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"  Full Disclosure: For someone who works in the food industry, I have a pretty wretched kitchen. It&amp;#039;s perfectly equipped in terms of tools and cookware, but space-wise, it&amp;#039;s rather laughable, not to mention the appliances, which are from 1989. I have 1 oven, 4 burners, a tiny side-by-side refrigerator, and no microwave, so when it comes to entertaining for the holidays I have to strategize accordingly. This involves coordinating the dishes I make so that not too many require the oven or use all the burners at once. Since my fridge is so small even my make-ahead options are limited. So I try to stay calm, organized, and follow these tips when I find myself in the hostess hot spot:   For a pasta dish, boil the pasta and the vegetables for it simultaneously. Just be sure to add the veggies at the right moment so they&amp;#039;ll finish cooking at the same time as the pasta and you can drain all of it at once.    Give compound butters a try. Compound butter is just a fancy name for softened butter seasoned with anything from herbs to garlic to lemon zest. Made ahead and stored in the refrigerator, they&amp;#039;re an easy way to add loads of flavor to veggies or try melting a pat of it over a piece of meat in place of a sauce or gravy.    Choose side dishes that can cook on separate racks in the oven, but at the same temperature. For example, brussels sprouts and potatoes can both roast at 425\u00B0F or try toasting bread for crostini at the same time as braising red cabbage at 350\u00B0F. This way you can serve them when they&amp;#039;re ready. No storing and reheating necessary.     For hors d&amp;#039;oeuvres, consider non-cook dips like sun dried tomato pesto or olive tapenade. They don&amp;#039;t take up much room in the fridge when made ahead and, paired with crackers and drinks, they&amp;#039;re a great way to distract your guests while you put the finishing touches on the rest of the dinner.  Keep holiday meals festive, but stress-free and you and your guests will be all the merrier for it!  Happy holidays! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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