Being a Good Host or Hostess Part 1: No Pressure Entertaining

One of my New Year's goals is to try 50 new recipes in 2015. This means I am going to need some help eating all that food! So, I have decided to do more hostessing this year.

I grew up in the South where most gatherings involve food. In the South, food is love and more food is more to love! It's the same principle as "if some is good, more is better." As an RD, I can not fully support the last statment. But regardless of where you grew up, I think there is something special about sharing a meal. In the South, we call this 'fellowshipping" - getting together to visit and of course eat! The church I grew up in even had a room devoted to this; the Fellowship Hall was a room for gathering, eating, and freiends to  . . .  well, fellowship.

So, you could say it is inate to want to share and eat food together. However, trying a new recipe on someone is a bit intimadating. I want to make good food that my guests willl like. I get nervous that the recipe won't turn out right, be good, or will it even be edible? Have you every felt like that? I would encouraged you to not try a whole new batch of recipes; you should make at least one tried and true recipe when entertaining.

Speaking of tried and true, one thing I've learned in the first two decades of my life is the value of true friendships. I have lived in 3 different states in the past 10 years. I appreciate when people open their home to me, when they let me in their lives. I appreciate when someone else hosts me. I appreciate when people let you into their world with dirty socks, toys on the floor, and dishes in the sink. I appreciate when people don't put on an heir of perfections. I appreicate authenticity. So what I've learned about hosting is to just be authentic.

To be a good hostess is to open up your home, your life, and to be authentic.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Please let me know if there are any ingredients or dishes you want me to try in the new feature #NewYearNewRecipes #NYNR #50RDrecipes

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