Haltom City police on Tuesday released the taped emergency call, in which the customer is heard telling the dispatcher, “to get a police officer up here, what has to happen?”

The customer also says: “He didn’t even put extra shrimp in there.”

The upset customer had left the Fort Worth-area restaurant when an officer arrived Monday afternoon.

Restaurant workers say the woman had been denied a refund after leaving with her order, then returning to complain.

Cook June Lee says nothing was wrong with the meal, and that “some customers are happy. Some are not.”

The perfect pour of Guinness takes time - 119.5 seconds, to be exact - but it's worth the wait.

Tweed jackets, drizzling rain, shamrocks, shillelaghs, leprechauns. Now is the time when thoughts turn to all things Irish.

That includes, of course, Guinness stout.

Whether you’re in Dublin or Tucson, if you want a great pint of stout, be prepared to wait. The “double pour” is a technique that produces a dark ruby (it’s not black, hold it up to the light) body and a thick, creamy white head on a glass of Guinness.

The company says a pour should take 119.5 seconds. Try that with a typical American megabrew! It would probably go flat before you finished.

Legend holds that Irish beer is served warm, but they seem to have discovered refrigeration on the Emerald Isle, as the company recommends its stout be served at 43 degrees. That’s a bit warmer than you might want your Budweiser, but room temperature it’s not.

The temperature and pour bring out the flavor – a weighty mouth-feel and creamy foam accentuate the bite of roasted barley and smoothness of the traditional recipe.

Dublin’s St. James’s Gate neighborhood, wherein lies the Guinness brewery, is suffused with the aroma of hundreds of years of roasting barley malt. You can’t find that in Tucson, but where can a punter purchase a perfect pint on St. Patrick’s Day?

Great pints can be found around Tucson, but beware a bad one.

A clean, dry glass is essential because, unlike most beers, stout doesn’t contain many hops. Without that bitter herb, the unfortunate flavor of bar cleanser and bleach can utterly ruin a glass. Traces that would go unnoticed in a fresh Sam Adams or Flat Tire can lead to bitter disappointment in a pint of stout.

Old Pueblo publicans who provide a proper pour include Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., and The Shanty, 401 E. Ninth St.

Plush’s Kini Wade takes his time, and serves up a pint that’s brimming with thick foam that lasts until the pint’s gone.

The barkeeps at The Shanty not only know how to pour a pint, they’ll serve up a delicious small glass with a nip of whiskey.

The Auld Dubliner, 800 E. University Blvd., brims with knickknacks and signage imported from the auld country. It offers a menu of Irish fare, including shepherd’s pie and corned beef and cabbage, but sometimes falls short on its pints.

It’s a busy college bar and getting a pint that features a whiff of bleach is a too-common occurrence. To its credit, the staff’s always been happy to pour again, and there’s plenty of Harp lager and Irish whiskey if you’re not in the mood for a heavy stout.

The Tap Room at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., is a great spot to sip a pint. Feed a couple of quarters into the best jukebox in town and enjoy.

Irish Pub, 9155 E. Tanque Verde Road, doesn’t much live up to its name. It serves Guinness, along with quesadillas and buffalo wings, but putting such items as the Paddy Melt and Tipperary Tuna on the menu don’t go far in reproducing a true Celtic atmosphere.

Got a favorite spot to quaff the black stuff? Who pours the best? Let us know in our online comments.

March 2008: Bartender Jonas Black works on pouring a perfect pint at The Auld Dubliner.

This flourless chocolate torte from Kingfisher includes dried cherries and almonds ($8.50).

Want to take your sweetheart out for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner, but feel it’s beyond your budget?

There’s an easy way to get the benefits of a night out incurring a huge dinner bill.

Just get dessert.

Really, it’s not the dinner most people look forward to anyway. It’s the sweet ending that makes the evening one to remember.

So eat a light meal at home – and save room! Tucson restaurants have a variety of offerings, from a tempting tres leches cake to a decadent flourless chocolate torte to a romantic red velvet cake.

