Tiffany Hansen: This is All Of It. I'm Tiffany Hansen in for Alison Stewart. If you're looking for Alison, you can find her this evening at our Get Lit with All Of It book club event. Alison will be in conversation with author Susan Choi at the New York Public Library at 6:00 PM. Tickets are sold out. If you do have one, though, remember, doors open at 5:30. Get there early to grab a good seat. If you don't have a ticket, you can watch the livestream. Just head to wnyc.org/getlit to learn how to log into that livestream. Again, that's wnyc.org/getlit.

As for today, we're talking with Sally Wainwright, the creator of the series Riot Women. We'll also talk with comedian and historian Tom Delgado. New York Times cooking editor Becky Hughes joins us to talk about where to find the best cocktails in New York, and we want your suggestions as well. That's the plan. Let's get started with figuring out what to bring to your holiday gatherings.

[music]

Tiffany Hansen: Well, Thanksgiving is behind us. Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, whatever it is you celebrate, that's all coming up, which means we are squarely in the middle of holiday party season. Whether it's a holiday office potluck or a friend's party, or any other gathering, it's time to spread the joy, and what better way to do that than by feeding your loved ones?

Casey Elsass is a food writer and, most recently, the author of the cookbook What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life. He's here to talk about what to think about answering that question, what can I bring to that holiday function? He also recently published a New York Times op ed about the value of having a signature dish, a dish that you almost become famous for in your circles. We'll talk about that, too. Casey, welcome back to All Of It.

Casey Elsass: Thanks so much.

Tiffany Hansen: All right. You talked with Alison a couple of months ago, and you mentioned something that I think is true, most people intellectually understand, but let's outline it again. You say that feeding gathered loved ones is not a competition, but also maybe it is.

Casey Elsass: Yes. We all want to have the best thing at the party, so there is a low-key competition going on.

Tiffany Hansen: It's like a friendly. It's a friendly competition.

Casey Elsass: Yes. Right.

Tiffany Hansen: I guess my question now is, we're talking about holiday gatherings in particular.

Casey Elsass: Yes.

Tiffany Hansen: It feels like a lot is amped up around the holidays anyway.

Casey Elsass: It also feels endless.

Tiffany Hansen: It also feels endless. Is that notion of friendly competition also amped up during this time, do you think?

Casey Elsass: I think in certain ways. I think it's a good time for project cooking. This is the time of year I don't mind my oven being on, and I don't mind spending some time in the kitchen. If I'm going to make a dessert, I really want to make a beautiful dessert.

Tiffany Hansen: I know we're going to spend a lot of time on what to do as a guest. I just want to quickly touch on hosts, because I'm wondering, as we said, there's lots of different expectations about what we're willing to do, what is expected of us. What do you think hosts particularly expect during a holiday gathering in particular? Is it something different?

Casey Elsass: It depends on the event.

Tiffany Hansen: Bring the cheer. [laughs]

Casey Elsass: Yes. A good attitude is always the number one thing.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes.

Casey Elsass: I think there's an equal responsibility between host and guests. I think the host's job is to set the expectation for the party, and the guest job is to show up for that expectation of the party.

Tiffany Hansen: Listeners, we're talking with Casey Elsass about what to bring for your next holiday gathering. There's lots on the calendar. We know it, and we'd love your suggestions. 212-433-9692. Do you have any thoughts about guest etiquette, host etiquette for holiday parties? What should you bring? What shouldn't you bring? Let us know. Call us, text us, 212-433-9692. You can also find us on all the social medias @allofitwnyc. This is a personal rule. When I'm bringing something to a gathering, I choose not to bring something that requires assembly when I get there or requires-

Casey Elsass: Oh, bless you.

[laughter]

Tiffany Hansen: -some finishing. I feel like that really, it doesn't do the job of what the host was asking you, which is, take a thing off of my to-do list and do it for me. I know there are plenty of people who are like, "I have to finish the flambé thing, and I've got my--" whatever that little thing is that chars the top of it, "and I have to finish it in your oven that already has 15 things in it."

Casey Elsass: Great. [laughs]

Tiffany Hansen: Thoughts?

