Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey Smarties, it's Kimberly. Make Me Smart is on a holiday break this week. We are going to be back with new episodes on January 6th. But today we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes of the year. It's all about throwing better parties. As the new year gets closer, maybe you're planning a get together. Hopefully this episode will spark some inspiration.
And speaking of the new year, your support helps Marketplace plan for the year ahead. If Marketplace has helped you make smarter decisions this year, now is the moment to give. The deadline is tomorrow, December 31st, and your support will help determine what Marketplace can bring you in 2026. Give now at marketplace.org slash give smart or click the link in the show notes.
hello everyone i'm kimberly adams welcome back to make me smart where we make today make sense thanks everybody for joining us for our weekly happy hour whether you're on the youtube live stream or listening to the podcast later this is economics on tap and today we're talking about one of my favorite topics
parties and how to host better parties this holiday season, especially if you're trying to do it without breaking the bank. And our entertaining expert for today is Casey Alsace, who's a food writer and author of the book, What Can I Bring? Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life. That's a mouthful to get out.
Hey, Casey. Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Now, of course, since it is happy hour, we have to talk drinks. Casey, what did you bring?
I brought an extra large Aperol Spritz.
I love it. You know, for a second when I saw the multi-layered colors of your glass, I was like, is this one of those fancy layered drinks?
Oh my gosh. I know it's not what everyone thinks of as a summer drink. My boyfriend drinks Aperol 365 days. So he's really inspired me to broaden my understanding of a spritz as an all the time Aperol, Aperitivo drink.
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Chapter 2: What holiday party tips does Casey Elsass share?
When it comes to hosting a party that maybe is centered around a meal in particular, what tips do you have for not letting the food budget get out of hand?
I am such a big fan of co-hosting. I'm a big fan of crowdsourcing. I think a lot of people have aspirations to host, but the cost is a big hurdle and the effort is a big hurdle. So that's where I think it's really great to just ask a few friends that you can really trust to chip in and bring the appetizer or bring the dessert or bring a side.
And that way you're just crossing things off your to-do list and you have less and less that you need to stress about and focus on.
So let's just say that you want your party to look really nice and let's all set expectations that none of our parties are going to be Instagram nice. Like just let it go, let it go. But you want to make the party look nice for your friends or your families, but you don't have the money for expensive decor or the time for a lot of these projects that people have.
What are some easy ways to make a party kind of look a bit more elevated?
Yeah, I think fresh flowers always make a space feel elevated, but they don't need to be from a florist, from a flower shop. I go to the bodega down the street. They have actually a surprisingly good selection. And if I get a few different types... For the record, Joel, he lives in Brooklyn. Oh yeah, sorry. Bodega's local slang. Your deli, your corner store.
But actually Trader Joe's has great flowers. And so even if the arrangement is not exactly right, just grab a few, mix and match, make your own. But I also love tea lights just scattered around the space because they're small enough that they're not distracting, but they add a nice glow. They add a nice ambiance. It's just a little extra touch that makes it feel dressed up in some kind of way.
And you can put tea lights in so many different things to make it look thematic for the time of year. I always love it when I see people putting them in mini pumpkins. I think that's adorable.
Yes, those are cute. I just use small glasses. If I have a little bowl, I'll put it in that. Anything can hold it. Just the glow of it is really the point.
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Chapter 3: How can I host a great party without breaking the bank?
So we're ahead of the holiday. We're encouraging everyone to bring an appetizer, a drink. If they need to do a test run of their dessert for the big day, bring it and we'll try it. And then I'm going to buy a bunch of frozen pizzas and just have those coming out of the oven all night.
Love it. Love it. All right. Don't forget, if you have questions for Casey about hosting, entertaining or cooking or anything, really, you can send those in the YouTube live stream chat. We're going to get to those in a bit. But right now we're going to take a quick break. All right, we are back and we're going to take some questions from the chat for Casey to answer.
And then we are going to play a lightning round of this or that. So first of all, Kay Gilbert says, what can I bring that is OK for vegans? My go to recipes all seem to have cheese or meat.
Well, great news for you. In my cookbook, every recipe has a key to show you if it follows any dietary restrictions. Also, every recipe is ranked by effort level. So no matter what your skillset in the kitchen is, you can find something you're gonna love. I would say for vegans, don't think of replacement. Think of things that are naturally vegan.
Things like guacamole, salsas, things that don't even have dairy as part of the equation are so much easier than trying to swap out an ingredient.
So we actually have a great tip that came from Stephanie Moore Fuller who says, in terms of decor, I recommend pruning stuff in your yard to make a great centerpiece. I've done this before. I definitely have rated neighborhood hedges for things. And I love that.
But then we have a question from Paul who says, what's a great chicken dish that is interesting and different, but not too hard for a medium level cook?
I mean, I think a roast chicken is always the right move. And it's shockingly easy once you get the hang of it, because really it's just about seasoning ahead of time and monitoring the temperature as you bake it. But you really just slide the whole thing in the oven, you bake it, you pull it out, it's ready to go. That's always my favorite move when people are coming over.
And I will say a lot of stores now sell like pre-marinated chickens that you don't even have to season them. You can just stick them in. So that's something. Another tip here from Mighty Unlikely is to bring an
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