Add a glass of wine or bubbly, and your signifcant other will forget dinner entirely.

Oh, and just to make sure the evening goes as planned, it’s a good idea to call ahead to your dessert place of choice.

Here's milotita, a Grecian apple pie made of phyllo and Granny Smith apples flavored with cinnamon and clove, from Athens on Fourth ($5.50).

Chocolate caramel custard ($8) from Barrio.

Kingfisher's version of red velvet cake, with white chocolate and cream cheese butter cream frosting ($8.50).

The key lime tart ($8) from Wildflower is topped with Chantilly cream, macadamia nut brittle, fresh blueberries and a scoop of blueberry ginger sorbet.

Jesús Diaz, a baker at Tortilleria y Panaderia Real, 1427 S. Fourth Ave., holds a <em>rosca </em>Monday afternoon. Rosca is a sweet bread in Mexican and Latin American cultures that is used in the celebration of the <em>Tres Reyes Magos</em> (the Three Kings).

Jesús Diaz, 21, and his family will gather to celebrate Día de los Reyes Tuesday and eat rosca, or Three Kings’ cake, but if he finds a plastic baby Jesus doll in his slice, he’ll have to host a party next month.

It is a tradition in Mexico and other Latin countries for families to celebrate the Día de los Reyes Magos, or day of the three kings, on Jan. 6,when the three kings visited the baby Jesus and brought him gifts, according to the Christian tradition.

Some Tucson families have been passing on the tradition for generations.

Families sit together at the table and eat rosca, a wreath-shaped sweet bread decorated with coarse sugar, sugar figs, citron, and dried fruit.

But what makes the sweet bread different from any other pastries are the few plastic dolls stuffed inside to represent baby Jesus.

If someone cuts the bread and finds a minidoll, they have to host a party with tamales Feb. 2, said Jesús’ mother, María Diaz, 53, owner of Tortilleria y Panaderia Real, 1427 S. Fourth Ave., a family run bakery that began making roscas a few weeks ago for the holiday.

She said the order of roscas has been up “quite a bit” this year compared to last year, when the bakery sold about 40 of the cakes.

Inserting the plastic doll is mostly a Mexican tradition that developed during the last century. Historically, the cakes had a bean or candy in them, but the finder of the bean and candy often shirked their party-hosting duty by eating it.

Like the Diaz family, Miguel Medina, 27, has been making dozens of roscas in the past couple of days as the lead baker for Food City’s bakery, 2950 S. Sixth Ave., which sold more than 500 of the small cakes last year.

He said that unlike roscas made in Mexico or at other bakeries in town, Food City, for liability reasons, bakes them without the dolls but includes the figurines in the box; customers stuff them into the cakes themselves.

But the celebration of Día de los Reyes is more than eating rosca.

It begins the night before, when children leave a pair of shoes out in the living room and wake up the next day to find gifts in or near their shoes, said Ramon Lopez, a manager at Food City.

“This holiday is the whole deal, the gifts, the get-together with family and the excitement of seeing if you’ll cut a slice with a little doll,” he said. “Because if you do, you better be ready to host a party.”

Some children leave grass and buckets of water outside for the three animals believed to have been used as transportation for the three kings: a camel, a horse and an elephant. The custom resembles another, when many children leave cookies and milk for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

The holiday is as important as Christmas for most people in Mexico, Lopez said.

This is a rosca with a figure of baby Jesus baked into it from Tortilleria y Panaderia Real.

LEFT: Lead baker Miguel Medina, of Food City, 2950 S. Sixth Ave., makes a rosca Monday afternoon. Food City sells the holiday sweet bread without the baby figurines baked in; they are provided separately.

Mmmmm!

More than 4,000 children from low-income families in Mexico will receive a warm meal and a gift on New Year’s Day at a McDonald’s in Nogales, Ariz.

Gael Sylvia Pullen, and her husband, Mark, will host the second annual New Year’s Day celebration that began when they purchased three McDonald’s franchises in late 2007.