Casey Elsass: Don't do that. I think a good guest shows up not only with everything ready to go, I'm totally fine with packing garnishes separately if you need to throw some herbs on top or you want a crunchy nut to finish off the dish, but I think it should be room temperature. I don't think you should be expecting fridge space, oven space, burner space. On top of that, bring everything you're going to need. Your host is not your Williams Sonoma. You shouldn't be asking for a big bowl, tongs, and any of those things. Think I have--

Tiffany Hansen: Hey, I need a lemon squeezer.

Casey Elsass: Yes. Pack everything you're going to need.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes. All right. I know that some folks might be saying, "Yes, but I have this thing that's maybe my signature dish," which we'll get to. What is the etiquette about-- Let's say you just-- There's no two ways around it. You've got to do it. What's the etiquette around talking and communicating with your host about it? Do it ahead of time and say, "Just FYI, I've got this thing that is going to need to be popped in the oven for five minutes," ahead of time?

Casey Elsass: Yes. It's the easiest thing in the world. Just clear it so they know, because they're going to be running a tight list of things they need to do, so they can just factor your thing into their to-do list for the day.

Tiffany Hansen: When a host asks you to bring something, I'm wondering, how beholden are you to that? If I say to you, "Casey, I want you to bring a salad," and you show up with some puffy thing, appetizer, what's the latitude you have when a host asks you to bring something?

Casey Elsass: I think working within the category, it's up to you to be creative, but I don't think totally shifting gears when they're expecting something that's going to fill in the puzzle pieces that they're trying to put together. I wouldn't say that's good guesting.

Tiffany Hansen: Can you if you clear it with them first?

Casey Elsass: Yes. For sure.

Tiffany Hansen: Just in, where we're in this vein of talking about what hosts are asking of you. I, sometimes, when I'm hosting a gathering and people will say, "Well, we'll bring something. What do you want us to bring?" Sometimes my brain just is like, "I don't know." How do you respect that from a host, and then how do you respond to it? What do you bring in that instance? Because I know I'm putting a lot of onus on somebody, like, "Hey, I'm doing it for-- as the entree," whatever.

Casey Elsass: The biggest gift I gave myself was writing this cookbook because now I have all 75 things I know how to bring in one place. I think this is where having a signature dish is a really powerful move because if you don't know what to bring, you have your go-to thing that you can always bring to everything.

Tiffany Hansen: Casey, let's bring some callers into the conversation here. We're talking about holiday gatherings, what to bring, and some etiquette around that. Casey Elsass is a food writer and recently the author of a book called What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life. How about Seth from Central Park? Hi, Seth.

Seth: Hey. How are you? Good afternoon.

Tiffany Hansen: Doing all right. Yes.

Seth: Hey. Casey, I have a question for you, and it's a problem that always pops up in my family. I have a bunch of family members and friends often that they'll wait until the very, very last minute to ask what they can bring for the holiday. It's annoying at that point because you've already planned all the meal and everything's already prepared. I'm just wondering, what's a good suggestion for these Johnny-come-latelys who want to be helpful but really aren't helpful? What category of food can you never have enough of, that you can always suggest that they bring?

Tiffany Hansen: I like it. Thanks, Seth.

Casey Elsass: I think the two things that will deflate the party fastest is if you run out of ice and if you run out of alcohol. If you have a last-minute request, one of those two things are always going to be welcome.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes. We have a couple of texts here, too, Casey, that fit into this category. Flowers. This person says, "Don't bring flowers that need a vase."

Casey Elsass: That's such a controversial one. I love when people show up with flowers. I think it's so generous. I also think anything can be a vase, and so I'm always happy. I also think guests are always so eager for a job, and so if you bring flowers in my house, I hand you a pair of scissors and a mug, and you're off to work.

Tiffany Hansen: Right. This is another text here. "Hosts and hostesses can work so hard. I like to bring them a gift card for a mani-pedi or for a store whose goods I know they'll like." Easy peasy. Also, another thing like for those Johnny-come-latelys.

Casey Elsass: That's fantastic.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes, that's pretty good. I want to invite that person. [laughs]

Casey Elsass: Friends of mine, they go to parties, and before they go to the party, they find a place nearby where they can get a foot massage afterwards, which I think is so cool. Getting your host a gift certificate for a foot massage would be even better.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes. I know you mentioned bring all the gear with you. There really is something about showing up and saying, "Do you have an emulsifier that I could borrow?" Is it better to just bring a dish that doesn't require those kinds of special tools?

