Introducing Our Holiday Entertaining Issue

As I say goodbye to the dog days of summer, I find myself looking forward to temperatures dropping and putting on my jacket, and my thoughts turn to spending time at home with friends and loved ones.

By Rob Davis

So that’s why we thought this is the perfect time to put together a “Holiday Entertaining Issue” that celebrates food, family and everything we love about this time of year.

Of course, a key ingredient to any great holiday celebration is great food, so we asked celebrity chef Cat Cora to share with us some of the dishes that grace her holiday table. You’ll also find a buffet of delicious ideas throughout the issue, from a special cookbook that will help you turn up the heat when you host your next brunch to a tasty new chocolate indulgence from Magnolia Bakery that just might be too good for trick-or-treaters. Plus, in our “Tech” section, there’s an array of gadgets that can help anyone entertain like a pro, including a thermometer that lets your smartphone know when your main course is done.

For most people, the holidays would not be complete without spending time with family — whether that means the relatives they were raised with or the families they have created as they made their way through life. So we have also chosen to dedicate this issue to celebrating families. That includes our cover guy Ricky Martin, who is a proud gay dad looking forward to sharing the holidays with his twins after finishing the next leg of his One World Tour. Plus, we take a look at the phenomenon of gays and lesbians making the decision to become parents by examining the unique paths that several same-sex couples took to parenthood.

Not everyone chooses to celebrate the holidays in the same way. I know people who wouldn’t be caught without a costume on Halloween and others who would rather be caught dead. For my family, I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without a turkey and all the trimmings, while I have friends who prefer to gather around a vegan casserole. But the important thing is that we take advantage of these opportunities to gather with our loved ones, to share a meal together, and to remember that — when the chillier months ahead arrive — there’s always someone waiting with a warm heart.