An Epic Holiday Dinner Party

Food & Entertaining

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Bring a little magic to your holiday gatherings with festive tablescapes, favorite recipes and a touch of Christmas tradition.

By Katie-Rose Watson


As a food blogger and themed party enthusiast, I feel like it’s my duty to host a magical holiday party each year. From grand soirees to cozy Christmas brunches with a pajama dress code, I absolutely adore a holiday theme but you really can’t go wrong with a classic red-and-green color scheme.

 

Jazz up your holiday table with floating candles adorned with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs, white hydrangeas, red roses, and gold flatware. A touch of holiday plaid is always a cozy addition to a Christmas tablescape. Have a live tree? Consider saving branches cut from the bottom of your Christmas tree to add fresh alpine vibes to your holiday table. You can’t beat the smell!


One of my favorite Christmas movies is The Holiday, during which Kate Winslet’s character serves “Christmas Fettuccine.” I thought that was a marvelous idea and it’s now one of my favorite things to make at Christmas time along with homemade focaccia, a delicious crab salad, and my popular Fiori di Sicilia Cranberry Cake.


Get all of these recipes and party ideas on therosetable.com. 


CHRISTMAS PARTY MENU

Christmas Fettuccine

Crab Salad*

Homemade Focaccia*

Festive Fiori di Sicilia Cranberry Cake


Crab Salad

Salad Greens (about 6 oz)

1 can hearts of palm

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 an English cucumber, sliced

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Marcona almonds, chopped

3 strips thick-cut bacon

8 oz lump crab

Ranch dressing


  • Snip bacon into lardons and fry until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.
  • Toss together salad greens, hearts of palm, feta cheese, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, and Marcona almonds, and bacon with ranch dressing. Top each serving with lump crab or stir the crab through right before serving.


Loaded Focaccia

13/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)

1 packet active dry yeast (not instant)

1 Tbsp sugar

5-6 cups flour

1 Tbsp salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp course sea salt

1 8 oz mozzarella ball

Homemade pesto

Handful cherry tomatoes

2 Tbsp Kalamata Olives


  • Whisk together yeast and sugar with warm water in a small bowl until dissolved. Let sit for ten minutes or until foamy. If yeast is not foamy, start over.
  • Whisk together five cups of flour with 1 Tbsp of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast mixture and 1/2 cup olive oil and mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed until the dough comes together. Add additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Mix on medium speed for 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth.
  • Knead the dough by hand on a flour surface until it comes together in a ball.
  • Coat the inside of the mixing bowl with a bit of olive oil and return dough to bowl. Cover with a damp towel and place in a warm place, like a sunny windowsill, for 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
  • Coat a large jelly roll sheet (a rimmed baking sheet) with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Transfer dough to baking sheet and gently spread it out using your hands until it’s dimpled and completely fills the pan. Cover the pan with a damp towel and let dough rise until doubled, about one hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  • Sprinkle focaccia with course sea salt. Slice mozzarella and layer on focaccia with whole cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and pesto. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board to slice. Enjoy!


Christmas Fettuccine

1 pound fettuccine

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg



Boil a pot of salted water over high heat. Add fettuccine and cook according to package directions.

  • While pasta is boiling, melt one stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter with minced garlic over low heat. Add heavy whipping cream, salt, and pepper, and stir until uniform in color.
  • Add parmesan and grayed gruyere and whisk over low heat until cheesy is completely melted. (Be patient!)
  • Grate fresh nutmeg into the sauce, whisk, and add a pound of cooked fettuccine, using tongs to carefully coat the noodles with the sauce. Serve immediately.


Festive Fiori di Sicilia Cranberry Cake

For the sugared cranberries:

2 cups fresh cranberries

11/2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup water

For the cake:

2 cups sugar

31/4 cups flour

21/2 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, soft

11/4 cups milk, at room temperature

11/2 tsp fiori di sicilia extract

4 large farm fresh eggs

2 cups fresh cranberries

For the frosting:

6 cups powdered sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp fiori di sicilia extract

4 Tbsp milk


To make the sugared cranberries:

  • Bring 1 cup of sugar and water to a simmer in a saucepan. Gently simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  • When simple syrup is cool, pour over cranberries and stir to coat.
  • Refrigerate cranberries in syrup overnight.
  • Remove cranberries from syrup with a slotted spoon (reserve the cranberry-flavor simple syrup for cocktails!) and roll in remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. You may need to roll them a few times to totally coat.
  • Set cranberries on a paper towel to dry for a hour or so.
  • To bake the cake:
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour two 9” round cake pans.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add butter to the mixer and beat until it looks sandy.
  • Combine the milk and fiori di sicilia and add to the mixer. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Don’t forget to scrape the bowl as you go!
  • Crack eggs into a bowl. This way, you won’t accidentally get egg shells in your cake batter. With the mixer running on low, add eggs one at a time. Make sure each is incorporated before adding the next.
  • Gentle stir in fresh cranberries with a spoon or spatula.
  • Pour batter into your prepared cake pans. Softly bang the bottom of the pans against the countertop to help settle the batter evenly in the pan.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a rack to cool before removing it from the pan.
  • Frost with Fiori di Sicilia frosting (recipe below). Garnish with sugared cranberries.
  • To make Fiori di Sicilia Frosting:
  • Cream together powdered sugar and softened butter with an electric mixer. Start with two cups of powdered sugar and half a stick of butter, alternating additions.
  • Slowly incorporate vanilla, fiori di sicilia, and milk. Beat until smooth. Add additional milk or powdered sugar if needed for desired consistency.