Entertain With A Glitz & Glitter Dessert Party
By Holly Clegg

Entertaing! Holidays! This is the time of year that friends, family, and offices are planning parties. Parties take place year round, however, there are more planned during these holiday months.

Entertaining can be overwhelming, costly, and intimidating so forget hiring an expensive caterer or booking a restaurant when you can easily entertain in the comfort of your own home or office.

From food to decorations, here are some quick tips, ideas and recipes to make your next party an occasion to remember minus the stress.

My solution to holiday entertaining is to have a dessert party as my Glitz & Glitter Dessert Party featured in my new book, Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific Home Entertaining the Easy Way. The book includes easy recipes, and yes even desserts, prepared with a healthier approach perfect for the hectic holiday days.

Dessert parties work well this time of year for several reasons. No matter what else is happening on a particular evening, people always have time to make one last stop for something sweet. The time of a dessert party can be late evening which will fit into most peoples' schedule. The party takes on a drop by personality, which keeps business acquaintances not staying too long, or gives the opportunity for friends to end their evening with relaxation and no rushing.

In planning your menu for a dessert party, prepare some of your favorite recipes to give the party your personal touch, but as I recommend in my new book, take Short Cuts by enhancing the evening with some specialty baked bought favorites.

I like to have a variety of desserts that would include pick ups, cold desserts such as trifles, and cakes. Many of the pick-ups such as brownies, cookies, or bar cookies may be made ahead of time and frozen to pull out the night needed.

Trifles are a great dessert as they can be made ahead of time, serve a crowd, and make a wonderful presentation. A chocolate fondue is fun and serving with it fresh fruit adds color and, of course, nutrition to the table. Or for that accent of color, nothing is more enticing and delicious than chocolate dipped strawberries.

Serving just champagne and flavored coffees easily solves the drink dilemma. In my new entertaining book, I have including Exciting Extras for a little more flair. Some simple ideas are to float raspberries in the champagne glasses. Another nice touch is to pull out that stored away deviled egg dish and fill each hole with raw brown sugar, colored sugar, mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cinnamon sticks and whatever hits your imagination. Place with a demi tasse spoon next to the coffee so the guest can select their coffee condiments for their sweet additions.

Now, for the glitz and glitter, which adds pizzazz without all the cost. An abundance of gold decorations (which are easily found during the holiday season) and white candles of varying heights accented with greenery make a very elegant table adorning all the desserts.

For this type party, you only need forks and plates. Use small dessert china plates or small clear plastic plates provide a classy yet disposable option. Another tip is to take advantage of the selection of attractive seasonal paper cocktail napkins found this time of year. Best of all, the following recipes are Trim & Terrific so you can enjoy these decadent desserts without upsetting your waistline. And what's great about a dessert party is you get to enjoy a sampling of a variety of indulgences.

Keep your life simple and whatever works best for you is the right way to go.

The following recipes are from Holly Clegg's new entertaining book,

Holly's Recipes

• Black Russian Bundt Cake
• Chocolate Italian Cream Cake
• Berry Trifle
• Chocolate Fondue
• Chocolate Almond Sandies
• Sweet Potato Cheesecake