But the celebration isn’t new to the restaurant.

For 29 years former owner Jose Canchola brought hundreds of children from Nogales, Son., on Christmas Day to the McDonald’s on Mariposa Road and gave them toys and food.

The Pullens are “going off of that, but have expanded it to four times what it used to be and transformed it,” into their own family tradition, Gael Pullen said.

The celebration was moved to New Year’s Day to tie together Christmas and the “Dia de los Reyes,” or Day of the Three Kings, a Mexican tradition where children anxiously await waking up Jan. 6 to find toys and gifts left by the Reyes Magos, or wise men.

“This is the only time some of these kids will receive any gifts because of the difficult circumstances they live in, and it might even be hard for some Americans to comprehend how bad they really are,” Pullen said.

Kids will receive a “Happy Meal,” coats, toys, school supplies and fresh produce to take home to their families

Social workers from Mexico’s DIF, a government funded social service organization, selected the 4,000 children who will line up on the Mexican side of the border where buses will pick them up and take them to the McDonald’s.

“We’re working closely with Border Patrol and immigration officers, and 250 volunteers on both sides of the border and our fire department to make this possible,” Pullen said. “With so many kids we have to be really organized.”

The Pullens also included children in need on Nogales, Ariz., who will receive gifts once they return to school.

“Our family is committed to children on (both) Nogaleses and we’re going to do this every year,” Pullen said. “It’s truly wonderful to see the smiles on the children’s faces when they come here.”

This will be the 31st year children from Sonora cross the border for a warm meal and gifts at this McDonald’s.

Volunteers Vanessa Sterba, 22, and her cousin, Michael Tang, 12, serve meals at the annual Salvation Army Community Christmas Dinner at the Tucson Convention Center Exhibition Hall on Christmas Day.

For some Tucson families, such as the Morenos, Herbers and Gonzaleses, the Salvation Army’s annual Christmas dinner Thursday was an extended-family event.

But for others, such as Harry Ingmire, 58, a Vietnam vet drafted a week after he turned 18, it was a holiday ritual he attended alone.

More than 2,000 diners of all ages – some homeless, came from around the city to enjoy the hot turkey dinner sponsored each year by the faith-based nonprofit.

Tamara McElwee, the nonprofit’s spokeswoman, said dozens of volunteers sign up year after year to make the event the success that it is.

Ed Hoffman, 94, said this is his seventh year as a volunteer.

He and his Sun City Vistoso friends Janet Hayes and Ted Reynolds also volunteer annually.

They serve food, pour punch and wish good cheer to the families, the disabled and the homeless who line up by 10:30 a.m. for the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Christmas feast.

Hoffman says he volunteers because it’s a “worthwhile” event and he enjoys seeing the young children dressed up for the holiday each year.

Volunteer balloon-maker William J. Jayme donated balloons in the shape of a heart to diners as they entered the Tucson Convention Center Exhibition Hall, which was transformed into a banquet hall.

He gave purple balloons to anyone wearing military veteran’s medals, caps or fatigues.

“Here’s a purple heart for your service,” he told each of them.

Ingmire, who said he saw fellow soldiers get cut down in Vietnam and was held for six months as a prisoner of war, lives in an apartment on the monthly Supplemental Security Insurance payments he receives from the federal government for a mental disability.

Michael Jones, 31, said he attended the Christmas dinner for the first time.

He made sure he left with one of the artificial red carnations distributed throughout the dinner by volunteers.

Scott Duerstock, 43, and his wife Yun Gee Pak, who are educators, volunteered with their four sons.

They helped serve and check in guests, asking them to leave their backpacks, shopping carts and other possessions for safekeeping outside the dining area.

Francisco Moreno, 18 months, sat on a folded blanket so he could reach the table and feed himself from a plate of turkey and mashed potatoes.

His mother, Isabel Herber, 20, dined with her husband, Danny Gonzales, who fed her son Miguel Herber, 3 months old, from a bottle.

