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Morning News

Entertainment Specialist Vagn Nielsen Discusses New Year's Eve Party Ideas

Aired December 29, 2000 - 9:22 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: New Year's Eve is just two days away, but there's still time to plan a New Year's Eve celebration.

Joining us is someone who I wish -- all of you wish that you could have at home with you. He is an entertainment specialist, Vagn Nielsen -- also a corporate chef with Proof of the Pudding, a catering company here in Atlanta.

Vagn, good morning. Thanks for being here.

VAGN NIELSON, ENTERTAINMENT SPECIALIST: Thank you very much for having me.

KAGAN: You're going to show us how to do an elegant, wonderful New Year's Eve party.

NIELSON: I will share some of the secrets of the trade.

KAGAN: We like secrets.

NIELSON: And, you know, one of the big things when you host an event at your house is -- there's three important things: there's the table setting...

KAGAN: Right.

NIELSON: ... there's the food, and the most important thing is that you as the host need to be able to enjoy all your hard work and labor.

KAGAN: Which is not always easy. I had a party last week and it's a lot of hard work. My trick was bringing my sister along so she could do most of the work.

NIELSON: Well...

KAGAN: But everyone doesn't have a sister and everyone doesn't have you, so...

NIELSON: That's right. That's why -- the key word is planning. Like anything else in life, planning, planning, planning. And a lot of people think doing a nice hosted event is very difficult, but it's actually very simple. KAGAN: Couple tips that we have here on our table.

NIELSON: We did some -- a little table setup here. Of course today the trend is -- especially for New Year's Eve -- very festive and people like to dress up. And, actually, you are kind of -- the way it used to be is the way it's kind of returning a little, even in the food.

KAGAN: Don't be afraid to be a little bit elegant.

NIELSON: Exactly. And people really like that. So be -- the key thing when you come to a table is really the first thing you see, and that's the place setting.

KAGAN: OK.

NIELSON: And we did three different type of place setting here: a very elegant one, a little nice colorful glasses out here, and...

KAGAN: I like this one over here, this idea.

NIELSON: That's a little tricky and that's the little surprise. Actually, the place setting is great for a little hostess gift when you leave. What we did is we actually put our menu on the bottom here so you can actually read the menu...

KAGAN: See what's being served.

NIELSON: ... of tonight's event.

KAGAN: And then people get to take that home with them and get that framed and...

NIELSON: They can take that. Yes, whatever they want to do. But, I mean, that's like the little surprise type thing. And over on the other side, the...

KAGAN: Let's go over here. What did you do?

NIELSON: We sneak around.

KAGAN: Yes, OK, sneak around.

NIELSON: We sneak around the flower here. That's a little more kind of -- a little -- I call it a little funky. But it's OK to be funky New Year's Eve.

KAGAN: It is, to have a little fun.

NIELSON: Yes, so this is a little big. It's like a big basket. But, again, this -- in this specific case, this basket could actually be used for other things than just necessarily a place mat.

KAGAN: Sure.

NIELSON: So it could be used for bread, or even pass food, whatever you might do with it.

KAGAN: Very important that you have a nice centerpiece.

NIELSON: You need to have a nice centerpiece.

KAGAN: And you've glitzed this up. You had a little shortcut, a way to do that.

NIELSON: Yes, we sprayed some gold on and made a little festive for the occasion tonight.

KAGAN: And I think you brought a poinsettia to show.

NIELSON: Well, I was going to show you because a lot of people don't really have or don't want to spend a lot of money on a flower arrangement, so...

KAGAN: Right, you might already have at home exactly what you need.

NIELSON: You might have some of those Poinsettias that is kind of a little tired looking.

KAGAN: OK, I'm getting out of the way for this one.

NIELSON: So why don't you spray them with a little gold. And I'll tell you what, I mean, an old poinsettia you thought was about almost out of the door...

KAGAN: Right.

NIELSON: And up on your New Year's table as...

KAGAN: There you go, instant golden glitter.

NIELSON: Instant golden glitter and things like that.

KAGAN: And you did the same thing with just some plain green leaves and some other pieces of foliage you might just have around the house.

NIELSON: That is right.

KAGAN: OK, now let's get to the good stuff: the food.

NIELSON: The good stuff is the food.

KAGAN: Let's swing this plate around here so folks can see what you made.

NIELSON: You want to put it right over here. Now you're ready to eat, you just place it right here.

KAGAN: Now, what did you cook up for us?

NIELSON: Well, in this specific case... KAGAN: May I see that?

NIELSON: That's a little...

KAGAN: I don't want the lamb chops to fall down.

NIELSON: Yes, like I said, we want to -- a lot of people are really into the way it kind of used to be. And rack of lamb is a very, very popular thing.

KAGAN: Is it hard to make, though?

NIELSON: It's very easy.

KAGAN: Really?

NIELSON: Very, very easy.

KAGAN: Do you realize who you're talking to?

(LAUGHTER)

NIELSON: Yes, I mean, again, the key is just to know how long to cook it.

KAGAN: OK, rack of lamb. What's the little rectangular...

NIELSON: And we have -- over there is a little potatoes lasagna...

KAGAN: Oh.

NIELSON: ... sliced potatoes with mashed potatoes in the middle, a little shitaki mushroom and a little baby carrots with some tops on. But like with anything else in life, it's a matter of knowing how to be able to bring the food up to that state so you can enjoy your meal.

KAGAN: Try to make as much as possible ahead of time.

NIELSON: Exactly. And I always tell people, you can actually do everything ahead of time. You can just do it. Don't be afraid to do that. I mean, your salad can always be plated ahead of time, you can leave in your refrigerator. Your meat can really be cooked ahead of time and you can just kind of keep it warm in the oven. So just before it's time to serve, you go out and do that final plate presentation.

KAGAN: Would you also encourage people -- I mean, I know we're all health-conscious these days and we're getting right around to the time of the New Year's resolution. But, you know, it's nice to see a little lamb, a little red meat, some fun food on the plate for a holiday.

NIELSON: I mean, it's only New Year's Eve one time.

KAGAN: Once a year. NIELSON: I mean, we all know in January you're all back to the health club and work very hard and all this type stuff. So I think that you should at least be able to enjoy certain times of the year, and this is definitely the time of the year where you should be able to enjoy good food and a nice glass of wine and great company with all your friends and family.

KAGAN: And one final question: Does it have to be expensive.

NIELSON: No. And I think everybody thinks everything has to be expensive. You can take a piece of chicken and dress it up exactly the same way and it looks like a million dollars.

KAGAN: And a little gold spray paint and watch out.

NIELSON: And a little gold spray paint and now you got it.

KAGAN: Here comes New Year's.

NIELSON: Yes, that's right.

KAGAN: Excellent. Well, you set a beautiful table for us and you gave us some great tips. Really appreciate you stopping by.

NIELSON: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Vagn Nielsen, thank you very much. Happy new year to you.

NIELSON: And happy new year to you.

KAGAN: And to all our viewers. Thank you very much.

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