Help For Your Cocktail Party

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays  by Ree Drummond HarperCollins; $17.99; 400 pp.  

With stunning photos and directions as clear and illustrated as one could want, author Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays is a fantastic collection of recipes, photos and homespun humor to help you celebrate New Year’s Eve and the rest of 2014. Whip up a Resolution Smoothie on New Year’s Day; Whiskey BBQ Sliders and Dr. Pepper Cupcakes for The Big Game; Glazed Ham for Easter; Watermelon Sangria for a sizzling Fourth of July cookout; and perfect Popcorn Balls on Halloween.

Libations Bar Cart  $599; crateandbarrel.com  

Keep a cocktail party’s worth of barware and beverages close at hand on this trim trolley, burnished with the glow of yesteryear. A clear top shelf serves up drinks and condiments, while decanters, bottles and glassware sits pretty below. 

This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2013.