
•  46. You work neatly and clean as you go. 
•  47. You properly label and date EVERYTHING. 
•  48. You admit when you are wrong, but don’t point it out when others are wrong – especially if it’s the chef. 
•  49. The kitchen is not a democracy…always do it the Chef’s way, even if you think your way is better. If you must suggest something, do so in private…hopefully, the Chef will give you kudos if he accepts the revision…but don’t expect it. 
•  50. “Yes, Chef!” or “Oui Chef!” is the only proper response to any directive from the Chef. If the Chef says, “Please do it this way” understand that he/she is not offering you a choice; you are politely being instructed how to do it and your compliance is expected. 
•  51. You always give call-backs when orders are called. 
•  52. You work in a safe manner, thereby protecting yourself and others from harm. 
•  53. You always use appropriate kitchen warnings such as, “Behind”, “Corner”, “Hot”, “Knife”, “Oven Open”, etc.
•  54. You are willing and able to work long hours under high stress, sometimes for many days straight, w/o becoming a moody detriment to the kitchen or the food. 
•  55. You work for the good of the team and the restaurant. 
•  56. You plan ahead and ask for days off well in advance. 
•  57. You always know exactly what is in your oven, or on your stove or grill, even if it’s not yours. 58. You are aware and observant in the kitchen: you smell when food doesn’t smell or feel right. You notice if the temp in a cooler is too high. You smell if something is burning. 
•  59. You have a “sense of urgency”. 
•  60. You work efficiently as regards time and organization, meaning that items which take a long time to prepare are started before items which take less time. During service, if you have a dish which takes 10 minutes to prepare, one which takes 5 minutes, and one which takes 2 minutes, you are able to time and prepare all three within 10 minutes and hit the window at the same time; and it does not take you 17 minutes because you prepared them one at a time. 
•  61. You always tell the chef when you leave the Line, including why you are leaving, “Off-Line for shrimp”. 
•  62. When it’s slow, you always find something useful to do, including cleaning your station or organizing the walk-in. “If you have time to lean you have time to clean.” 
•  63. Always treat equipment with respect, as if you paid for it yourself.
•  64. Always work in a manner which meets the health code, ensuring that you’re not going to get someone sick. 
•  65. You understand the proper use of foodservice gloves. They are a pain in the ass, but they protect our guests. No glove, no love.
•  66. Know the difference between a cut and a scratch; a cut requires stitches, a scratch does not. If it’s a scratch put a Band-Aid on it and get back to work. If it requires only 2 or 3 stitches, please return to finish your shift after the doctor is done. The crew and the chef will both respect and appreciate you more for it. 
•  67. If you do return to work with injuries, be wise enough to work within your restrictions and not cause yourself an additional injury. 
•  68. You daily rotate all your mise en place on the Line into clean containers at closing. 
•  69. You stay until all the day’s work is done properly w/o asking to leave early. You ask if there’s anything else that needs to be done before leaving. 
•  70. You mentor new co-workers as you would have liked to have been mentored/taught, not necessarily how you were taught. 
•  71. You manage your “recreational activities” wisely…too many of us become addicted to alcohol or drugs. 
•  72. To be recognized as a leader in the kitchen…you know the kitchen code, practice the code, and mentor the code. (I know…sappy and proselytizing! But how else could you possibly end “The Code…” of anything?!)

English Sticky Toffee Pudding

In this version of the classic English dessert, adapted from one in Rose Levy Beranbaum's Rose's Heavenly Cakes (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), dates are soaked in stout beer and then pureed, resulting in a super-moist crumb. This recipe

SERVES 8-10

For the Pudding:

• 1 cup stout beer, preferably Guinness Extra Stout
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 10 large pitted dates
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more
• 1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• For the Toffee Sauce
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, preferably Plugrà
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped and reserved
• 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions:

Make the pudding: Heat oven to 350°. Boil beer in a 1-qt. saucepan. Stir in baking soda and dates; let cool. Transfer to a food processor; purée until smooth. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the motor running, slowly add dry ingredients, alternating with reserved date mixture, until a smooth batter forms; pour into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the pudding comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Make the sauce: Simmer sugar, butter, and vanilla bean and seeds in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cream, lemon juice, and salt. Strain sauce; let cool. Cut pudding into squares; drizzle with sauce.