Food and entertaining expert Denise Vivaldo has an impressive resume: She’s created and catered more than 10,000 parties with guests including presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, Prince Charles, Aaron Spelling, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bette Midler. Her catering recipe-development and food-styling firm, Food Fanatics, has been called on to cater events such as the Academy Awards Governors’ Ball. She’s authored several books and has appeared on The Food Network, ABC Morning News and HGTV. Her achievements go on and on, yet when it comes to entertaining at home, she says she used to get as flustered as anyone else.

“In the olden days, I would almost have a nervous breakdown,” Ms. Vivaldo recalls. “My husband would say I don’t know how you can give a party on Friday night for 2,000 people, come in at 1 a.m. in the morning, say it was fun, it was easy, the same old thing, and then we are going to have 12 people over on Sunday and you are a wreck.”

She finally mastered that, too, and wrote a new book to help the rest of us, called “The Entertaining Encyclopedia, Essential Tips and Recipes for Perfect Parties.” It covers everything you need to know, from creating invitations to arranging a buffet table and how much food to make. It includes 200 recipes, themed menus plus tips throughout such as how to organize a shopping list and how to avoid eating while you’re cooking. The News-Press talked with her recently about the book.

Why is it that entertaining at home is so stressful?

Most of us make ourselves nuts with entertaining because it becomes bigger than just having your friends over for a sandwich. I used to do this and think ‘Oh my God, I have to plant the whole front yard, my dog needs to go to the groomer’ and so forth. If you start taking inventory of all the things that are wrong or that you feel people will judge you on, it’s not fun anymore. It’s just another job we’ve put on top of ourselves.”

So what is it that changed things for you?

I decided to enjoy myself. At 55, I remember thinking to myself, I will be lucky if I have 20 years left. I’m not going to do stuff anymore unless I really enjoy it. And if I’m going to invite people over, I’ll be gracious and nice and not make it a big stress. I realized when I go to somebody else’s house, I don’t judge it. I don’t care if the place is a wreck. If they give me a cold bottle of water and some salted nuts, I’m happy.

Why entertain at home? Wouldn’t it be easier to go out?

A. During the recession, it will cost you half as much as it will cost in a restaurant. It’s more intimate and more relaxing, and it doesn’t have to be fancy or take a lot of time. You could just make an antipasto platter: Get some beautiful salamis and cheese, maybe marinate some artichokes, put that out on the platter with two loaves of bread, some seasoned olives, make a green salad if you want a vegetable, and add some fancy Italian cookies for dessert. People will have so much fun for less than $100 for six to eight people.

Where did the recipes in your book come from?

A. They are tried and true recipes from our catering business. Cindy and I write them all. We test them at least once, then we give them to dear friends and other chefs. We send them back out to six or seven friends of every ability for feedback. I like fresh-cooked food, but if it takes too long, I don’t have the time. I want it to be easy, but have flavor.

In the book, you mention six essential elements for entertaining: theme, location, decor, guests, food and beverages and entertainment. Why are these important?

A. They are just guidelines to make you think. If you think about these six things, you can design your party really quickly, not stress out and realize you have it covered.

The guest mix at a party often makes a difference on how much fun people have. How do you deal with that?

A. Cook once, entertain twice. A lot of people only want to entertain once in awhile, so that’s why they throw everybody into the mix. Lots of times, I’ll have two parties back to back. So I’ll do exactly the same menu, organize on Friday, have a party on Saturday afternoon, clean up on Saturday, then have another party on Sunday afternoon. The only thing different is the guest list. That way I can make the guest list a little more tailored to people who will enjoy themselves.

For small groups, what are some ideas you have for entertainment?

A. If it’s your close friends and you haven’t seen them in a month, obviously the entertainment is catching up. But lots of times, if there are going to be six to eight people that don’t know each other as well, I give them all a little something when they walk in. It gives them something to talk about. Like I was in New Orleans and came home with a whole bunch of Paul Prudhomme’s seasoning stuff and gave them out. Everybody immediately had a New Orleans story.

What advice do you have for people who are wanting to entertain for the first time and are not too skilled in the kitchen?

A. Buy an inexpensive set of dishes and some wine glasses — you can put ice tea in the glasses if you don’t drink alcohol. For your first party, go to your favorite Vietnamese restaurant, get carry-out and arrange it in a couple of casserole dishes. Or whatever your favorite food is. But make it fun for yourself, keep it simple. Learn to entertain by taking off a little bite at a time.

Lifestyle reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com

Red cabbage with apples

4 slice bacon, cut into 1-inch strips

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 green apples, chopped

1 head red cabbage, thinly sliced

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cups red wine

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large heavy saucepan, saute bacon over medium-high heat until about halfway cooked. Add onion and saute for about three minutes or until soft. Stir in apples, cabbage, brown sugar, wine, vinegar and caraway seeds (if using); bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for one hour or until cabbage is very tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. (If there is still quite a bit of liquid in the pan after an hour, let simmer uncovered until liquid is gone.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves six.

Antipasti platter

1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese (bocconcini) drained and sliced

5 ounces dry salami, thinly sliced

5 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced

1½ cups marinated green and black olives

1 jar (7 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and halved

1 jar (7 ounces) fire-roasted red bell peppers, drained and sliced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Coarse sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Arrange mozzarella, salami, prosciutto, olives, artichoke hearts and roasted peppers attractively on a small serving platter or tray. Drizzle olive oil over mozzarella slices. Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper. Serves six.

Almond apricot tart

3½ ounces almond paste

3 tablespoons sugar

3 ounces cream cheese

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 recipe basic pie crust dough (see below)

3 tablespoons sliced almonds

10 large apricots, quartered (or 16 dried, see note below)

1/3 cup liquid honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, puree almond paste and sugar until very smooth. Add cream cheese, egg yolk, vanilla and cinnamon; process until smooth. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to a 14-inch circle. Place on a heavy baking sheet (some dough can hang over the edges of the sheet). Spoon cream cheese filling over dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Scatter almonds and apricots over filling. Fold edges of dough up and over filling, leaving 6 inches of filling open at the center. Press edges to make a sealed border for the tart. Drizzle honey over apricots. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Let cool on baking sheet on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Note: You also can substitute 3 cups fresh plums, nectarines or peaches, or cut 16 dried apricots in half and place in a small bowl. Pour in enough boiling water to cover, cover bowl and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain and use as directed. Serves six.

Basic pie crust

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup ice water

In a food processor, pulse flour, salt and sugar a few times to combine. Add butter and pulse until crumbly. Begin adding ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition until a loose dough forms. Divide dough in half and form into two flattened balls. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, until chilled, or place plastic-wrapped dough in freezer bags with excess air squeeze out and freeze for up to one month.

— “The Entertaining Encyclopedia, Essential Tips and Recipes for Perfect

Parties” by Denise Vivaldo