They were joined by grandmother Angela Herber, 43, and Hector Sotelo, a family friend.

Also at their table were Veronica Bracamonte, 26, with her fiance, Donald McIntyre, 32, and their daughter, Gloria McIntyre, 13 months old.

Isabel Herber said she found out about the dinner when she picked up a flier at a Department of Economic Security office.

Hundreds enjoy the annual Salvation Army Community Christmas Dinner at the Tucson Convention Center Exhibition Hall on Thursday.

While consumers are used to some chains like Denny’s and IHOP keeping units open on Christmas, it’s been rare for most restaurants – from burger joints to those with white tablecloths – to stay open on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

This year is an exception. After a terrible 2008, there is growing sentiment to keep the doors open on Christmas. “It makes perfect sense,” says Hudson Riehle, senior vice president at the National Restaurant Association. “This is the toughest environment since the early 1980s.”

The NRA projects that restaurant sales nationally will grow an anemic 2.5 percent in 2009. Adjusted for inflation, sales will actually decline 1 percent, says Riehle.

Many restaurant owners will stay open over the holidays. Here’s why:

• To nudge sales. Mitchell’s Fish Market, which has 19 locations in nine states, will for the first time open all units on New Year’s Day. “It will provide additional revenue given today’s challenging times,” says Tom Burmane, operations vice president.

Atlanta’s Parish Foods & Goods will be open Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. “We want to capture sales that we didn’t think would be there,” says Sean Gray, general manager.

In Raleigh, N.C., Irregardless Cafe will be open Christmas Eve and Christmas. “We’re looking for the holiday to give us a boost,” says owner Arthur Gordon. Business is off 20 percent this year and he expects a 20 percent drop in 2009.

To pick up extra sales, Mom’s Hamburgers, a 24-year-old burger joint in Mansfield, Ohio, will be open Christmas Eve for the first time, says owner Steve Reed.

• To make up for a lousy year. For the past 12 years, the Payard Bistro in Manhattan has never been open Christmas Eve. It will be this year, with a $45 meal that would sell for $65. “Every restaurant is down 20 percent to 30 percent this year,” says owner Francois Payard. “This will put a lot of people through the door.”

• To meet demand. Crab Landing Seafood & Steakhouse in Half Moon Bay, Calif., is one month old. Owner Andrei Soen says there’s demand since “a lot of people want to check out a new restaurant.” It will be open Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Fenicci’s of Hershey, of Hershey, Pa., has never been open on Christmas. It will this year, says owner Phil Guarno, “because the area demands it.”

Elfin Magic

This may be the cocktail party’s moment.

“They are a great way to entertain in hard times,” says Leslie Brenner, independent editor and writer in Los Angeles. “You can do something really fun that looks like and tastes like a million bucks for a fraction of the cost.”

The cocktail party is back in a big way and the holidays are a perfect time to host one, says David Tutera, event planner in New York and author of “The Party Planner,” (Bulfinch Press; 2005, $29.95).

The problem is, people get excited about entertaining and then “bail out” when they wrestle with what to serve, Tutera says.

This season, don’t scrap your entertainment plans; follow this guide for a swanky soiree. From budget-friendly ideas to savory treats and delectable drinks, you can throw a party with panache.

First, forget the full bar.

Offer a few specialty beverages, says Colleen Mullaney, author of “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere: The Global Guide to Fabulous Cocktails.” (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc; 2008, $17.95). A few cocktails, beer and wine is fine, she says, and have juices and flavored seltzer on hand for nondrinkers.

Aim for three types of cocktails: liquor-forward, fruity and refreshing, says H. Joseph Ehrmann, proprietor of Elixir, a certified green bar in San Francisco, and founder of CocktailAmbassadors.com.

Make pitchers of drinks ahead of time; pay careful attention to recipes.

