Clare de Boer, April Bloomfield, Leandra Medine Cohen, Winston Marshall, Liz Lange, John McWhorter, H. R. McMaster, and more on how to host with the most.
I still have 2 FULL days of work (working for The Man!), but this lil series has cheered me so much! I'm hosting a Party of 2, not 12, and I think it's going to be better now that I've been inspired. Heck, maybe I'll make the salad, the orange spiced duck, the ginger cake, AND open a bottle of wine in my opaque tights and t-shirt with a new playlist curated from the contributors. Thanks, The Free Press.
You GO girl!! I'm not sure what of this list I'm gong to incorporate (we're doing the duck anyway) but most likely the music-- oh more wine is always good too!
Hey Free Press interns, you may not need to check your privileges at TFP but do check the links. John McWhorter's link goes to Spotify which shows the song but won't actually play it. You have to go to YouTube to hear it.
I can attest that De Boer’s ginger cake is a delicious and popular holiday offering, because it is a lot like my own famous Christmas cake (except mine has stout in place of half the molasses, and is baked in a Bundt pan). Cheers!
Winston Marshall always comes across as a thoughtful, curious and generally lovely young man; the "best of British". I wonder if TFP readers know the story of his cancellation? In any case, Christmas isn't the time to dwell on such matters, and I admire him even more for the manner in which he's risen above such rubbish and reinvented himself as a welcome member of the new journalism that's improving our lives (through sites such as this one.) Merry Christmas to everyone at TFP (and to Winston Marshall!).
We do Christmas Eve at our wonderful church in the wilderness, candlelight and carols and good souls, light refreshments in the meeting room. Hugs and best wishes to all, followed by rushing home for our favorite Christmas tradition of watching DIEHARD by the crackling fireplace : )
We don’t have a particular set of things that must occur for Christmas although my official start is after the final day of work is done, put on Guaraldi Charlie Brown album and have a stiff drink, and let the tension bleed off
oh whew, my email version of this article listed the ginger cake as having 6 CUPS of Molasses. I knew that had to be an error! Such fun to host a holiday party (I haven't in too long) and keeping it simple with great food & drinks and not overthinking anything else is the way to a great get together.
This is marvelous, a joy to read. I really enjoyed the perspectives of this diverse group of commentators. Happy Christmas, (late) Hannukah, Winter Solstice, and whatever else you embrace, The Free Press and its readers. Looking forward to more great reading - and thinking - in the new year.
PS - Our family always give socks for Christmas (among other things). It started as a joke but has become an expectation. With so many demands on finances, socks (& new underwear) often get pushed to the bottom of the list, after all, nobody sees them. :)
a big NO to salad hard to eat standing up and even at a sit down dinner a leaf always drops on the fabulous white shirt you saved just for this occasion..you either eat one leaf at a time or cram a few on your salad fork ( its the smaller one) and try to chew without getting green teeth.. music is imperative. prefer buffets. and plenty of wine .. but get ubers lined up ahead of time. if guests drove they can pick up their cars the next day
I still have 2 FULL days of work (working for The Man!), but this lil series has cheered me so much! I'm hosting a Party of 2, not 12, and I think it's going to be better now that I've been inspired. Heck, maybe I'll make the salad, the orange spiced duck, the ginger cake, AND open a bottle of wine in my opaque tights and t-shirt with a new playlist curated from the contributors. Thanks, The Free Press.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
(But first, back to the grind...)
You GO girl!! I'm not sure what of this list I'm gong to incorporate (we're doing the duck anyway) but most likely the music-- oh more wine is always good too!
Merry Christmas to you- and everyone!!
I'm looking into that blueberry buckle recipe ... competing with a WSJ recipe that's more work ....
Good luck and Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas HB.
What a great assortment of advice and unique vibes this article presents! Thank you all!!
I made the blueberry buckle, it was easy and delicious. Thanks for the tip. Happy New Year everyone!
Hey Free Press interns, you may not need to check your privileges at TFP but do check the links. John McWhorter's link goes to Spotify which shows the song but won't actually play it. You have to go to YouTube to hear it.
I can attest that De Boer’s ginger cake is a delicious and popular holiday offering, because it is a lot like my own famous Christmas cake (except mine has stout in place of half the molasses, and is baked in a Bundt pan). Cheers!
DO NOT TRY TO MAKE CLARE DE BOER"S GINDER CAKE WITH 6 CUPS OF MOLASSES! She has corrected this on her own substack to 1 3/4 cups.
Thanks for the email version of the ginger cake recipe showing 6 cups of molasses...
I have a $20 molasses ginger soup.
Winston Marshall always comes across as a thoughtful, curious and generally lovely young man; the "best of British". I wonder if TFP readers know the story of his cancellation? In any case, Christmas isn't the time to dwell on such matters, and I admire him even more for the manner in which he's risen above such rubbish and reinvented himself as a welcome member of the new journalism that's improving our lives (through sites such as this one.) Merry Christmas to everyone at TFP (and to Winston Marshall!).
We do Christmas Eve at our wonderful church in the wilderness, candlelight and carols and good souls, light refreshments in the meeting room. Hugs and best wishes to all, followed by rushing home for our favorite Christmas tradition of watching DIEHARD by the crackling fireplace : )
We don’t have a particular set of things that must occur for Christmas although my official start is after the final day of work is done, put on Guaraldi Charlie Brown album and have a stiff drink, and let the tension bleed off
“You pair your fullest coverage black underwear with sheer tights ...” made me gasp. What a wonderful article!
oh whew, my email version of this article listed the ginger cake as having 6 CUPS of Molasses. I knew that had to be an error! Such fun to host a holiday party (I haven't in too long) and keeping it simple with great food & drinks and not overthinking anything else is the way to a great get together.
I just made the ginger cake and popped it in the oven. The batter was tasty! I’m going to say this is the “stout” of cakes. Very dark, very dark.
This is marvelous, a joy to read. I really enjoyed the perspectives of this diverse group of commentators. Happy Christmas, (late) Hannukah, Winter Solstice, and whatever else you embrace, The Free Press and its readers. Looking forward to more great reading - and thinking - in the new year.
PS - Our family always give socks for Christmas (among other things). It started as a joke but has become an expectation. With so many demands on finances, socks (& new underwear) often get pushed to the bottom of the list, after all, nobody sees them. :)
a big NO to salad hard to eat standing up and even at a sit down dinner a leaf always drops on the fabulous white shirt you saved just for this occasion..you either eat one leaf at a time or cram a few on your salad fork ( its the smaller one) and try to chew without getting green teeth.. music is imperative. prefer buffets. and plenty of wine .. but get ubers lined up ahead of time. if guests drove they can pick up their cars the next day
"And does fruit count as a dessert?" Not when it's displacing Christmas pudding and hard sauce (sugar/butter/rum).