Casey Elsass: Yes, I think for your own sanity, just bring it down a level. Think of things that are going to travel really well, that will show up looking as beautiful as they did when they left your house. Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Tiffany Hansen: Let's bring another caller into the conversation, Casey. Why not? Robert in New Jersey. Hi, Robert.

Robert: Hi. How are you? You can hear me?

Tiffany Hansen: We can hear you. You have an answer about what to bring.

Robert: Not to overshadow the chef, his place is essential in the whole equation, but I heard this recently, and I thought it was brilliant. Somebody says, "What should I bring?" The host says, "Bring ice." Because if you are the host, it's hard to keep enough ice on hand while you have all these dishes that you've prepared. Most of the time you really don't need another dish. You know what your menu is, but you need ice because ice keeps going and going and going all night. It's a simple answer if you really don't need anything and the person feels good bringing it.

Tiffany Hansen: Awesome, Robert. Thank you, Robert. Echoing your ice and alcohol. The two As, always happy to bring those. Listeners, we're looking for your questions, comments about these upcoming gatherings. What are you thinking about taking? Need some ideas? Do you have some host pet peeves that you want to share? 212-433-9692. You can call us, you can text us at that number. You can also find us on all of the social medias. We are @allofitwnyc.

Let's talk about these signature dishes. Casey had a recent op ed in the Times. You say everybody should have a signature dish. I have a signature dish that is not for taking. It's something that I always make when people come over. It seems like I always make risotto. I don't know why. It's the thing that I've gravitated toward. One of the things that you mention is your flourless chocolate olive oil cake. I want to get to that, but first, just tell us what makes a signature dish?

Casey Elsass: I think signature dish, to me, means something that feels very repeatable, that feels like a good reflection of who you are. I think a lot of people, when this article was published, there were so many commenters that talked about signature dishes that they inherited from someone else in the family who's no longer with us, but they keep their memory alive through that signature dish. It's something that becomes the tradition itself. It's more than just the food.

Tiffany Hansen: All right. Your flourless chocolate olive oil cake, what do you like about it? Why has it become your signature?

Casey Elsass: It's so easy. That's my number one thing I love about it. It's also very easy to transport. It's one of those things that I didn't set out to make a signature dish. It just became my signature dish because I brought it enough places enough times that friends started asking for it as the cake. Can you bring the cake? Are you going to bring the cake? I think that's when you know you've really hit on a signature dish.

Tiffany Hansen: We got a text here that says non alcoholic options as well, and good ones.

Casey Elsass: Yes.

[laughter]

Casey Elsass: Very important.

Tiffany Hansen: I don't know what that means, but okay.

Casey Elsass: I think it means more than seltzer. Something fun.

Tiffany Hansen: Oh, I see. More than-- what is it? That Martignetti's, or whatever, that you get at the grocery store. No dissing Martignetti's or whatever that brand name is. Yes, so stop giving people children's drinks.

[laughter]

Tiffany Hansen: We're talking holiday gathering, and we're discussing signature dishes and curious about what yours is. Do you have a signature just that you're planning on bringing here to these upcoming holiday gatherings? You can call us, you can text us with all of your ideas. 212-433-9692. Call us, text us at that number. We're going to get one more call in before we have a quick break here. Joel in Forest Hills. Hi, Joel. Hi, Joel. You have a good suggestion?

Joel: Yes. Can you hear me?

Tiffany Hansen: We can hear you.

Joel: Thank you. Simple thing to bring. 5 or 10-pound bag of potatoes. Scrub them and small size, not big size, and bake them in the oven, and then bring them in the bag together with a bowl to put them in to whatever party you're going in. They'll still be hot when you take them out of the oven, and as long as you put them in a paper bag, not a plastic bag, they'll be good, and people like it.

Tiffany Hansen: Awesome. Thanks, Joel. I guess it depends on what the main dish is, but roasted potatoes with a little rosemary, some sea salt, little olive oil, and garlic, he's right, you can't really go wrong with that. Does it transfer? You don't mind that if it's a little more room temperature?

Casey Elsass: Not at all. I'm Irish, so I'm not going to turn any potatoes away. I would just add to that and also bring a container of some really good herby melted butter to pour over once I get there.

Tiffany Hansen: Or, some sour cream or something.

Casey Elsass: Totally.

Tiffany Hansen: Or, you could do a little kind of a bevy of things that you could put on top.