“The difference between a bad drink and good drink is often a small tweak in the way it’s made,” Ehrmann says. “If food calls for 1 teaspoon of salt and you put in 1 tablespoon, you’ve dramatically altered it, and the same goes for a cocktail.”

Plan to serve three or four drinks per guest, Mullaney says. Try fresh-cut pineapple for garnish.

When it comes to the food, plan for four hors d’oeuvres per person the first hour, three for the second and two for every additional hour, says Jon-Paul Hutchins, executive chef at Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona.

Fillers – such as nuts, dips and gourmet chips – can be set around the room to keep people circulating, he says.

An inexpensive appetizer is an assortment of hummus. Make a large batch then divide it in half: add sun-dried tomatoes to one, cilantro and cumin to the other, Hutchins says.

Remember: You’re serving bites, so a little food goes a long way. Don’t serve anything messy or anything that requires both hands because one hand will be occupied by a cocktail, says Hutchins.

Regardless of what you serve, have fun. That is what a cocktail party is all about.

“Cocktails are little personalities in a glass,” Mullaney says.

RECIPES

ROASTED RED PEPPER, FETA AND ARTICHOKE DIP

2 cups mayonnaise

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped

2 (6.5-ounce) jars of artichokes, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

8 ounces feta cheese

4-6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix mayonnaise and cream cheese until blended. Add roasted red peppers, artichokes, seasonings and feta cheese. Place in a casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until mixture bubbles. Serve with crackers and French bread. Serves 12-15.

Source: Juliana Goodwin, Gannett News Service

SAVORY MEAT WONTONS

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3/4 of (10-ounce) jar of Durkee Famous Sandwich and Salad Sauce

1 package of 60 wontons

Oil for frying

A bowl of water

Cook ground beef with garlic salt and pepper. When done, add Durkee sauce.

Cool mixture. (You can make this a day in advance and then fry wontons the day of the party).

Add 1 tablespoon mixture to each wonton. Dip your finger in bowl of water and run your finger around the rim of wonton. Fold over and seal.

Keep wontons covered with a damp paper towel while you work.

Heat canola or vegetable oil in pan over medium heat.

When oil is ready, fry wontons until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes.

Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Serve warm. Makes 60 wontons.

Source: Juliana Goodwin, Gannett News Service

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE ROLLS

1 (8-ounce) can Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations

1 cup fig preserves

3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out crescent creations and pinch together to seal any perforations.

Brush fig spread all over crust.

Crumble cheese and bacon over fig preserves, leaving a 1-inch perimeter around the crust so filling does not spill out when rolled.

Roll up like a jelly roll and bake for 14-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into 16 pieces. Serve warm. Serves 16.

Source: Juliana Goodwin, Gannett News Service

MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE FONDUE

1 (12-ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Assorted store-bought shortbread cookies

Bananas

Pretzels

You can make this fondue in a slow cooker. Turn it on at the very beginning of the party and it will be ready within 30 minutes.

Combine chocolate chips, heavy cream, cinnamon and cayenne in slow cooker. Heat until melted.

Serve with bananas, pretzels and store-bought shortbread or butter cookies. Serves 12.

Source: Juliana Goodwin, Gannett News Service

FETA AND OLIVE MEDLEY

8 ounces firm feta cheese, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons dry sherry

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons capers

Zest of one-half lemon

3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 teaspoon olive juice from kalamata olive jar

one-half cup green Manzanilla olives

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 days.

Serve mixture with crackers and bread. Serves 10.

Source: Juliana Goodwin, Gannett News Service

BAY BREEZE

8 ounces vodka

4 ounces orange juice

4 ounces pineapple juice

4 ounces mango juice

Splash of lime juice

Pour all ingredients into a large shaker filled with ice and mix well. Strain into ice-filled glasses. Garnish with lime wedge. Serves 4.

Source: “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere: The Global Guide to Fabulous Cocktails” by Colleen Mullaney (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc; 2008, $17.95).

