Not-So-Secret Family Recipes & Holiday Hosting

Not-So-Secret Family Recipes & Holiday Hosting

We have enjoyed sharing our family recipes with you over the past few months, but December brings another layer. This time of year is full of events to attend and host, and the latter can be a bit overwhelming if you don't take it in stride. Let us help you! Greg and Allycin are excellent hosts, and do so often. I would trust any tips they have to give, and they recently hosted a Christmas dinner for some of their closest friends and let us take you along virtually. Get your markers ready to circle and note all of the things you'll want to try out at your own holiday soirée! We can't wait to hear how your dishes turn out and we'd love to know if you discover tips of your own! Share them with us on instagram @vipjacksonmagazine.

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The Art of Living: Paul's Pastry Shop

The most delicious and moist King Cake I have ever tasted is from Paul’s Pastry Shop in Picayune, Mississippi. The bakery’s slogan is “The Biggest Little Bakery in South Mississippi.” Picayune (population: 16,000) is approximately 45 minutes northwest of Biloxi, 45 minutes from New Orleans, and one hour from Hattiesburg, so its King Cakes and other delectable bakery treats are well known in South Mississippi and Louisiana. Paul’s Pastry Shop is two hours from Mobile, home of the first Mardi Gras celebration (not New Orleans, contrary to popular belief).

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The Art of Living: Christmas Cottage Cookbook

The Art of Living: Christmas Cottage Cookbook

Brimming with holiday ideas from delicious menus and decorating inspiration to easy hostess hints and gifts made by hand, “Christmas Cottage Cookbook” is sure to make your season enchanting.

When the “Christmas Cottage Cookbook” arrived at my cottage, I interrupted my long Christmas to-do list, prepared a cup of Mocha Mint coffee with White Chocolate Mocha creamer, and plopped down in a comfortable chair by a cozy fire. You will want to do the same thing when you read this book.

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The Art of Living: You're Invited

The Art of Living: You're Invited

Everyone dreams of hosting unforgettable soirees: the kind where candles and a fireplace create the perfect ambience, delicious canapes are passed, Champagne glasses clink, and the sound of laughter fills the air. In her first book: You’re Invited: Classic, Elegant Entertaining, Los Angeles-based hostess extraordinaire Stephanie Booth Shafran shares her secrets for perfect parties and takes the art of entertaining to new heights. From the table settings to the décor to the color-coordinated menus, every party she hosts showcases a myriad of inspired elements.

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Lucy "LuLu" Buffett's Restaurants & Cookbooks

Lucy "LuLu" Buffett's Restaurants & Cookbooks

Several years ago I was a guest at LuLu’s, which was then located at Weeks Bay a short distance from the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama where I was a guest. LuLu’s was a tiny dilapidated dive with lots of boats nearby and a bait shop. When you opened the door to the restaurant, you could smell the hamburgers. From the deck you could see beautiful Weeks Bay, and the sunsets were spectacular, much like in Key West, where LuLu and her husband have a home. “It was such a special place,” says Lucy Buffett of her first restaurant.

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The Art of Living: Stylish Sheds & Elegant Hideaways

The Art of Living: Stylish Sheds & Elegant Hideaways

Debra Prinzing is a regular contributor to the “Los Angeles Times,” “Cottage Living,” “Better Homes & Gardens,” “Fine Gardening,” “Sunset” and other magazines. She lectures frequently on garden and design topics. She lives in Los Angeles.

Today’s shed is not your grandfather’s tool house. Rather, it is a canvas for a fabulous space, and it may serve as a yoga studio, guesthouse, playroom, writing nook, entertaining enclave, or any other kind of hideaway space you can think of. Sheds are, in fact, a great way to add a room to your house without undergoing a big renovation.

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Entertaining At Home

Entertaining At Home

Entertaining At Home presents gatherings in the homes of leading tastemakers from the worlds of interior design, architecture, culinary arts, and society who show readers how to entertain with flair and finesse. Curated by Ronda Carman, she reminds us that “this is not meant to be a volume on how to entertain properly, but rather a glimpse of real people at home nurturing friends and family. It is my hope that it is as much aspirational as it is inspirational.” Each page is full of successful strategies and a myriad of ideas for delighting family and friends, with the hosts offering their personal viewpoint and providing behind-the-scenes details that go into creating memorable occasions.