Casey Elsass: A toppings bar.

Tiffany Hansen: Oh, a toppings bar. That's smart.

Casey Elsass: I like that.

Tiffany Hansen: I like it. All right. We're looking for your ideas as well. We're talking with Casey Elsass, who is a food writer and wrote What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life. Listeners, we're going to take more of your calls and your suggestions for what to bring to these upcoming holiday parties coming up. You can call us, you can text us, 212-433-9692, and we'll get to those after a quick break. This is All Of It. I'm Tiffany Hansen in for Alison Stewart. Don't go anywhere.

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Tiffany Hansen: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Tiffany Hansen in for Alison Stewart today. We are talking about these holiday gatherings coming up. What can you bring? How can you be a good guest? How can you be a good host? For that matter, we're talking with Casey Elsass, who's a food writer and the author of What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life. Listeners, join the conversation, 212-433-9692. You can call us, you can text us at that number with your suggestions about what to bring, how to be a good guest. 212-433-9692.

Casey, we have some fun texts here. Maybe you already discussed this. This texter says, "But guests always gather in the kitchen, making it hard to get around. Sometimes I end up barking at everyone, 'Get out of here.' Is part of being a good guest just knowing when to vacate the area?"

Casey Elsass: Yes. I think it's natural to want to be around your host and talk to them and catch up, but if they're busy, save it for later, get out of their space, migrate to wherever the drinks are. I also think for a good host, make sure you've set drinks and snacks far away from you, so there's a natural place for everyone to go. I will say, if you're very early to the party and you do want to be near your host, start washing dishes. That's what you can do to help out.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes, that's a good idea. Here's another really good idea from a texter. "I went to a big holiday house party in Brooklyn once to which someone brought toilet paper, a guest gift that will never go to waste." I think that's brilliant.

Casey Elsass: It's cute. I really like that.

Tiffany Hansen: There's all those that are now wrapped in the paper, that fun paper. You could make a thing of it. I love it. People love my guacamole, including high-quality chips. Pet peeve. People bringing unwanted items that they baked and expect to serve. Also, learning about special diets, last minute. Let's talk here, Casey, with Jack in Hoboken. Hi, Jack.

Jack: Oh, hi. This is a great topic. My signature dish would be a cream of onion, the pearl onions. It was my Irish grandmother's dish that I helped make years ago. The thing is, it's hard to find a real pearl onion because they have to be small, and then you have to peel every single one of them.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes, I appreciate the call there, Jack. It's a little difficult to hear you, but I think we got the gist of it, which was that you bring your grandmother's cream of pearl onions. As a fellow Irishman here, Casey, you can probably appreciate that. The only time I've seen those little pearl onions is in the frozen food aisle.

Casey Elsass: They do come fresh once in a while, and they are such a pain to peel because you're working with such a small surface area. I do go for the frozen ones if I'm going to use them.

Tiffany Hansen: I wonder if his Irish grandmother would have used the frozen ones.

Casey Elsass: Maybe it wasn't an option for her.

[laughter]

Tiffany Hansen: We are talking holiday gatherings, what to bring, what not to bring. Let's talk a little bit here, Casey, about the flavors of the season. A lot of folks are thinking holiday-themed things that they can bring, warm spices, cinnamon, allspice, cloves. I'm wondering how you balance that out, because you don't want everybody to bring something that's super holiday-ee, wintry.

Casey Elsass: Yes. That's exhausting for any palate to eat the same flavors over and over.

Tiffany Hansen: Is there something that is wintry that you like that's maybe not overpowering?

Casey Elsass: Yes. I think a lot of people forget that citrus is actually a winter fruit. Anything super orange-y or even lemons and limes, those are actually in season right now. Those are great flavors. While we're in the freezer aisle getting our pearl onions, I'll remind everyone that frozen fruit is actually fantastic and adds a nice burst of freshness when we're used to really roasty, carby flavors right now. I'm all for using a bag of frozen fruit.

Tiffany Hansen: I was also just thinking of when my kids were little, I used to keep them busy around the holidays by buying oranges and the whole cloves, and then I would have them cover the entire orange.

Casey Elsass: Yes, I used to do that, too, when I was little.

Tiffany Hansen: Right?

Casey Elsass: Yes.

Tiffany Hansen: That's a good gift.

