THE LATEST FROM FRAN BERGER
Home Entertaining
Rosé is a Rose by Any Other Name?
There’s just so much more to your wine than just a name! First, a little story. I was with a friend who is a real muscle car geek. This man knows every make, has details about every model, knows things...
Read More
Entertaining at home with Magnums
How to use Magnums as a centerpiece for your dinner table. Entertaining at home presents a fun challenge for me because I’m always looking for a way to do something a bit more extraordinary than before. I find the small...
Read More
What is “sophisticated living”?
Sophisticated Living: it’s not what you spend, but what you share. I’m a big advocate for enjoying life. We only get one ticket to the big dance so we should participate in life to the fullest extent that we can....
Read More
The Right Way to Enjoy Al Fresco Dining
Dining outdoors – perfect for longer, warmer nights. Days are getting longer and the nights are warming up – a perfect combination to dine al fresco with friends or a significant other. It’s more than simply eating outside or just...
Read More
The simplest Vodka cocktail that isn’t really a cocktail.
Another way to enjoy your favorite vodka: a Nikoli for your party. I love to host parties of all sizes. Sometimes it’s a small group of 6, and sometimes it feels like I sent out a mailing addressed to “current...
Read More
Serving Caviar for a Tasting?
Handy tips for serving caviar at your next event. When you own restaurants, as I did for more than twenty years, you learn quite a bit about serving all kinds of different food. Caviar is a little unusual in...
Read More
What kind of Champagne Glasses?
Easy hints and tips for the “right” champagne glass for your party. It’s a little joke between wine drinkers that the best glass for wine is always the one that you’re holding. No matter if it’s one of those little...
Read More
Unraveling the Mystique of Caviar: A Comprehensive Guide
A little ‘what’ and ‘where’ about caviar, and how you can enjoy it. In the twenty years that I owned my restaurants you wouldn’t believe how many times I was asked, “What is caviar?” It’s a delicacy, to be sure,...
Read More
Where's the Bread Plate? Your Table Setting Guide
Easy tips for setting your table, for every day! When my kids were at home, we always ate our meals at the kitchen table, and if I was having a party, the meal would move to the dining room. Somehow...
Read More
Let’s talk about serving wine.
You’re hosting a party. How much wine do you serve? How much wine should you pour in a glass? It all depends on what you want to do. Like, it’s been a bad day and you’ve come home for a...
Read More
Bring Napa Home and Let the Bottles Do the Talking
Bring stories home about the wine you love, #Napa #Winechat I love wine from all over the world, but Napa is closest to my heart. Well, living in California is part of the reason, but back when I owned my...
Read More
Perfect Chili or Stew, for your Super Bowl Party
Hot Recipe Ideas for your Super Bowl Party I can’t tell you how many Super Bowl Parties I have thrown (too many to count!) but I can tell you my secrets to making sure your guests have the best time...
Read More
Champagne Is NOT Just for Holidays
Spread the cheer any day – Schramsberg Cremant Demi-Sec New Year’s has come and gone. Time to pack up the champagne glasses for another year (or the next wedding)? Are you kidding me? I hope you are! The party’s only...
Read More
Fran’s Party Etiquette Rules – For Hosts (Part III)
Fran’s 7 Golden Rules for Hosting a Party How about a few rules for hosts? Okay, so the word “rules” might be a little heavy-handed. More like guidelines. This is a part of a series – I started with guest...
Read More
Fran’s Party Etiquette Rules – The Host Gift (Part II)
More guest rules – these will make you the Party Star! I accept almost all invitations to parties that come my way. And I go to a lot of them – that’s just the way I roll. Over the years,...
Read More
Fran’s Party Etiquette Rules – For Guests (Part I)
6 Guest rules to keep you from becoming the party joke. I love good parties, both throwing them and coming as a guest. They can be great fun (at least for me)! The most amazing thing is that with all...
Read More
A Different Friendsgiving
Take your Thanksgiving Dinner to a New Level – In 5 Easy Steps! When I was growing up Thanksgiving was always at our house. We had a very small family, just 5 of us and no cousins anywhere close by,...
Read More
5 Rules for Throwing a Dinner Party That Never Ends
Have a party that they’ll be talking about for years. One of the best dinner parties I ever went to started at a normal hour, 7:30pm, but no one left until well after 1am! Nobody wanted to leave. The best...
Read More
7 Best Places to Pick Pumpkins for Halloween!
America’s Best Pumpkin Patches For many of us Halloween means carving pumpkins. But the problem starts with where do you find the absolute BEST, most perfect pumpkin ever to showcase your carving talents? Here are my 7 best suggestions across...
Read More
Let’s Talk About Halloween!
Halloween is not just for kids! Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays (just after Chanukah – presents – duh!). It’s been that way since I’ve been old enough to go Trick or Treating. Oddly, even though I’m not...
Read More