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The Art of Living: Simply by the Sea

The Art of Living: Simply by the Sea

Perhaps it’s because I am an Aquarian, but like Tracey Rapisardi, author of “Simply by the Sea,” I am a lover of water. I never tire of walking by the ocean or viewing the barges and pleasure boats on the Mississippi River. Years ago I lived a half mile from the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, California. I treasured getting lost in my thoughts as I walked the beach daily. I spent much of my professional life in Memphis, where I saw the Mississippi River almost daily. Since 1981 I have traveled to historic Natchez, Mississippi, mostly to sit on a hotel balcony in Vidalia, Louisiana and observe the skyline of Natchez; view with high powered binoculars the ever moving, ever changing river; and wave at the barge captains and deckhands. Several steamboats dock in Natchez, and they beckon me to go onboard. (I’m convinced that in a previous life I lived on a steamboat.) At dusk the Mississippi River bridge lights come on, and it is magical. While it is not an ocean, the Mississippi River has almost the same effect on me.

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The Art of Living: Easy Hospitality, Parties & Weddings

The Art of Living: Easy Hospitality, Parties & Weddings

Entertaining is what people love to do. Whether you are hosting a large wedding announcement, a few girlfriends for lunch, a formal dinner party, or a tailgate picnic, entertaining is an enjoyable part of life where memories are made. Patty Roper, entertaining expert and author of “Easy Hospitality, “Easy Does It Entertaining, “At the Table with Patty Roper,” “Easy Parties and Wedding Celebrations,” and “Easy Does it Winners and Favorites,” shares creative and practical ideas, tablescapes, menus, and recipes for planning, organizing, and presenting memorable times with family and friends.

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The Art of Living: A Modern Guide to Gathering

The Art of Living: A Modern Guide to Gathering

In 1972 just six years after “Southern Living” was founded, the magazine published its “Party Cookbook” with a simple subtitle: “Complete Menus and Entertaining Guide.” The book was written by a witty Chattanooga food columnist named Celia Marks, who clearly understood the art of the soiree. By today’s standards, the cover is not attractive—a dark photo of a crown roast surrounded by spiced crabapples and parsley—but it sold more copies than any other cookbook in “Southern Living” history. Some of that success can no doubt be attributed to the menus and recipes, which cover every kind of party you can imagine (from a He-Man Brunch to a Holiday Reception), but the secret sauce is Mark’s advice that still holds up 46 years later. “Hospitality, a synonym for the South, comes from the heart,” she writes in the first chapter. “Even the most discerning disciple of etiquette may fall short as a hostess if she fails to bestow this gift upon her guests.”

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The Art of Living: The All-New Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook

The Art of Living: The All-New Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook

“The All-New Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook,” by the Editors of “Southern Living,” is the ultimate guide to game day with 150+ crave-worthy tailgating recipes, including those specifically developed for each of the 14 NCAA Southeastern Conference football teams.

From Alabama to Vanderbilt, each SEC team is profiled with information on school traditions, iconic football moments, legendary coaches and players, and photos. In the “Tent Talk” sidebars, you’ll find fascinating football trivia to quiz your fellow tailgaters.

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The Art of Living: What Can I Bring?

The Art of Living: What Can I Bring?

With every invitation received, from a dinner to backyard barbecue, the first question you ask is “What can I bring?” Now you have the answer, thanks to Elizabeth Heiskell, a Delta-born chef, caterer, and frequent Today Show contributor. The cookbook guides readers to greet any party or gathering with the perfect covered dish, sweet treat, or gift from the kitchen that ensures you’ll be invited back time after time, year after year.

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The Art of Living: Agriculture & Culinary Arts offered at Liberty Technology Magnet School

The Art of Living: Agriculture & Culinary Arts offered at Liberty Technology Magnet School

As our thoughts turn to spring, it seems appropriate to spotlight the agricultural and culinary arts programs offered at Liberty Technology Magnet School.

According to Keli McAlister, Communications Coordinator, Jackson-Madison County School System, “Both North Side and South Side High Schools have greenhouses on campus. However, none have a program as large as the one at Liberty Technology School. There are no similar Culinary Arts programs in any of the other Jackson-Madison County schools.”

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The Art of Living: Hotel Chic at Home

The Art of Living: Hotel Chic at Home

The alluring premise of “Hotel Chic at Home” is something any reader will understand—what if ordinary life could feel more like vacation?

On vacation, dinner might be arrayed outdoors for a view that you’ve journeyed hundreds of miles to see. A room might transport you to another, more genteel era. A serene moment might be found anywhere, from a swinging hammock, to a wrought-iron table in a garden, a luxurious bathroom oasis, or an intimate corner with a velvet wing chair. As travel and design blogger Sara Bliss has discovered, the experiences of adventure, freedom, sophistication, and calm that she has found in the world’s most unique hotels can be recreated on a personal scale almost anywhere.

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