Casey Elsass: They smell great. Yes. Especially with a beautiful ribbon on it to hang in the doorway or something. It's great.

Tiffany Hansen: Oh, yes, that's a great idea. Anyway, another good idea for a possible gift. All right, let's bring another caller here into the conversation with us, Anne in Red Bank. Hi, Anne.

Anne: Hi. This is not so much about a food. It's about how to deliver it. Bring it in either a disposable bowl, or bring the bowl as a gift that if you don't want it, you can pay it forward at the next party. I went to a party yesterday. I had the dip. I made a dip. I left it in an adorable bowl. She said, "Don't you want your bowl back?" I said, "No, I don't want my bowl back. I don't want the responsibility of my bowl back." This way, nobody has to remember to bring it home or come pick it up the next day, and it's done with.

Tiffany Hansen: That's a good suggestion.

Casey Elsass: I think that's great.

Tiffany Hansen: Occasionally, if I'm traveling and I'm going somewhere, I will go to a thrift store, and I'll get a pretty thing. Then I'll get something from Whole Foods, or whatever, and then I'll leave the whole thing.

Casey Elsass: Yes, I love that.

Tiffany Hansen: It's not too much of an onus to just say, "Here's a dish." [laughs]

Casey Elsass: Yes. It's also nice because you don't have to wait for someone to wash it for you, or wait till it's all gone. You can just exit at any point and not worry about it.

Tiffany Hansen: Exit stage left. I'm a big fan of that. All right, let's talk with Cassandra in The Village here. Cassandra, hi.

Cassandra: Hi. Good afternoon, you guys. This is a wonderful topic. I'm so glad I'm on. Here is my question. When you go to a party and you're a good guest, and you're leaving as a good guest, and someone insists that you take leftovers, do you make your own leftovers to take away, or do you let your host prepare the leftovers for you?

Casey Elsass: That's a good question.

Tiffany Hansen: Oh, that is a good question. Thank you, Cassandra. Casey?

Casey Elsass: When guests come over to my house for dinner, I always insist they bring Tupperware just because I don't have a lot of fridge space and I want those leftovers gone, but I do let everyone pick and choose. Even if I'm putting it in their container, I check with them, "Do you want some of this? Do you want some of this?" I don't want to send them home with something they're not going to eat, ultimately.

Tiffany Hansen: I do like the idea of asking people to bring their own Tupperware because, A, I don't have a lot of it. I do tend to save to-go things just for that purpose. Some people, my mother included, are a little crazy about their Tupperware and then getting their Tupperware bag and making sure-- so then it's a thing and you don't want to have. I like that idea. That's a good one.

Casey Elsass: I also keep a gallon Ziploc bags, and so if someone really needs something to go, it's going in the bag.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes, got it. All right, we have another good text here. "I'm a Sabbath observer. I host 30 people every single Saturday, so it's Thanksgiving and Christmas for me every week. I love to do it, but I do have a few pet peeves. When you offer to bring things, please bring the thing that you offered and not something else. It messes up the entire menu. I've also had situations where people have asked me for recipes for certain delicious foods. Of course, I give it to them, and that the next party that we're at together, they start bringing my recipe, and then from then on, I can't bring my signature dish." Text from Sarah. It is the highest form of flattery, I suppose.

Casey Elsass: Yes.

Tiffany Hansen: Any tips for telling somebody, like, for me, like, "You could lay off the risotto. That's my deal, dude."

Casey Elsass: [laughs] I'm still processing 30 people every week. That's wild. I think, yes, that gets into a tricky place because recipes are meant to be shared and remade. Of course, you want people enjoying your food. I think probably the easiest way is just to text that person, give them a heads up, like, "Oh, I'm bringing this this weekend, just so you know."

Tiffany Hansen: Yes. I do like the idea. We've mentioned it here, but to not pivot, bring what you were asked to bring, some variation of.

Casey Elsass: Or, bring it and make it better.

Tiffany Hansen: Or, bring it and make it better. Let's see here. Let's talk with Anthony in Summit, New Jersey. Hi, Anthony.

Anthony: Hi there. I have a quick question. When I'm invited to a party, and I go out, and I buy a nice bottle of wine, and then I bring it to the party, and then I find they have a case of their wine that they bought that is not up to par with I'm bringing. Do you ask them to open up your bottle, or do you just drink their wine? Because they usually take it and put it in the back, where they're going to drink it later.

