Hello, you sweet, darling, party-giver you. Are you keen to do more entertaining in 2025? Maybe you’ve decided to make it a New Year’s resolution? Perhaps loved ones are asking what you want for Christmas. Just hand them this list of giftable things that make entertaining easier and more fun.
An air fryer. Air fryers are terrific for producing hot, crispy appetizers, either homemade, like gougères (I have a recipe! Email me for it or any other I mention) or storebought frozen appetizers, for which Trader Joe’s is an excellent source. You also can make crispy roasted vegetables for a small dinner party—fingerling potatoes, sweet onions, and asparagus are a few of my faves—in just 20 minutes.
A sous vide. With a sous vide immersion circulator, practically any vessel in your kitchen can be transformed into a precisely controlled water bath that produces melt-in-your-mouth foods. Just ask and I will share with you my favorite sous vide recipe, pork tenderloin with garlic and shallots, given to me by my cooking buddy, the Insufferable Food Snob Don Loncasty.
Vintage cocktail glasses. A gimlet served from an Art Deco martini glass will make your guests feel like they’re in a Nick and Nora movie. Cocktails are more special when one drinks them from vintage glasses, which have a sense of history and character that mass-produced glasses just can’t match. Urban Mining, Populuxe, Bella Patina, and Green Door Antiques all have beautiful vintage glasses and barware. (Check store hours online.)
A humongous serving platter. Everyone needs at least one jumbo-sized serving platter. Once you have it, it will be pressed into service all the time, even if you have just a few people over for drinks. It’s easy to transport a cocktail spread from kitchen to deck, den, or living room when everything is on one platter. Mine is white (most versatile), 27 inches long, and easily accommodates small bowls of olives and pistachios, a pretty bunch of grapes, half of a thinly sliced baguette and a triangle of Cambozola.
A Wusthof Classic Double-Serrated Bread Knife. Your knife drawer should contain at least one really good serrated knife for slicing crusty breads, citrus fruits, melons, and delicate cakes. My Wusthof bread knife is one of my favorite soldiers of the kitchen, and it is now available at Williams Sonoma in festive, giftable colors like coral peach and wild blueberry.
Pretty little dessert/appetizer plates. A set of smaller decorative plates—sometimes they’re called cocktail plates—comes in handy for serving charcuterie or other appetizers. Even if you’re offering just chips and salsa, it’s nice for guests to be able to sit back and relax with their own little plateful. I have several sets of such plates that can also do duty as dessert plates.
Swanky personalized correspondence cards. In an increasingly digital world, a personal note on stationery with your name or monogram elegantly displayed shows intention and care. Whether you’re sending a dinner invitation, a thank you, or a congratulatory note, a customized card conveys respect and polish. I was impressed when my friend Susan Gordon used her monogrammed note card to send regrets for an event I was chairing. I’d never thought of doing that, but how genteel. You can order gorgeous, personalized stationery at Cuorebella in Mission Farms.
Giftable Barware
Cocktail Smoking Box
For the serious mixologist, a cocktail smoking box infuses homemade cocktails with savory, smoky flavor. This one is from Crafthouse by Fortessa and is available online at Crate & Barrel.
Linen Cocktail Napkins
Linen cocktail napkins are eco-friendly and add an elegant touch that guests will likely notice and appreciate. The Ferns and Flowers and Ornaments cocktail napkins are available at Sharyn Blond Linens in the Crestwood Shops.
Ice Tub
This handmade ceramic bucket by Montes Doggett would be a very chic-looking ice tub for a larger party. You can find it at Sid & Company in Waldo.
Crystal or Glass Decanter
Looking for a thoughtful gift for the red wine lover in your life? Decanting can be transformative for fuller-bodied reds or complex young wines. A beautiful decanter looks sophisticated on a home bar. This sleek decanter is available at Cuorebella in Mission Farms.
Flask
Flasks have a certain cool, rebellious factor. A leather-wrapped flask, the more portable the better, will make the rebel in your life feel truly valued. The KC Labyrinth Diamond Flask is available at Made In KC.
Silver Galley Tray
A simple silver galley tray, polished to a high shine, makes for a lovely drinks tray and elevates the décor of any room. This silver bar tray is available at Williams Sonoma.
Sugar Plum Pudding
The perfect dessert for Christmas dinner. From A Kansas City Christmas cookbook by Jane Guthrie and Karen Adler. Serves 10 – 12
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or combination of both
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-
¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup cooked prunes, puréed (or use baby food)
GLAZE
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- ½ cup butter
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 or 12-cup Bundt pan. (Note: This also bakes well in a traditional pudding mold.)
Sift dry ingredients together, then stir in remaining ingredients in order given. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes. While pudding bakes, combine glaze ingredients and bring to a boil.
To remove the cake, place a large plate over the bundt pan and while holding the plate in place, invert the pan, the cake should drop onto the plate. Drizzle with glaze and serve.
For visual drama at serving time, soak a few sugar cubes in lemon or orange extract, place around pudding on small pieces of aluminum foil, and ignite, then present to your guests. Make sure flames are fully extinguished before serving!
Ask Merrily: Find answers to all your entertaining questions.
Q: We are having a large party to celebrate our daughter’s engagement, and we’re planning to do a champagne toast. Would it be okay to use plastic glasses?
A: Not if you can afford to rent glass flutes. Plastic seems too casual for such a special moment. Champagne tastes better out of glass, and in a flute the bubbles rise in a more uniform, attractive way. This adds elegance and a sense of occasion that feels more aligned with the celebratory nature of an engagement party. Plus, it’s always more environmentally sound to choose glass rather than plastic.
Do you have a question about entertaining? Email it to mjackson@inkansascity.com