Host a party? Me? Tonight???

If you insist

New here? Hi! If you want to get right down to business, scroll down for the video link and allllllll the way to the bottom for the recipe.

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As far as holiday messaging goes, this is the point in the process when the local news is doing stories about how much it’s going to cost to send your gifts via priority mail so they arrive before Christmas, and my inbox is filled with auto-generated emails with the same subject line: IT’S NOT TOO LATE. (It’s kinda too late.) Those of us who prefer to do in-person shopping have woken up realizing that today is actually the day to get that done.

Itty bitty sweet and spicy biscuits!!

For a variety of family-travel related reasons, my family is going to celebrate Christmas in the New Year, which has given me the false confidence that I can take it easy on the whole gifting thing. (False!) I’ve already knocked out one experiential gift (taking my sister to see Poog in Philadelphia), and have another fun surprise planned for my older son later this week.

You know what I haven’t done? Thrown a party. I plan to … soon! I’m not the only one feeling the urgency—noticing lots of texts percolating between me and all my friends, old and new: what’s the NYE plan? Doing anything fun before the holidays? Would be fun to see you! Are you in town leading up to New Years?

These are all coded messages … fishing fishing fishing for the party. Who will hook themselves onto the party tow-line? Will it be you? Will you coach someone else into believing they can—and more importantly—should do it? Whether you want to host, or you want someone else to host so you can just show up, this plan is for you.

Herewith and furthermore, I put together 1-2-3 FOUR recipes tailor-made for last-minute hosting, plus created a two-hour party countdown timeline that details everything you need to do, in the optimized order, so that you can host a party tonight (say you wanted to).

The pre-batched martini, your freezer friend.

Here’s the menu: two (vegetarian!) appetizers, and two drinks, one of which is non-alcoholic.

Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Biscuits

Endive and Little Gems with Manchego and Wet Walnuts

Big Batch Eventide Martini

Cali-Sober Citrus Cooler

Click here for the recipes that accompany this game plan.

You could, of course, make any one or another of these recipes any old day of the week. The biscuits in particular (developed by

Eliza Weinreb

, who also has her video debut this week!) are stunning, and are a fun alt for any buttermilk biscuit in your repertoire.

The beauty of the timeline is that I’ve created a hierarchy for all the action, organizing it according to what takes the longest to prepare, and making sure you use any inactive time to get another little bit of prep out of the way. For example, during the time the butter chills for the biscuits, you can make your Eventide mixture and move that to the freezer. Later, while the dough rests, you can make the dressing for the hand salad.

In this way, two hours will fly by, and at the end, you will have even had time to wipe down your kitchen, take a shower, and set up the bar! It helps to have a bestie to whom you can delegate a few tasks, like cutting citrus wedges for the bar, washing lettuces, or making sure you’ve got enough ice in the house. Nominate the same group of people who forced you into hosting for those roles. Everyone helps. Everyone wins.

I’ll be back again before the New Year with a very different vibe: a cozy easy pasta for anyone who wants to watch movies in bed with a warm bowl of noodles and ignore the clock as it turns over to 2024. It’s just another day!

xoCLM

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This week’s plan is posted below for my paid subscribers. Thank you!! Your support goes right back into my work developing recipes, shooting videos, and writing about all of it. If you’re reading this, please hop the fence and join us!