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The last time I hosted friends for a meal was Jan. 1, 2020.
Hosting for the Holidays
It was, shall we say, a different time. A virus was wreaking havoc in the city of Wuhan, China, but had yet to appear in the United States. For Christmas, I had traveled to Idaho to visit my family. For New Year’s Day, my partner and I invited a couple of our closest friends and their two children over for brunch. After we ate, we adjourned to the neighborhood park so the kids could enjoy the newly rebuilt playground and the adults could enjoy the outdoor air and talk about whatever we used to talk about in the Before Times.
The truth is, I don’t really remember it all that well. I’m sure I made a frittata, because they are, in my opinion, the perfect brunch entree (quick, filling and easy to adapt to guests’ dietary preferences, provided they aren’t vegan). I’m certain we drank plenty of coffee. We probably had mimosas, too. There was probably some sort of side dish on the menu, if not more than one, but what they were is lost to time.
There was a time, though, when I was a pretty decent host—whether for small dinners, bigger parties, for overnight guests or for some combination of the above. But the pandemic put me out of business as a hostess. Now the only people who visit my apartment who don’t live there are maintenance staff and the occasional cat sitter. I’m nice enough to them—which is to say, I answer their questions and clean the apartment well enough that said cat sitters never find out how I really live—but politely dealing with strangers who happen to be in your home is not the same thing as hosting.
Maybe you, too, are a once-organized host who no longer remembers exactly what you used to do when people showed up at your house. Maybe you’ve never hosted a dinner party in your life, but circumstances have aligned that put you in charge of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. Or you’re an experienced and confident host who still suspects you have a trick or two to learn. Whoever you are and whyever you’re celebrating, we’ve got you covered.
For this issue, we spoke to the Stayton couple—who are, according to math, objectively the best hosts in the country—about how to improve your hosting game. We found a cocktail recipe to serve your thirsty guests when they arrive, a warming soup to feed the crowd, a Beaverton cakery’s Almond Roca cake that tastes like a long-gone Old Westside classic and some holiday outings to take when it’s time to get everybody out of the house. We asked an expert how to talk to your out-of-town relatives who may have, somehow, gotten the wrong idea about Portland. And we found some additional hosting resources in a roundup of new cookbooks to consult should you need more advice, inspiration or a passive-aggressive holiday gift for the worst host in your life.
We can feel enormous pressure for our homes and parties to be perfect when we invite loved ones in, whether or not they are the ones applying that pressure. Hopefully, the info in the following pages reduces that anxiety. Just remember: The best part of the holidays is the people we celebrate with. Thanks for including us in yours. —Christen McCurdy, Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
