By Seth Fera-Schanes

The New York holiday season is underway.  What this means is a deluge of paperless post and facebook invitations to parties starting the first weekend of December and running through New Years Eve.  I am not saying this is a bad thing, just a statement of fact; December is one socially active month.

At some point you will want to host one of these events at your home.  If you want to go down that path, I have two pieces of advice. First, get your invitations out early.  Calendars book up fast this time of the year and you don’t want to be standing alone in your apartment come party time.  Second, keep your drink and meal planning simple.  Easy snack foods along with plenty of booze are the real key to a winning New York social outing.

I have included a great party salad below that might be a great addition to your next party.  While not a finger food, it is easy to make and has a lot of great colors and textures that your guest will really enjoy.

Baby Mixed Green Salad with Kumquat and Pomegranate Seeds

Serving size: 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0

Ingredients:

5 oz mixed baby salad greens – I used a mix of baby swiss chard, tatsoi, arugula and spinach

1/3-1/5 pomegranate seeds – You can use 1 whole pomegranate or buy seeds that have already been shucked

1 small shallot – thinly sliced into half circles

4-6 oz. kumquats – sliced into thin rings

4 hearts of palm – cut into quarters lengthwise

Red wine vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, add salad green mix, sliced shallots, kumquats and pomegranate seeds.  Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.  For the dressing you want to keep the ratio 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.  Just enough dressing to moisten the salad (you can alway add more later if needed.)  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Gently toss salad to incorporate all ingredients. 

To Plate:

Form a small box with cut hearts of palm.  Carefully spoon salad into middle of box and serve immediately.