Secrets for Easy Spring Entertaining

Photo by Bob Greenspan from Nell Hill’s Stylish Weddings

Whether it’s throwing a wedding shower, hosting a graduation reception or honoring mom with a Mother’s Day luncheon, there are millions of excuses to gather with friends and celebrate life’s big events. But like most of you, I don’t always have the time I’d like to pull off parties that will knock my guests’ socks off. So, I cheat!

A few years ago, my friend Marsee shared her trick for pulling off a show-stopping event in a snap: Focus on presentation over preparation. If you have a limited amount of time to cook and decorate, don’t drive yourself crazy trying to do it all. Instead, focus on presenting everything on your menu so beautifully, your guests won’t notice you cut corners elsewhere.

I’m thrilled to report that this crafty little trick works for me. Since I’m a disaster in the kitchen, I frequently call on the considerable culinary skills of my friend Cheryl, a professional chef who lives just 15 minutes away. But when Cheryl’s not free, I buy ready-made food from the market. With Marsee’s mantra in mind, I present my supermarket spread with such finesse, folks can hardly tell the difference.

Make it Elegant

My first tactic is to display the fare with dramatic elegance. The simplest way to create drama in any display is to add elevation. To pull this off, look no farther than your china cabinet, where you’ll find an arsenal of beautiful serving pieces you can use to lift your menu items to new heights in a matter of seconds.

The first pieces I pull out are my three-tiered and two-tiered dessert servers because any tasty treat you put on them looks fancy. Place a few dessert servers on your buffet or the dining room table, then fill them with finger foods like fresh strawberries and grapes, or assorted cheeses and biscuits.

Compotes are another decorating must-have because they give ho-hum side dishes panache. Seasonal vegetables or fruits that would look boring in a serving bowl become works of art when displayed in a compote.

Cake plates are a perennial favorite of mine, and I always use them in my food presentations. These timeless treasures and are so hot right now, you can find them in every style and material imaginable, like porcelain, glass, aluminum and wood. Just slip a meringue from the bakery department on an elegant cake plate, and you’ve got an eye-catching dessert presentation. Or, stack several cake plates on top of each other in a pyramid, then decorate the edges with canapés or sushi.

Trays are another necessity in your cache of serving pieces. There’s nothing better to use as a base for a spectacular display than a beautiful tray. Try this: Place a sliver tray on your buffet, then top it with a compote. Next, put a platter on top of the compote and fill it with tasty treats. Add a little seasonal color to the display by placing a few fresh flowers or a small fern on the tray next to the compote.

Make it Unusual

I love to add a bit of whimsy to my table by tucking in surprising elements that make my guests smile. One quick way to make your food presentation unusual is to serve your fare in unexpected dishes. For instance, for a fall fete, I once created soup bowls out of hollowed out gourds.

For your spring event, create an unusual appetizer guests will love. Cut thin, peeled cucumbers into 2-inch segments, then remove the seeds to create a vase. Fill your vegetable vases with edible flowers. Or serve strawberry sorbet in a hollowed out orange rind.

My friend Kim wowed me and her other dinner guests by creating a delightful appetizer in a martini glass. She put a few pieces of endive lettuce in each glass, then garnished it with halved cherry tomatoes, cucumber strips, diced avocado and baked salmon, all lightly dressed with a vinaigrette dressing.

Written in collaboration with journalist Micki Chestnut.