To Buffet Or Not To Buffet

These next few weeks are going to be the prime time for holiday entertaining. The question is what makes a better setting - a buffet or a sit down dinner?What's easier to handle? Do you let people mingle at informal buffets or is it better to have a formal sit down dinner? These are the questions party planners will have to ask themselves.



Buffets have a lot of merits. People can take and pick what they like. There's no worry about dietary restrictions along with likes and dislikes. There can be a theme like Oriental, French or Italian with small servings an hors d'oeuvres. Buffets also offer a better chance to mingle. Guests can catch up with old friends as well as enjoy meeting new people. There's also the freedom t move around more too. The down side to any buffet is the amount of work. There are so many dishes to make from the appetizers to the desserts. A bonus would be having friends and family bring dishes of their own.



Sit down dinners are also another good way of celebrating the holidays. A dinner party is the best way to showcase any cooks' talents. Outstanding dishes, such as crown rib roast or a twenty pound turkey can be served. It's also chance for also bringing back classics such as the amuse bouche or palate cleansing lemon sorbet between courses. Sit down dinners allow cooks to come up with grand desserts too. Forget the holiday cookie tray. Impress guests with crepes Suzette or a blanc mange. It's also a chance for a hos tor hostess to have some interesting conservation and introduce guests to each other. Unfortunately a sit down dinner party means a huge clean up later on. This could mean going to bed at one or two in the morning or waking up to an entire kitchen full of dirty plates, pots and pans.



Buffet or not to buffet? That is the question most holiday hosts and hostesses are asking themselves. Both types of get togethers have pluses and minuses . It's a tough decision but once chosen can be the highlight of the 2009 season.