“What can I bring?” It is the first question they ask when they receive the party invitation. And fortunately, my new cookbook: this should be easy to remember, it’s called What can I bring? -He has 75 solutions to that very starry question, which includes sauces, drinks, salads, desserts and a chapter of homemade food gifts when he is told to “simply bring.”
But, of course, it’s not just about bringing something. Here are some simple rules that, in my opinion, will make you not only a good guest, but also excellent.
1. Be honest. Be sure to commit to a dish that matches your being restless or extremely punctual. If you always arrive on time, bring snacks. If you arrive late, bring a drink. If you don’t bring anything else, bring a small gift.
2. Come prepared. The best guests arrive with a dish ready to use without the need for a shelf in the refrigerator or a rack in the oven. It never appears waiting to derail the careful culinary tetris game of his host on his own.
3. Bring the cheers. Trust me, I am not above a seftzer and beer cube, or a sticky alcohol counter with mixers. But if all appear with a cheap bubbling bottle, it literally becomes a shampán problem. Try to bring some vision to the drink you bring (my book has a complete chapter to empower yourself), because in a room full of cans, we must all aspire to be the signature cocktail.
4. Give thanks. My friends Kyle Marshall and Julia Bainbridge are two of the most elegant people I know. Once I had Kyle for a group dinner and Julia for a little brunch. Two business days later, every time, there was a card sitting on my mailbox simply giving thanks. A thanks card is an outdated gesture that still lands in this century. Even if a card is not suitable for the occasion, a simple text contributes greatly to make your host feel seen and appreciated.
5. Finish in a sweet note. My friend Emily once appeared to a film night with warm cookies and a gallon of milk, and was so frantic that I have not yet recovered. Bringing a playful dessert is always the correct answer.
Then, in that note, as we advance in the summer, I will share my secret dessert, Jell-O mosaic. Just promote me when someone congratulates you for your impeccable taste, take a plug without download for me: “It’s from What can I bring? By Casey Elsass. Have you read it?
Mosaic jelly
Of What can I bring? By Casey Elsass
It serves 10
Start this recipe 2 days in advance
The mosaic jelly is an easy preparation of multicolored cuts of cut gelatin are mixed in a beautiful layer of millet milatina, so they are suspended as stained glass. My friend Vivian is a jelly fan, and I will never forget that her eyes come out of her head when she brought this dessert masterpiece as sculpture. If Jell-O is a perfect summer dessert (and it is, do not discuss me), then this is the perfect way to present it.
3 (3 ounces) Jell-o boxes, in different flavors and colors
7 flavorless gelatin packages (look for the 1 ounce box of jenox flavorless gelatin next to the gelatin. Each one has four packages, so get two boxes)
Antiating kitchen spray
½ cup of cold water
1 (12 ounces) can evaporate milk
Whole milk
1 (14 ounces) Condened milk can
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
Organize its jelly flavors of the lighter to darker color. (In this way, you can do a lot just after the other without having to stop and wash your bowl). Starting with the lightest, pour the dust in a medium bowl. Add 1 flavorless gelatin pack until they are combined. Boil water, then measure 1 cup and pour it into the bowl. Beat until the dust is completely dissolved, then gat 1 cup of very cold water. Pour the mixture into a room container, cover and refrigerate during the night so that the gelatin is fully configured. Repeat with the other two Gell-O boxes along with two more flavorless gelatin packages.
The next day, run a naked knife along and transversal in each container to cut the jelly into squares, then around the perimeter for easier release. Use the knife to leave the jelly and in a large bowl. It is totally well if there are some small bits, only the mosaic effect will be added. Take a moment here to cover a 10 -inch pan with non -stick spray very well, then turn up in the sink so that the spray extends evenly without accumulating in the background.
Pour ½ cup of cold water in a medium pan. Pour the remaining gelatin -free jelly packages and grind a couple of times to mix. Establish a timer for 5 minutes, or until the gelatin has hydrated in a solid mass. Pour evaporated milk. Fill the empty can halfway with whole milk (that’s ¾ cup, to be precise) and pour that too. Place the pan over low heat. At first, nothing will happen, but after approximately 1 minute, it should start beating slowly as the jelly melts in milk. Keep beating for about 2 more minutes, until you have a completely soft mixture of milk. Remove from the stove and beat the condensed milk and vanilla. Let the mixture cool completely, about 15 minutes, then beat again.
Turn the bundt up. Explain a layer of gelatin cubes along the bottom of the pan, mixing the colors as it advances, then tail in the milk mixture until it is almost covered. Keep alternating the gelatin and milk, but take it easy because each jelly layer will move the milk and make it rise above in the pan. Fill almost to the upper part, leaving approximately 1⁄2 inches of space. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and carefully slide in the refrigerator. Let it establish during the night again.
To make sure the mold is easily released, fill a large bowl with warm water and slowly submerge the bundt so that the water reaches half of the sides. Keep it there for 2 or 3 seconds, then slap him outside the dry bundt, especially within the central tube. Place the Bundt in one hand and place the service plate at the top, making sure it is centered. Put the other hand on the plate and turn quickly. If the mold does not fall on the plate (it will do it! But just in case!), Do not scare. Touch the plate slightly on the counter. If that fails (it won’t! But just in case!), Turn it again and give yourself another dip in the water. Serve with a server or cake knife so that everyone can cut their own portion.
Cover any excess jelly with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Casey Elsass is a food writer, recipe developer and author of cookbooks living in Brooklyn. What can I bring? He leaves next week. His recipes have appeared in Bon Appétit, Delish, Epicurious and Food52. In his free time, he likes to attend opera, eat around the world and confirm his assistance to each party invitation. Toby and I met him last summer and immediately fell in love: Casey is the real business!
PD: Five fun things that we notice at a drink party, and seven rules to be a great host of dinner.
(Photographs of Gentl and Hyers, Styling of Food of Tyna Hoang, and the Stephanie of Luca’s support style. Reprinted containers with permission of what I can bring? By Casey Elsass © 2025. Published by Union Square & Co., an impression of Grand Central Publishing, a Division of Hachette Book Group).
