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Ingredients For A Fabulous Life
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As any Gracious Hostess knows, having the right basic home entertaining essentials to depend on makes having guests over a hassle-free “affair”.
Building a home entertaining essentials capsule is pretty much the same process as when using the technique with your wardrobe. I can’t help but see the clear analogy between the two “building” methods.
One entails building a group of clothing that can easily mix and match, and the other does the same exact thing, but with platters, bowls and dishes! Today we’ll dive into the absolute “basics” that are needed for efficient, stress-free and enjoyable entertaining at home.
Conventional entertaining wisdom tells us that all our home entertaining essentials should be white. Just white? Well, yeah, mostly anyway.
But, white doesn’t have to be boring. Try to keep an eye out for unusual shapes and sizes of platters, bowls and glassware.
That way you’ll end up with a fabulous “mix-and-match” selection of basic home entertaining essentials that give you tons of options.
There are different ways you can acquire these home entertaining basics, and I’ve used most of them at one time or another.
I’ve shamelessly asked for specific birthday and Hannukah gifts that helped complete my more advanced home entertaining essentials capsules. Like my specialty asparagus pot with insert, or the creme brulee torch and dishes I just had to have.
Keep in mind I’ve long since acquired and replaced most of my “basic home entertaining essentials” decades ago!
Here’s a few alternatives to buying everything you need for your basic home entertaining essentials:
Here’s what you need to help build or complete your Basic Home Entertaining Essentials Capsule.
My 5-PAGE Basic Home Entertaining Essentials List will keep your purchases on track to ensure you acquire a complete basic “home entertaining essentials” capsule. I’ve grouped the items needed to flesh out a basic home entertaining essentials capsule to help give you a plan of action as you look towards your future purchases and acquisitions.
I’ll tell you how to get your own copy of my FREE PDF a little later in this article.
LET’S GET STARTED EXPLORING WHAT YOU NEED FOR A COMPLETE “BASIC HOME ENTERTAINING ESSENTIALS” CAPSULE!
This is another beautiful and stylish way to store butter. Try this marble butter keeper from Crate and Barrel to safely keep butter at room temperature and ready for spreading.
Simply pack the keeper with ½ cup softened butter, add ¼ cup water to the base and invert to create an airtight seal of water that protects flavor and freshness. For best results, change water every three days.
It doesn’t get more darling than this Signature White Ruffle Cream and Sugar Set.
Talk about white not being boring, check out the matching salt and pepper shakers that Laura Johnson designed.
Even if your table is set entirely with white serving pieces and table top essentials, they’ll still pack tons of style with this salt-and-pepper set.
Crafted of clear glass, these candlesticks beautifully reflect light. They have a classic and sophisticated look that easily complement other pieces in a display.
You’ll want to build a selection of vases to create different types of floral arrangements, but this is a perfect “starter” vase. The tall square profile is a favorite of florists because of its versatility and classic lines.
If you’re fond of low-profile arrangements, you might want to opt for a low slung bubble-style vase that features a wide-mouth. They’re especially fabulous for centerpieces featuring bundles of the same blooms, such as roses or peonies.
I couldn’t show just one of the lovely trivets I ferreted out for this article. There were plenty of stylish and functional choices to be found, but these two were my favorites, especially because both are bio-friendly options.
These are made by the craftsmen at Oak Hill Wood Creations, and are a fabulous way to protect your surfaces from hot pans and pots.
They come in a few different colors/woods, and all of them would make a lovely addition to your basic home entertaining essentials capsule.
What serving utensils will you need to make your home entertaining go smoothly?
Let’s look at the VERY SHORT, BASIC LIST of serving utensil necessary to start entertaining at home:
Here’s where you can get really creative with your choices of Serving Piece Essentials!
If you want to stray from the “all white” motif, here’s a great category to do it. You can add a splash of color or pattern, and because you have mostly white, they’ll match everything!
A quick color change to turquoise napkins and candle tapers to match your salad bowl, can give your table a whole different vibe. Now it’s gone “island” and will match your Caribbean BBQ menu!
It’s a simple, inexpensive and creative method of building a basic (or more advanced) home entertaining essentials capsule.
Handcrafted of 100% rattan, the Artesia serving collection is woven in a pattern known as hapao. Originating in a remote village in northern Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, hapao is a traditional pattern used for bags and baskets.
Each piece in the Artesia collection is finished in beautiful honey brown, and ear handles with braid detailing on the rim.
Prep for a family dinner with this set of two Vanilla Fare serving bowls. With their low sides and long, leaf-shaped basins, these pieces hold everything from side dishes to pasta.
Isn’t this platter fabulous? I told you white doesn’t have to be boring! Here’s another great example of how you can express your individuality on your dining room table, even if it’s in white.
It has a modern take on the classical shapes of European ceramics and is crafted of high temperature fired earthenware for durability.
The Euro Ceramica Chloe Rectangular Platter matches their Chloe Dinnerware sets and accessories.
And take a look at this lovely platter from American Atelier. It’s their Bianca Beads Rectangular Platter offered at Overstock.
