O’Dowd Also Forecasts Food Trends for 2008 That Will Change the Way People Cook and Entertain

Westport, Connecticut—When it comes to throwing the most unusual, elegant, and entertaining holiday party, no one has more innovative ideas than party planner extraordinaire Christian O’Dowd. Sought after by celebrities such as Paul Newman, Billy Joel, James Earl Jones, and Ertha Kitt, as well as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies including Pfizer, US Surgical, and other high profile people including one who is planning a $600-a-head holiday party, Christian’s holiday entertaining ideas are unique and simple—anyone can do them.

Christian’s holiday food ideas are taste sensations:

• Ethnocentric Parties where the foods and drinks are symbolic of your personality or heritage.
• Ice Party for New Years Eve where the bar and glasses are made of ice, all served under a clear-top outdoor heated tent.
• Color-Themed Parties such as a Red Party where Red Leaf and Walnut Salad in a Radicchio Cup, Plank Roasted Red Snapper with Pimento Pepper Coulis, and Red Velvet Cake with Raspberry and Apple Mint Sauce, among other red-inspired dishes, are served.
• Everything in One Bite Holiday Menu including Crudités with Sundried Tomato and Gorgonzola Dip; Bite sized, Poached Quail Egg and Thick Cut Maple Smoked Bacon Served on Brioche Toast Point; Seared Sea Scallop on a Yucca Crisp with Apple Infused Simple Syrup; Shrimp Roasted with Gorgonzola and Proscuitto Cuddled in a Snow Pea “Cozy”; and Slivered Fruit With Fresh Minted Whipped Cream on the Side.
• Spur-of-the-Moment Party Ideas Port-Glazed Walnuts with Stilton Cheese; Ravioli with Wine Reduction Sauce; Homemade Poppy Seed Salad Dressing; and a Creamy Horseradish Dip for Crudités.

Holiday Appetizers

Christian says put away the spinach dip and serve these elegant and tasty hors d’oeuvres that are sure to be hits with guests, including:

Grilled Black Mission Figs with Mascarpone Foam and Sliced Prosciutto; and Smoked Salmon, Roasted Beet, and Goat Cheese Squeeze. For a cocktail snack try Fried Bow Tie Pasta with Parmesan Cheese.

The Turducken: Dating from the 1700s, when rich foods were de rigueur, Christian has revived the Turducken for today’s adventurous cook. Turducken is a chicken wrapped inside a duck wrapped inside a turkey with stuffing on each layer. Christian explains that the Turducken is actually the juiciest turkey you’ll ever eat have due to the rich duck’s fat seeping into the turkey that surrounds it.

Christian’s recipe for this moist, tender, flavorful concoction that cuts like a loaf of bread is easy to follow making this festive dish something anyone can create; and something everyone will remember eating!

Recommended Side Dishes to Complement the Turducken:

Rum-based Cinnamon Applesauce and Beets Served in a Pumpkin.

Christian’s creative holiday cocktails look as wonderful as they taste:

A delicious Pear-Infused Martini with an octagon-shaped honeycomb floating as the garnish served in an amber-colored martini glass. Christian says, “As the honeycomb starts oozing honey, each sip of the drink changes and becomes more powerful and delicious. And, be sure to serve the drink in a candlelit setting. The candlelight reflecting off of the amber-colored glass and the octagon honeycomb makes the drink look outrageously good. And, the color of the amber glass makes people’s skin look younger and sexy.”

The “The Snowball,” which looks like a snowball in a blizzard! The drink is made up of part vodka and part ice cider, which adds tastes of vanilla, silky honey, and a bit of oak to the drink. Ice cider originated in Quebec, Canada when apple pickers decided to let their apples hang late into the autumn, actually freezing them. Blend the vodka and ice cider until they are “slushy” and then pour into an ice martini glass available through www.icecaters.com. Garnish your “Snowball” with a lychee. Absolutely delicious, lychees are a small red heart-shaped Chinese fruit that is sweet and juicy and available in your local oriental market.

Christian’s food trend predictions for 2008:

Salt is Hot. There are so many salts from all over the world that will become mainstream in the United States in 2008. Look for Black Lava Salt from Greece; Alaea Salt from Hawaii; and smoked salts that will add a whole new dimension to the world of flavor.

Forget the Apple Martini. Look for clever mixologists to use fresh herbs such as purple basil with mint in Mojitos and truffle-flavored cocktails Molecular Gastronomy Imaging a gelatinous ball, the size of a pea, that has the flavor of chicken soup, or fresh sage, or a cold beer.