The holidays are nearly upon us. And this year, you're ready for them.
If you've been following our Guerrilla Guide to the Holidays, you've bought (or made) the gifts. You've made your donations. And you know how much to give in year-end tips.
Now comes the fun part: The celebrations! In this week's installment of the Guerrilla Guide, we show you how to get big flavor on a small budget at your next get-together.
The holidays practically call for going above and beyond.
Especially in the kitchen. At the end of the year, we attend and host more parties than at any other point—and tackle recipes that require more time and energy. After all, part of the fun is the extravagance.
Unfortunately, all that holiday generosity can also mean it's easy to go over budget. But it needn't be that way: Even as we whip up more courses and fancier food, we can still be strategic about our gourmet home cooking.
If you're wondering how food and entertaining fits into your overall budget, this chart will show you.
Below, we present a delicious, festive and inexpensive dinner for four. Shop smart, so you get the best ingredients for your buck—especially when it comes to the star ingredient of each course. For instance, champagne cocktails are spiked with elderflower liqueur. Little pizzas, the epitome of simplicity, are topped with savory smoked mozzarella. For dinner, we have a slow braise of fennel, apples and cider for pork shoulder—one of the most flavorful meats you can get for the fewest dollars.
Mop up the juices with freshly baked bread, and cook up some sweetened greens to round the meal out. Dessert is a nutty, chocolaty tart that tastes like a rich brownie set in an elegant crust.
Rich, elegant and under budget? Now that's something to celebrate.
Giveaway Alert!
LearnVest and Crown Publishing are giving away two new cookbooks: The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, and A New Turn in The South, to five lucky LearnVesters each! To enter, share your budget-friendly recipe in LV Discussions.
(Make sure to read our standard contest rules first!)
More From LearnVest
On a tight budget? Never fear: We have delicious meals for under $10.
Still hungry? How about a yummy, wintry stew?
It can't always be about the food ... it's also about cute kitchen accessories for under $10!