ELFIN MAGIC

5 ounces warm hard apple cider

1 ounce Southern Comfort

Green candy cane or cinnamon stick for garnish

Pour warm cider into glass mug. Add Southern Comfort and garnish. Serves 1.

Source: “The Party Planner” by David Tutera (Bulfinch Press; 2005, $29.95)

SCARLETT O’HARA COCKTAIL

1 1/2 cups Southern Comfort

3/4 cup cranberry juice

Juice of 1 lime

Cracked ice

Maraschino cherries or cranberries

Place all ingredients except cherries into a jug and stir well. Strain into martini glasses and add a cherry or cranberry to each glass. Serves 4.

Source: “The Best Christmas Ever” by Pamela Westland (Anness Publishing, 2000)

CHOCOLATE MARTINI

8 ounces Absolut Vanilia vodka

4 ounces Kahlua

Chocolate syrup to decorate glasses

Chocolate shavings for garnish

Pour vodka and Kahlua into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice, and mix well.

Drizzle chocolate syrup on the inside of 4 martini glasses. Strain into glasses and garnish with chocolate shavings. Serves 4.

Source: Adapted from “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere: The Global Guide to Fabulous Cocktails” by Colleen Mullaney (Sterling Publishing Co. Inc; 2008, $17.95).

CRANBERRY-LIME PUNCH

1 tablespoon honey

4 cups cranberry juice

3/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 12-ounce can lemon soda

Ice cubes

In small bowl, stir honey with a little warm water to dissolve. In a pitcher or punch bowl, combine the cranberry juice, lime juice and honey mixture and stir until well blended. Add lemon soda and stir gently. Fill tumblers half full with ice. Pour punch over ice, garnish with lime and serve at once. Serves 12.

Source: “Holiday Entertaining” by Williams-Sonoma. (Oxmoor House, 2007, $34.95)

GUAVA-STRAWBERRY SPRITZER

1 33-ounce jar chilled guava juice

4 cups chilled strawberry flavored sparkling water

Fruit to garnish

Pour guava juice into a pitcher. Top with strawberry flavored sparkling water. Stir gently. Add fruit and serve. Serves 12.

Source: Juliana Goodwin, Gannett News Service

Tips for greening your gathering

Don’t let your holiday celebration leave an ecological footprint on the earth.

A “green” party starts with electronic invitations, says Trey Granger, public relations manager for Earth911.com, an online recycling guide.

If the idea of the e-vite doesn’t appeal to you, create a custom-designed invitation (as you would if you were mailing it), save it as a PDF, and e-mail it, suggests Danielle Venokur, president of dvGreen, a sustainable events design company in New York.

When shopping, buy in bulk to cut down on packaging, says Granger.

Buy as many local products as possible, says Melissa Dallas, professor and department head of the Hospitality and Restaurant Administration at Missouri State University. The university’s student restaurant recently went green and Dallas says home cooks can incorporate similar principles into their kitchens.

Here are a few ideas our experts suggest:

• Trade in paper towels for wash cloths and switch to green cleaning agents and sanitizers.

• Don’t preheat the oven any longer than necessary.

• If you have to use disposable tableware, choose those that are biodegradable or made from recycled materials.

• At the party, set up recycling bins and clearly label them.

• Burn soy or beeswax candles.

• Purchase LED holiday lights.

• Look outside and get inspired. Nature offers free decorations in November and December from pinecones and chestnuts to squash and greens. Make garlands from natural greens and use fallen leaves to accent buffets and tabletop decor.

Chocolate Martini

Bay Breeze

Nonalcoholic Guava Strawberry Spritzer

———

Cocktail party tips

A cocktail party should last 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Be sure to note the end time on the invitation, says Leslie Brenner, independent editor and writer in Los Angeles.

• Greet guests with a drink when they walk in, says Colleen Mullaney, author of “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere.”

• Small ice cubes dilute drinks quickly. Instead, use big cubes and chill ingredients such as juices in advance, says H. Joseph Ehrmann, proprietor of Elixir, a certified green bar in San Francisco, and founder of CocktailAmbassadors.com.

