Style & Entertaining

The beauty of Style and Entertaining is the versatility of services offered, ranging from VIP to DIY.
We attended something in between, a «Tasteful Pairing» with delicious wines from Spain. The food was catered or samples from their «box» sets.
— Hoisin Beef w/​shallots (a MUST!)
— Feta with Sundried Tomatoes
— Prosciutto and Fig Crostini
— Spiced Olives (from the kit)
— Candied Ginger, diced Granny Smith apples and cheese on bread.
— Salad of fingerling potatoes, pickled onions, arugula, nasturtium with a light honey mustard vinaigrette was TO DIE FOR.
At their lovely space across from the ballpark, you can opt for a full-​blown catered dinner for 12 or a delicious soirée for up to 40 – 50 guests. It’s appointed with natural tile, mantles, and columns with a sweeping view of the ballpark and the bay. You show up, dial up, and they let you in — sort of a speakeasy vibe.
On the DIY end of the spectrum, you can pick up a dinner party in a box, complete with all the recipes, seasonings, instructions, shopping list for fresh ingredients and *gasp* a wine list to perfectly compliment the menu at home. Panic averted.
Finally I can throw a dinner party that doesn’t require a washtub full of ice, a fire, and invitations to ‘knock with elbows’.

On a beautiful summer evening, we found ourselves in an elegant, modern space, with huge windows overlooking AT & T Park, presented with an array or tasty nibbles and drinking wine.
Christine, our hostess, enthusiastically told us about the food that we were about to sample and explained the concept behind the company: S & E provides «kits» which provide fool-​proof instructions on how to put together an elegant dinner or event — whether it’s for 2 people or for 8. Included are an ingredient pack, shopping list, lessons on food prep and nutrition, wine pairing lessons and recommendations, and paraphernalia for setting a beautiful table. All that you have to do is provide the perishable ingredients, set the table, follow the cooking instructions and poof! you’re the perfect host or hostess.
I can tell you that we the food that we sampled at the tasting was delicious. Everyone went back for 2nds and 3rds. And not only did it taste wonderful, it was beautiful to look at. Kits contain organic ingredients, so you can feel extra-​good about that.
As if that isn’t enough to get you started, the space is available for private parties as well, and accommodates up to 40 people. Looking for a place to hold an event before a ball game? A unique bridal shower? This is San Francisco at its best.
Style & Entertaining understands that while everyone may aspire to be the next Food Network Star in their heads, many don’t have the time or the skills to pull it off, especially in today’s over-​scheduled world. With their help, you CAN have your cake and eat it, too — and it will be delicious.

What would the world be like without style and entertaining? Actually I know… it would be my home most every evening of the week as I lay my bulbous butt on the sofa and watch «Dancing with the Stars». But now that I am aware of Style & Entertainment, I can find my inner Martha Stewart and pretend I have a flair for the culinary arts in front of my clueless friends. Or maybe I can be Ina Garten and have a palatial house in the Hamptons, an absentee husband, and a posse of gay pals for whom I make exquisite gourmet meals. Rack of lamb, anyone? (cue for her nervous laugh)
Thanks to Christine Martin’s new and inspiring venture, I can just be me and dazzle my fellow time-​challenged colleagues. This past Friday evening, Jamie W. and I were truly fortunate enough to sample some of the food offered by Christine’s staff. To say it was genuinely delish would be an understatement… just a blurring cornucopia of tantalizing tastes. The candied ginger, goat cheese and chopped apple on a baguette… the rolled beef with scallions… prosciutto and fig crostini… the chocolate chip cookies. Man, if I had a purse… or a big ziploc bag at least.
You can have these edibles and many more creative concoctions at a dinner party in her industrial-​chic space across the street from AT&T Park, or if you’re the leap-​before-​you-​crawl type, buy one of the three gourmet dinner kits Christine offers to jump-​start your next social gathering, or if you think you’re gonna get lucky, a romantic evening. Or if you’re having a really bad day, why not prepare a dinner for eight and eat it yourself? No one will judge you. I have a feeling Christine has the keen insight to figure out what of her gourmet food combos make sense to match your mood.

I took advantage of an opportunity to try out the food prepared from kits sold by this upstart local company.
The food from the Style & Entertaining kits was absolutely fabulous. I particularly liked some ginger, sugar, and apple on a cheese and bread hors d’œuvre — very yummy and something that would be nice to learn how to fix on my own.
Other foods included a fresh hummus mixture, a sort of pita that appeared freshly baked, a rolled meat (roast beef? I’m no expert … I just shove it in my mouth and react), and other assorted goodies that I believe were based on a Spain theme for the party kits available for sale at Christine’s web site.
If you want to learn how to entertain yourself or remove the stress of figuring out what to buy for an intimate get together and just fix it, Style and Entertaining provides a nice option in between figuring things out from scratch and going the caterer route.