Tiffany Hansen: Thank you so much for that, Anthony, because I have wondered about this. Is it etiquette to open the bottle that the person brought, or do you consider it a gift and put it in your stash?

Casey Elsass: It's a complicated question. When people come over to my house, I rely on them to supply the booze most of the time, so whatever's coming through the door, we're going to open it and enjoy it. If it's a more structured dinner party where they really have planned out, maybe they've coursed out the meal, and they have wine pairings for everything, it's just not going to fit with the plan they have in mind. I think as the guest, you just have to accept the situation you're in and think of it as a gift for them to enjoy later on.

Tiffany Hansen: All right, Casey, let's talk with Rachel in Westchester. Hi, Rachel.

Rachel: Hi. How are you? Thanks for taking my call.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes.

Rachel: I don't know if this is controversial or not, but I actually have of late been asking people when they ask me what to bring, just telling people to bring their appetite and nothing else. I really mean it because I don't drink alcohol, and so if they're going to bring, maybe they could bring something else that's edible, like a CBD gummies or something stronger, but if not, I really probably don't want or need anything else. I think it's such a relief for me as the host. Especially as a guest, having someone say that to me, it just feels-- it's liberating. We can just show up and enjoy, and everyone knows what they're supposed to do, and then there's nothing else to think about.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes. Having nothing else to think about is not to be underrated.

Casey Elsass: Yes. I think that's the most generous form of hosting. I love going to those parties. I personally cannot walk through someone's door empty-handed. I know flowers are sometimes controversial, wine is controversial, candles are controversial. For me, I stick with edible gifts like hot fudge or my [crosstalk]

Tiffany Hansen: Yes, I wanted to get to your hot fudge recipe.

Casey Elsass: Just simple. Something that's not meant to be enjoyed at this party right now, but you're just leaving it behind as a thank you for your host.

Tiffany Hansen: I see. You bring the hot fudge in a little thing with a bow and say, "Here you go."

Casey Elsass: That's for them only. We're not eating this tonight.

Tiffany Hansen: I got it. Good text here. "Bring good manners. I once had a dinner party guest announce that she hated the vegetable I had worked hard to prepare."

Casey Elsass: That's crazy behavior. [laughs]

Tiffany Hansen: That's crazy behavior. Come on, people.

Casey Elsass: In my family, we grew up with a rule that we had to have a no-thank-you helping of anything that was on the table. I think that applies to adulthood as well.

Tiffany Hansen: I think it does. Let's be adults. All right. Suzanne in Ridgewood. Good morning-- or good afternoon. Sorry, Suzanne. Good afternoon.

Suzanne: Good afternoon. We had a dinner guest. His name was Ed, and Ed said, "What could I bring?" We said, "How about bread?" Ed showed up with a loaf of Wonder Bread, and we quickly invited him in and whisked the bread into the kitchen, and we didn't serve it. After dinner, when everyone had gone home, my husband and I nicknamed him Bread.

[laughs]

Tiffany Hansen: Thank you so much for that, Suzanne. Whatever the expectation is, everyone has different ideas of what that means. I think it's how to be gracious in that moment.

Casey Elsass: Yes. I think that was a very gracious handling of that. I think it's interesting to show up at the dinner and bring sandwich bread, which would never compute in my brain, but I think now you have bread for French toast the next morning. You just use whatever comes through your door.

Tiffany Hansen: Yes. Or, you could just say that, like, "Oh, fantastic. Now I'm going to use this for--" just so that you're not setting up the expectation that it's going to be part of the meal that you're about to get. All right. We've been talking about holiday gatherings, food, how to be a good guest, how to be a good host. Last thing, we'll leave it on this, cookies.

Casey Elsass: Yes.

Tiffany Hansen: Okay to just bring a big old platter of dry it out, flaky cookies. Sorry, a little editorializing there.

Casey Elsass: [laughs] Hopefully, no, but everybody has a different comfort level in the kitchen, and I think it's more important that you're doing the act of showing up for somebody than what you're actually making for them.

Tiffany Hansen: We've been talking with Casey Elsass, who is a food writer. We've been talking about what to bring for these holiday parties that are all coming up, and Casey has an answer for you. If you didn't get to hear it today, you can get Casey's book. It's a cookbook called What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life. Casey, thanks.

Casey Elsass: Thanks so much.