• Vodka is the most popular spirit, so offer it in a cocktail, says Ehrmann. Consider offering tequila or bourbon as a second spirit – two is enough.

• Save money on the mixtures by infusing your own simple syrup with herbs and spices instead of buying prepared syrups, says Ehrmann.

• Create your bar away from your food buffet. “That will spread people out across the area so there is no congestion,” says Jon-Paul Hutchins, executive chef at Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona.

• Surprise guests by bringing food out in waves, Hutchins says.

• Burn a candle in the bathroom for atmosphere and fragrance, Brenner says.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

• To make the most of your holiday cocktail party, plan out your buffet areas the night before, says Hutchins. “Lay out exactly where everything is going to be the next day. Lay out the dishes and then put a Post-it on each dish to tell you what’s going in the dish,” Hutchins says.

• Buy prepared foods such as frozen meatballs and add your own sauce, says Mullaney.

• Serve only one dessert. Chocolate fondue is easy and fun, says Hutchins.

• Serve equal amounts of hot and cold appetizers, but make many ahead of time, Hutchins says.

• A slow cooker is a great way to keep something warm without fuss, says Annette Flores, test kitchen manager for Williams-Sonoma.

• Purchase extra cheese and bread in case you run out of food, Flores says.

• Solicit a friend or family member to help at the party, Hutchins says. Or hire a college student from a culinary school or bartending program, suggests Brenner.

• Don’t worry about every detail. If you plan well, you should be able to sit back and enjoy the party, Flores says.

Decor on a dime

David Tutera, event planner in New York and author of “The Party Planner,” (Bulfinch Press; 2005, $29.95), offers these tips for adding ambience without breaking the bank.

• Choose one color scheme – such as red – and mix and match shades and patterns for a dramatic effect.

• Create dinner chargers to frame serving plates by wrapping thick magazines or phone books with fancy wrapping paper. Using various heights will add pizzazz to your table setting. You can also serve food directly on the homemade charger.

• Use holiday tags to label drinks so guests know whether drinks are alcoholic or non-alcoholic.

• Buy jingle bells and use a ribbon to tie them on the glass instead of wine charms.

• Turn down the lights and illuminate the room with votive candles and holiday lights.

• Give take-home gifts such as holiday cookie cutters. Hang gifts on the tree as ornaments.

———

On the Web

www.earth911.com, plug in your ZIP code to find out about recycling in your area.

Instead, recycle the messy stuff because it can be turned into biodiesel.

The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality is holding the fourth annual day-after-Thanksgiving grease recycling event Friday at six locations.

Grease collected will be given to Grecycle, a Tucson-based organization that promotes turning such waste into biodiesel fuel.

A total of 2,800 pounds of grease were collected last year.

PDEQ officials credit the four-year program with helping reduce incidences of sewer blockages created by grease coagulating in underground lines.

Collection centers will be open from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Friday at:

• O’Rielly Chevrolet, 6160 E. Broadway

• Pima County Industrial Waste Control, 5025 E. Ina Road

• El Hogar de la Paz Alternative Learning Center, 450 E. Wetmore Road

• Pima County Conveyance Division, 3390 N. Richey Road

• City of Tucson Water Plant No. 2, 1102 E. Irvington Road

• Shell Super Stop, 795 W. Via Rancho Sahuarita

The group holds the dinner every year and typically serves more than 400 people, said Libby Wright, director and founding member of The Giving Tree.

Dinner will be served at 4 p.m. Thursday on the vacant lot next to the Palm Court Inn, 4425 E. 22nd St.

The faith-based group needs more supplies to make the dinner work, Wright said.

“We really need canned goods, grocery and department store gift cards, and volunteers to bring prepared food for our Thanksgiving meal, and again on Christmas,” Wright said.

Donations are tax-deductible and can be dropped off at The Giving Tree’s office, 4888 E. Broadway, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or call 320-5437 for more information.