Hot, crispy potatoes; cold, crunchy veggies; and a Caesar sour cream dip to serve with them both.
When I entertain friends at my home, I want them to walk in the door and immediately feel like they never want to leave. That’s especially true for Christmas dinner. By the time guests show up, they should hear music on the stereo and the sound of ice rattling in a cocktail shaker. My partner hands them a cocktail, and everyone immediately is directed to the appetizers.
Because I know guests often show up starving to a dinner party, Christmas or not, I always have at least one thing that can be made ahead and sitting there when they arrive. Olives and cheese are great, but for Christmas — and with a cold drink — I want some. I keep it classic with a mix of almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts — you could also just buy the tin of “deluxe” mixed nuts — and coat them in maple syrup, chile flakes and lots of salt.
For that drink, I typically go with eggnog because to me, the nutmeg screams “holiday!” On a recent visit to Atrium restaurant in Los Feliz, though, I drank a fantastic holiday-time cocktail that drinks like eggnog, milk punch and a Manhattan combined but is lighter and more spirit-forward. Called, it’s a cheeky cocktail from beverage director Amy Koffsky that combines whiskey with almond milk, orgeat, maple syrup and chocolate bitters.
Once everyone is chomping on nuts and sipping their drinks, I like to surprise them with something really hot, really salty and not at all what they were expecting. At regular dinners, that might be a socca served piping hot from the oven for guests to tear at while it burns their fingers . But for Christmas this year, it’s. They’re the kind that are parboiled, drained and then roughed up a bit in the pot to create lots of craggy edges that, when fried, cook up exceedingly crunchy.
Once everyone has had a few potatoes and handfuls of nuts, the hunger pangs subside. Now’s the time to catch up on life and settle in for the big dinner later in the evening.
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