{"id":954014,"date":"2012-11-14T16:07:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-14T13:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=954014"},"modified":"2012-11-14T16:07:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-14T13:07:00","slug":"cookbook-author-alex-hitz-on-holiday-entertaining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=954014","title":{"rendered":"Cookbook Author Alex Hitz on Holiday Entertaining"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Table Talk: Cookbook Author Alex Hitz on Holiday Entertaining<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Molly Creeden<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Photographed by Robert Fairer, Vogue,<\/em> February 2009<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI wanted Southern food, but I wanted it on my terms,\u201d explains Alex Hitz<\/strong> in the introduction to his recently published cookbook, My Beverly Hills Kitchen<\/em> (Knopf). \u201cThe strict European standards of quality and technique applied to those grand old traditions.\u201d Hitz, whose sharp and snappy Southern lilt will persuade you to take his word for it when it comes to cuisine from the South (if his Baked Cheddar Grits, Pecan-Crusted Salmon with Sauce Gribiche, Shrimp Bisque, and Molten Chocolate Cake don\u2019t persuade you first), drew from the varied chapters of his life and the legacy of the world\u2019s best hosts to compile recipes for his tome. There are punched-up versions of Bill Blass\u2019s Sour Cream Souffl\u00e9, Nan Kempner\u2019s Baked Potatoes with Caviar, and Connie Wald\u2019s Chocolate Sauce, alongside everyday fare like Silver Queen Corn Pudding and Cold Avocado Soup. The son of a prominent Southern family, Hitz\u2019s kitchen is an amalgam of skills he honed as a student at Le Cordon Bleu, his experience owning and cooking at a bustling Atlanta restaurant, his global travels, and his observations of his mother and beloved family cook in the kitchen. Now based in Los Angeles, Hitz typically plays host in a twinkling hills retreat overlooking the ocean. With holiday entertaining on the horizon, Vogue<\/em> asked him what to keep in mind when one opens her house to dinner guests.<\/p>\n

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1. Make a schedule and stick to it. Don\u2019t punish those who are on time by waiting for the ones who are late. Nothing can ruin an event quicker than a cocktail hour that\u2019s too long. Your guests will then eat quickly and then leave. If you keep cocktails to 45 minutes, they will be ready for dinner and happy to stay for a while afterward. Remember: A party is like an evening at the theater, a concert, or the movies\u2014no one\u2019s happy when it goes on and on and they feel forced to stay.<\/p>\n

2. I find that Southern food, especially in circles known for their eating neuroses, is a total icebreaker. Everybody\u2014tycoons, heads of state, artistic luminaries, and the average Joe\u2014bonds over a good piece of fried chicken. Never underestimate the power of superdelicious comfort food. It\u2019s a great equalizer.<\/p>\n

3. A truly successful dinner should always feel like a bit of a splurge. I find that when people come for dinner, they\u2019re ready to eat what they really want\u2014 and I always like to give people what they want. They can diet the rest of the week.<\/p>\n

4. Switch up notions of traditional hospitality. I love to set a fairly formal table\u2014lots of silver, gorgeous flowers, and linens\u2014then tell guests no ties, no jackets, and serve chicken pot pie. Conversely, I think it\u2019s fun to have a buffet for 150 that runs, two-sided, down the middle of my kitchen. People love being in the kitchen, no matter if they go there in their own houses or not.<\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t skimp on anything. Whether it\u2019s frozen pizza, chicken, or caviar, make sure it\u2019s the best quality possible and that there\u2019s plenty of it. I\u2019m not a believer in the \u201cFamily hold back\u201d theory. No one, but no one, should ever have to do this when they\u2019re a guest at a party\u2014family or not!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/www.vogue.com\/article\/table-talk-cookbook-author-alex-hitz-on-holiday-entertaining<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Books Table Talk: Cookbook Author Alex Hitz on Holiday Entertaining By Molly Creeden November 14, 2012 Photographed by Robert Fairer, Vogue, February 2009 \u201cI wanted Southern food, but I wanted it on my terms,\u201d explains Alex Hitz in the introduction to his recently published cookbook, My Beverly Hills Kitchen (Knopf). \u201cThe strict European standards of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":954015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-954014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-vogue-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=954014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/954015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=954014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=954014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=954014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}