Planning a Potluck
Good news for party hosts who feel intimidated about feeding a large group: potlucks are back in vogue. They take the pressure off the host to prepare every course, cover any unknown dietary restrictions (people always bring a dish they can eat themselves) and ensure there's enough food on the table. If you're hesitant to ask guests to contribute to a party, take comfort in the fact that most people are eager to bring something anyway.

Should you assign dishes? How much does everyone bring? Whether it's a cocktail party, brunch or sit-down dinner, the rules of engagement are simple.  The beauty of a potluck is that the more people who come, the more food there will be—there's no need to know numbers in advance. Unless you've invited fewer than 10, each guest need not worry about bringing enough to feed everyone—just enough for themselves, and a bit more to share. When there is a wide range of options, people tend to graze, taking small portions of each offering rather than full servings.

Assign courses—mains, sides, salads, appies, desserts—only if you want to be sure all the bases are covered. Otherwise, leave it to chance. Make your oven available for reheating, and clear a long table so that guests can serve themselves, buffet-style: a stack of plates, napkins and forks (bundle them in a tall glass or jar) at one end, with extra serving spoons and trivets for hot dishes.

Making the Most of Your Freezer
You need to be present at your own party, not fussing in the kitchen. Freezable, make-ahead appetizers will help you do this.
Appetizers are best frozen before they're baked. The more moisture a food contains, the better it freezes. And never underestimate the power of scent: having something in the oven as guests arrive will make your home more welcoming and whet appetites. (There is no better potpourri than baking. Or bacon.) Don't thaw appetizers before you bake them. This causes them to release moisture, making them soggy. Most items can be baked from frozen, requiring just a little extra oven time.

Foods that don't freeze well: cooked potatoes (watery), fragile pastries or thin breadsticks (shatter), and cream and cheese-based dips and guacamole (they separate). Fresh fruit and veggies lose their structure after being frozen and thawed: only freeze if you plan to cook them afterwards.

Totally freezable: appetizer-size pastries (such as puff pastry or phyllo), breadsticks, meatballs, ribs, chicken drumettes, satay (chicken, beef, pork or shrimp), fillings for little pastry cups and icebox cracker dough.

Make ahead (no need to freeze): dips and spreads such as hummus, tapenade, red pepper dip, artichoke dip, marinated olives or veggies, spiced nuts, crackers, and crostini.

Best Appetizers for a Busy Season
If you really want to prepare for a busy social season, host an appetizer exchange party. It's the same concept as a cookie exchange, but friends swap appetizers (like these risotto balls) that can be frozen. Who needs ten dozen cookies, anyway?

Sweet delicious things stuffed with salty delicious bits make for perfect party bites. These options can be assembled in advance; some are briefly baked before serving, some aren't. All are simple.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Parmesan
Pit some soft medjool dates and stuff with a stick of aged parmesan about the size of the pit. Cut bacon slices crosswise in half and wrap a piece around each date. Secure with a toothpick and place seam side down on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked and cheese is oozing out the middle. Serve.

Figs with Blue Cheese
Slice plump dried figs down one side, opening them up like a book. Stuff with a dab of soft, sticky blue cheese, then close again. Serve on a platter with toasted walnut halves, or use them to fill gaps on a cheese board.

Dates with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto
Slice dates down one side, opening them up like a book. Stuff with a small spoonful of soft goat cheese and, if you like, a fresh sage leaf or a dab of apricot jam. Close and wrap in a small piece of prosciutto.

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Perfect Party Snacks
Crostini—literally "little toasts"—provide the foundation for myriad tasty party nibbles. They're also perfect on an antipasto platter: arrange crostini with thinly sliced salami, prosciutto, roasted peppers, parmesan shavings, soft goat cheese, olive tapenade, capers, sundried tomatoes and roasted garlic and let your guests go to town.

Basic Crostini
Smash a garlic clove and peel off its skin. Put it into a ramekin of olive or canola oil and set it aside while you slice a baguette into ¼-inch pieces on a slight diagonal. Brush the slices lightly on both sides with the garlicky oil, refilling the ramekin if you need to, and place the bread on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 5–8 minutes, flipping once, until pale golden. Set aside to cool. (They can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

Eight Ways to Top Your Toasts
goat cheese + fig jam
roasted red pepper + olive tapenade
sundried tomato + parmesan + basil
thinly sliced roast beef + caramelized onions + horseradish
ricotta + prosciutto + sliced peaches or plums
pesto + roasted tomato + mozzarella
peas/fava beans mashed with garlic + parmesan curls + arugula
goat cheese + sautéed beet greens, chard or kale

Easiest Holiday Dish
Roast ham is hands-down the simplest main when you're charged with feeding the masses: it's already cooked, so there isn't the pressure for precise timing or risk of under- or over-cooking as there is with roast beef or turkey. It's delicious hot, at room temperature or cold. It's easy to carve (let guests serve themselves) and appeals to a wide range of ages. Set out small buns or homemade biscuits (recipe pg.66) so your guests can make little sandwiches they can hold in one hand, which makes children and wine-toting grown-ups equally happy.

How to Bake a Ham
Start with a fully cooked, bone-in ham, which makes baking (read: reheating) a no-brainer. If you don't like your ham too salty, soak it in water in the fridge for 24 hours; this will draw some of the sodium out. Trim any excess fat. If there is a thin layer over the ham, score it every inch in one direction, then the other, making a diamond pattern.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a roasting pan with foil to avoid scrubbing it later. Place your ham (which should be 8–10 pounds) in the pan and bake for an hour. Remove from the oven and baste with your choice of glazes (below). Return to the oven for another half-hour to an hour, brushing once or twice with more glaze, until the exterior is sticky and golden and the ham is heated through. (If you have a meat thermometer, check that it's 140°F in the middle.)

Optional Ham Glazes
(aka Sticky Ham Paint):
½ cup brown sugar + ¼ cup grainy mustard + ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup marmalade + ¼ cup brown sugar + ¼ cup horseradish
½ cup brown sugar + ¼ cup grainy Dijon + ¼ cup thawed orange juice concentrate
⅓ brown sugar + ⅓ cup honey + 4–5 crushed garlic cloves
¾ cup cherry preserve + ¼ cup orange juice + 1 tsp cinnamon

Serving Oysters
Our Gallic friends know a thing or two about effortlessly wearing scarves and effortlessly entertaining. So what do these casually elegant scamps do over the holidays? They eat oysters, bushels of them. They're perfect for entertaining: they're festive, they require no cooking and they look dynamite laid out on a bed of shaved ice.

Make your own mignonette 
Mignonette is a vinegary sauce served alongside oysters, and it's easy. Typically, champagne or white wine vinegar is used. Mix it with equal parts minced shallot and a good grinding of black pepper. Some people like to add a pinch of sugar or bit of finely chopped parsley, or swap half the vinegar for lime juice and add a grating of zest as well. Serve alongside or dribbled over oysters in their shells, with lemon wedges.

Choose a killer French white to complement
We're partial to clairet, the pink Bordeaux that comes from near the Arcachon Bay—the heart of French oyster country, but it can be difficult to source here. A great alternate is Picpoul (literally lip-stinger); an acidic, affordable white from Languedoc that pairs perfectly with the bivalves. Chill a few (by which we mean 8) bottles and jam them right in the ice with the oysters. C'est effortless.

Buy a scarf and casually drape it around your neck

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