It IS entertaining...

So what if I told you, anybody can be successful at entertaining?  Already scoffing at me, eh?
OK...what if I told you that you can not only be successful at entertaining but can also enjoy it?  How about that one?  I hope, at this point, that you're intrigued enough to keep reading or...you have decided that I have completely gone 'round the bend on this one.  But hear me out!
Personally, I have always enjoyed entertaining.  My mom was a great hostess on the order of Perle Mesta.  How's that for a very old, obscure reference?  How many of you even know who Perle Mesta was?  And, yes, I know I'm dating myself!

Suffice it to say, my mom was a superb entertainer.  She and my dad would have holiday open houses where hundreds of people would come and go over several hours in an entire evening,  It was a true open house, in every sense of the word, back in the good old (bad old?) days of the 1960's.  Copious amounts of food and adult beverages as well as the occasional romantic tryst in the coat closet with people not married to one another.  Yes, definitely the good old days!  HAH!  Anywho, my mother managed to prepare most all of the food but then hired people to help serve and bartend so that she could be "the hostess with the mostest" at my father's side.  Those parties and her aplomb associated with them were my introduction to Entertaining...I was going to say 101 but there was nothing simple or introductory about the way my mother captained that ship.  So, I internalized my maternal rendering of Martha Stewart and thought that was what I needed to do.  And, I did!  I loved throwing great parties that totally stressed me out but they were perfect and beautiful.  I loved them but I couldn't say they were "fun" for me.  Everyone else had a wonderful time, though.  I guess the question is...how did I get from there to here?  Here being the place where I not only enjoy but have put together a lovely stress-free evening.

The "aha" moment came over twenty years ago when I was running behind getting things together for a small dinner party and was, of course, completely panicked.  One of the couples arrived a bit early (that about put me over the edge but she was a very good friend) and she said, as she watched me race around, "well, it's so nice to see that you're human."  That was my tipping point!  Indeed, I am human and why not stop trying to be Martha Stewart (who at the time had a staff of 700+) and actually enjoy the evening and my guests?  And, from that moment forward, that's exactly what I did and continue to do.

At Urban Kitchen, I teach cooking classes but I am also creating a warm and inviting environment that provides entertainment and something a little different for people to do together.  So I am entertaining guests in my kitchen anywhere from 3 to 5 nights a week.  We turn on the music, pour everyone a glass of wine and start cooking up some fun.  The atmosphere is light and easy.  No intimidation from complicated food, just delicious, straightforward dishes that are as comfortable to make as that old pair of slippers is to wear.

Now...do you believe that anyone can entertain AND enjoy doing it?  I hope so!
Keep an eye out because a complete guide of how-to do this whole entertaining thing is coming your way very soon!

And as always...
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Come join the fun and take a class with us!  Visit my website at Urban Kitchen on Cherry Street and check out the Class Calendar.