The platter’s got a fabulous shape and detailing that lend incredible style to any meal.
It’s about 16 inches long with the handles, so it’s the perfect size for desserts, side dishes or appetizers.
With its intricate patterns, bright colors and fun shapes, the Del Sol Collection resembles authentic hand-painted earthenware.
Festive and versatile, it dresses up your table or buffet for both casual meals or more formal gatherings. Don’t you just love the footed bowl pictured above? And who wouldn’t love those salad utensils?
Add a chic touch to your outdoor entertaining with these simply sophisticated granite-look trays crafted from durable melamine.
Since the set comes with four pieces, why not make individual cheese plates for an appetizer? Or how about laying them down the center of your table with candles and flowers? Instant table scape!
All-purpose lidded casserole in durable white porcelain goes from oven to table in style. You can choose from the one or three-quart baking dish sizes. They’ve got looped handles on the dish and lid adding playful detail and make carrying and serving safe and easy.
We’re about half way through the Gracious Hostess Basic Home Entertaining Essentials List. Now I bet you can see how valuable this printable list will be while building your basic home entertaining essentials capsule.
Just download the FREE PDF, and you’re in business.
I’ll tell you how to get your own copy of my Basic Home Entertaining Essentials List at the bottom of this article.
Have you “seen the light” and are convinced of the wisdom that comes from basing your home entertaining essentials capsule on white? If so, then I want you to hunt, scour and find a white set of dishes that you absolutely love.
Not one that’s just “okay”. Not one that you can get on sale. No. Just No.
You’ve already foregone getting a fabulous pattern or color. And now you’re supposed to “settle” for a plain old set of “basic white” dishes? Well, NO! Heck no!
I really like this set from Kohl’s pictured, it has a lovely scalloped edge and the shape of the cups and bowls aren’t huge like many available today. My personal set has a beaded edge that keeps it from being boring, but gives it a sophisticated vibe. See, I follow my own advice!
Why 12 placesettings? There are several reasons to purchase 12 matching placesettings of your basic home entertaining essential dishes.
Purchasing 8-12 individual-sized portion bowls gives you a ton of flexibility and versatility when entertaining at home. Here’s a few ways they can be used:
Needless to say, having 12 placesettings of your flatware is just common sense. Why should you constantly be washing flatware between meals every day?
Now, you don’t necessarily have to buy 12 of the same pattern. You can mix and match two complementary sets if you’re so inclined.
There’s nothing wrong with expressing your creativity in fabulously different ways when entertaining at home! In fact, I strongly encourage it!
Every moment is crafted by the scene you set. Check out the incredible detailing on the rims of the glasses! Just fab!
Stylish entertaining at home is a breeze with a fabulous carafe set to serve your signature cocktails in all Summer long!
Featuring a modern, curved design, this set is ideal for entertaining and includes a handsome ice bucket, glass cover with stainless steel rim, and perforated steel scoop. The double-walled bucket effectively insulates ice and keeps the exterior dry, which helps protect your furniture from unwanted moisture. In addition, the generously-sized scoop is designed to drain away melted ice.
This is the ONLY corkscrew tool that I had my staff use when professionally catering throughout the years. I found it early in my career and kept it as a staple for all our parties and functions.
Crafted from a blend of mango wood and iron, this piece features a galvanized metal finish and two metal handles. Measuring 3.75” H x 18” W x 18” D, it’s perfect for appetizers or serving up your latest home bar concoction.
I advise choosing 8-12 all-purpose glasses as your first “basic” bar/beverage service choice.
Choose a tall “collins” glass or perhaps a chunky goblet that can be used for water, juices or wine. This way you’ll have enough matching glasses to serve a small gathering, even if they’re drinking different beverages.
The ultimate plan being to slowly accumulate the various glassware you’ll need for both your dining and bar service needs. That’s when it gets really fun!
Martini glasses are one of my all-time favorites to own. I use them for beverages, specialty appetizers and even these “fruity potent pops”. They’re made with a sweet dessert wine and fresh fruit, you’ll love them!
The table linens are self-explanatory. Although, I will say that I favor a “tone-on-tone” pattern like the one pictured here for a bit of extra style.
But I do want to give you the reasoning for why you’ll want to have the large white napkins tucked away in your linen closet. Until I started to cater professionally, I didn’t own any that weren’t matched to a table linen.
Once I saw how useful these little scraps of fabric can be, I was sold on their value for entertaining at home.
**AS FOR THE HOSTESS – MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FULL-APRON TO KEEP YOU SPOTLESS WHILE TAKING CARE OF YOUR KITCHEN TASKS ! (I’ve got over a dozen to choose from!)
Now you’ve got the whole picture of what basic home entertaining essentials a good hostess should own. Keep in mind, this is the most basic of lists.
I’ve also created two additional “tiers” of home entertaining essentials that build upon the basics listed here.
I’ll be sharing those with you in future installments in the Gracious Hostess Home Entertaining Series, along with some of my professional catering tips.
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