Katie Lee's Formula For A Simple, Elegant Holiday Party

If you're planning on throwing a holiday party and want some expert tips, then look no further. At the New York City Wine & Food Festival, Daily Meal spoke with "The Kitchen" co-host and cookbook author Katie Lee. Lee is full of advice for creating a simple yet elegant holiday party.

Firstly, her go-to appetizer is a classic: deviled eggs. She declared, "It's not a party at my house without deviled eggs." Lee explained that she likes to keep the recipe nice and simple, using just mayonnaise and mustard, as well as a garnish of paprika — which is quite similar to Daily Meal's recipe for classic deviled eggs, if you need a recipe to follow.

Lee suggested prepping the deviled eggs in advance — but saving one key step for later. She explained, "I'll do the egg whites separately, and then I've put the filling in a bag and I don't pipe them until everybody's ready to show up."

It's not a holiday party without some festive drinks for guests to sip on. However, Lee prefers to stick to classic drinks — such as a martini — without changing them up to fit a theme. After all, why change up the best martini recipe? Or, you could go with a classic cocktail that already has a red hue — and, thus, is already festive for the holidays — such as the Manhattan or the Negroni.

Instead, she gets creative with the glasses that she serves them in. Lee said, "I love to go to TJ Maxx or Marshalls and buy fun holiday glassware that's kind of silly. Last year actually, I got some great Christmas tree wine glasses. The stem was a Christmas tree."

You will also need to pair a garnish with each cocktail, which is another opportunity to get creative and make the drinks more holiday-themed. For example, you could use sugared cranberries, along with a sprig of rosemary for an instant holiday upgrade.