A basic white cloth and a minimalist color scheme create a pleasing buffet table. Buffets function best when you avoid overloading the table with decorations and when you have the proper serving utensils for each dish. A long buffet table calls for a tall, bold arrangement. Create one in a matter of minutes by filling a large vase or a hurricane lamp with pomegranates, pears, limes, figs, artichokes, apples, and grapes.
Celebrate the season in the company of family and friends and with hearty, down-home food. Pick a weekend afternoon or evening and phone, fax, or mail invitations two to three weeks in advance. Mix prepared foods with dishes you make yourself.
MENU: Think comfort food, says caterer and event planner Serena Bass, like a purchased smoked ham or easy-to-make barbecued chicken, sauteed greens, mashed potatoes, purchased corn bread, a Jell-O mold, and your favorite festive cookies. Order the ham about two weeks before the party. (Good bet: Harrington's in Richmond, Vermont;
www.harringtonham.com.) Collard greens can be prepared up to two days in advance. Chop, then cook in half water, half chicken stock. Drain, then saute with a tiny bit of bacon fat. Throw in crumbled cooked bacon and, if you want, a pinch of hot red pepper flakes. Cover and refrigerate. The chicken and Jell-O mold can be prepared one day in advance. "Here's a big secret of mine," says Bass. "Lea & Perrins makes the best barbecue sauce. Simmer chicken pieces in chicken stock until they're tender, then cool, cover, and refrigerate. Before serving, arrange on a baking pan, drizzle on Lea & Perrins barbecue sauce, and then bake 15 minutes on each side, or until they're crisp and brown and bubbling. It's the easiest thing, and kids adore it." And believe it or not, Bass says, "children and grown-ups alike fight over the Jell-O. Simply make the Jell-O, get a pretty mold, put drained canned mandarin orange slices in the mold, pour in a little bit of the Jell-O, and let it set in the fridge. Then fill the rest of the mold with the Jell-O, so when you turn it over to unmold, all the oranges are on top. Serve it with whipped cream. It's pretty and festive and absolutely delicious." The day of the party, buy fresh corn bread and Christmas cookies and make mashed potatoes. Garnish serving platters with watercress, lady apples, tangerines, and kumquats.
DRINKS: "I think it's nice to have one hot drink, either a spiced cider or a spiced wine," says Bass. "If you don't want to do mixed drinks, just don't do it. Give them wine and beer and sodas. If you know some people will want scotch or gin or something, keep it in the kitchen. It makes your life easier." A dry rose wine partners well with smoked ham (good bet: any rose from the Tavel region of the Rhone Valley). Buy wine and other beverages a week or so ahead of time.
MUSIC: Think feel-good. Antonio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina, Elis & Tom; Ry Cooder and the Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club; Crosby, Stills & Nash, CSN.
WORDS OF WISDOM: Bass says, "Some hostesses get very disappointed because they think they're going to get 50 people and 25 show up. But I find, if it's any comfort, that a party is what it is. If you get 25 out of 50 people, you'll have a fabulous time anyway. They're all your friends, and you'll have a good time no matter what. So what if you have leftover ham? It freezes really well."
