Dinner Party Recipes: Green Salad, Beef Roast And Mashed Potatoes

Holiday party ideas can be all over the place (fancy cocktail hours, high-stakes gingerbread house competition), but no matter how much you try, you can't beat tradition. Kick it old school for a sit-down plated dinner of steak and potatoes with underlying French elegance. And since you're the chef, no one's allowed to say anything if you decide to wear your finest Christmas sweater to the dinner table.

① Drink: Glögg

Hit your guests in the face the second they walk in with the scent of warm port, spices and butter-bathed raisins. You can use your slow cooker to make it or just to keep it warm for serving.

② Appetizer: Chicory Salad with Orange and Walnuts

Castelfranco sounds like a green that would be exclusively served in a royal Italian palace, but it's worth seeking out at the market. It's similar in price but milder than its bitter relatives, like radicchio, and prettier, too, with its watercolor leaves.

③ Main Course: Tenderloin Beef Roast

Reverse-searing your meat is like a makeshift sous vide, practically guaranteeing an impressive roast cooked to juicy perfection. The stir-and-serve citrus cream sauce is equally delicious on thick slices of bread and begs you to make leftover sandwiches the next day.

④ Side Dish: Pommes Aligot

You can make parting-gift T-shirts that say, "I went to a dinner party, and aligot were these swoon-worthy cheesy mashed potatoes."

⑤ Dessert: Salted Chocolate and Coriander Cookies

By now, people are likely to be stuffed. So pass around a plate of these meringues with coffee and tea. Put out Ziploc bags for the committed to take a few home and a pint of ice cream for the truly committed to make ice cream sandwiches.