Holiday Entertaining Made Easy

Take-out tapas shortcuts party prep time

By Paula Niño

Nothing says easy like a platter of ham and cheese. Photo by Paula Niño.

The holiday season has officially kicked off, and for many food lovers this time of year begs for entertaining at home. The thing is, as much as we’d like to channel Martha Stewart, many of us wish to throw a great holiday party with as little fuss as possible. My holiday party planning usually starts with an elaborate idea that gets less elaborate as the days progress and I realize that I’d rather enjoy the company of my guests than spend my time in the kitchen. With a little help from local eateries, you can shortcut your way to a great party with minimal slaving. Go ahead, cheat a little.

This year, I threw a tapas party, and the market at Xixon Café, a Spanish tapas bar and deli on Coral Way, was my ally. Xixon offers a full tapas menu, including such classics as gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), garbanzos fritos (fried chickpeas) and chipirones en su tinta (baby squid in its ink), as well as sandwiches with Spanish meats and cheeses. It also houses a market.

At first glance, the market in the corner of the café looks deceivingly bare, perhaps because of its small size, but I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of items it offers. In fact, you may find everything here that you need for your party (they sell wines, too) unless you’re cooking something yourself. The great thing about tapas is that you really can get away with preparing nothing.

The service at the restaurant — I ordered a Serrano ham and manchego cheese sandwich — was a little detached, but when it came to ordering foods for the party, the girl behind the counter was incredibly helpful. She offered suggestions on what to get and accurately estimated the quantities needed for 20 guests.

Xixon offers cheese and cured meats platters for reasonable prices. A large platter of Serrano ham and manchego cheese costs $36. Pay $6 extra and you get manchego cheese, Serrano ham and chorizo. But it’s more fun to order separately and lay everything out on a wooden board for your guests.

Aside from the typical Serrano ham, which goes for $21 a pound, and manchego cheese, I tried Mahon — a sharp, cheddar-like cheese from Spanish island of Minorca — and Flor de Guía, a buttery, soft cheese made from both cow and sheep milk — a big hit at the party.

Adding Spanish bread, two jars of olives and a whole Spanish tortilla to the order provided a nice spread for my guests. The tortilla is sold by the slice ($4.25), whole in a box ($12.75) or whole on a platter ready to go ($15.50). I had my own ideas about how to present it — in cubes — so I spared the few extra bucks and got it in a box. The tortilla was tasty, salted just right and about three inches thick.

Although Xixon offers an ample selection of Spanish wines and cava displayed along its walls, I saw few bottles under $10, so if you’re on a budget, you’re better off picking up your wine elsewhere. However, there’s a 10 percent discount on purchases of six or more bottles.

The day of the party, the order was ready to go at the promised time and the meats and cheeses were neatly packed and labeled, ready to serve. I opted to make a little effort and cook some hot tapas on the spot for our guests, but Xixon lent a great hand in making this holiday party low maintenance with its high-quality Spanish goods.

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