Holiday entertaining tips & tricks from Pick 'n Save & Metro Market

All right, welcome back from Milwaukee and work smarter not harder this holiday season. Emily Williamson is here with some tips for your holiday entertaining, bringing with you once again an incredible spread which is great because it's going to be that time soon where we're getting invitations to all of these different holiday parties and work events and you're right, we never want to come empty-handed. Right. And you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen either. Right. Or a lot of money. That's funny. Right? And you make it easy because you are full of flavors Of course. . and I think you're pretty good for any occasion here. 100%. My goals today were to highlight some of the really great grab-and-go items we have at Pick 'n Save and Metro Market. I'm a registered dietitian, so I love to add some nutrition components in there too. And let's talk about saving you money and time. So those are kind of the key messages. The first stop, let's go with Holiday Hostess Gifts. These wines are amazing. Under $10. Wow. 91 plus points on Wine Spectator. That's amazing. Whoa. Bring that in. You can't go wrong with that. Don't hide baby in a bag because that is a starring show. Great scoring wine, great tasting wine, not a lot of money. The other hostess gift I love to recommend is do something edible, bring something people are traveling from afar Yeah, these are some great options to have some fiber, some protein, have that on the table It's easy for people to grab and go, the littles the adults all in between something for easy snacking I love that and sometimes like the major meal is taking a little bit longer Yeah, you have a little bit of a ganache in the meantime and it's healthy Right. Perfect. I love the flowers. So you guys have such beautiful creations. So great host gift. So many easy creations. And you can always pair them with a gift card. The thing that I recently learned, you get four times fuel points every day and you can get your gift cards with pickup. You don't actually have to go in the store anymore. So if you are literally on your way to the party, you order a couple of things for pickup. Gift card can be one of those wrap the hostess gift in the car. You're ready to go. I love that. And double down and do it on on a Friday. Right? Love it. Even better with those points. All right, so bring us to the spread now. I love this. So this is holiday snacking. You know, our Murray's Cheese Department has some really great options between that and the deli team. We've got some great options, and you can try them this weekend at our holiday show from 10 to... 10 o'clock, starting at 10 o'clock at all of our stores, but we've got some local sausages from the Driftless region here. This is a brand new Maytag blue cheese dip with a little bit of hot honey, so it's got that really nice complimentary flavors there on a crostini. Our smokehouse dip, you can pair it with any chip. I chose the Casa Mercado, the ranch, because it's got a little kick to it. Nice pairing with that smokehouse flavor. We've got our traditional port wine that everybody loves. I love these rainbow baby carrots are like my shining knight in armor. I've never even seen something like that. That's so fun. They're brand new and they're in the produce department. And a couple of those really dress up a board. Yeah. And then they add, you know, again, nutrition and fiber and all the things. I also grabbed our red bags. So these bagged produce are... You know, imperfect. They're a little too small, something like that. They look great. Grabbed some great apples. It was $1.50 for the whole bag. Whoa. And then I used some of the apples here, and then I used it in the salad, too. So the thing is, you're just going to use those same day, but it's a nice way to add a little something and being gentle to your pocketbook. And I love how you have a good mix to the board. You have a little sweet, you have savory, and you have different mixes of cheeses as well. Something for everyone. I'll take a bite of this. And I think you've got, like, some new trendy items. Like, I feel like hot honey is all the rage right now. So, yeah, throw that on. You know, the crostini here. Thank you so much. Paired it with one of our bagged salads, you know, again, adding a little bit of additional fiber and nutrition. I like to add some of the extra apples or some of the easy-cut veg on top of some of these things to just add a little bit more in terms of that nutrition realm. They're beautiful on their own, but, you know me, I always like to add an extra vegetable. Yeah, I just like the variety here. I mean, you've got three totally different meals that we can just grab and go. Oh, yeah. And there's more. There's chicken with caponata pasta. There's just so many options. I really appreciate how you guys have all of those options throughout. There's some like in a regular case or some that are. Frozen, but you do have things that are just kind of pick up and go because it's a lot. A lot of folks are still working during the holiday season. You want to be able to bring something of substance that tastes good, but we may not have the time to make it. Absolutely. And, you know, here's my other hack. We sell some great bowls in store, but if you go to your. The store where people donate stuff and then you can buy them. Get some really great dishware. Yeah, we're going to scoop some dishware. And then throw one of these meals right in there. You don't care if you get the container back. It looks homemade. I'm here for you. That's such a good point. Because that is the presentation. But sometimes that's what's difficult about bringing a dish. You're kind of like, well, I need that back. So if you didn't need it back, that's so smart. And then it's a gift too. It's a gift too. I brought this and you get to keep them. You're welcome. Yeah, absolutely. I love this. All right. So I also appreciate this. Is this pumpkins? Does it taste like pumpkin or just the shape? It is just the shape. So there's some really fun like holiday Look at their shape, they're shaped like pumpkins. Oh my god, I'm upset. How cute is that? Oh my god, I just dropped like five of them. Do it. They're all over. Talk a little bit more about what's happening this weekend because I think this will give folks a good idea too of how to plan what they're going to bring. What's going on with that? So this is at all of our stores. It's our holiday open house. So come out Saturday between 10 and 5. Every pick and save in Metro Market store is doing this, and you'll get to taste some of these things. Something like the smoke... Smokehouse Burnt Ends Dip. You'll get to try that. Say, yes, this sounds like a good fit for me. We're here to inspire you throughout the holiday season. Make sure that you have everything you need if you're cooking from scratch, if you're semi-homemade people, if you're just looking for your holiday dinners. All of those options are available to you. So take a little time, pop into the store, and see what inspires you. I love that you're having that because then it gives, you know, oh, I know the kids will eat this, or I know we'll eat this. This has a great little, like, sweetness to it. But it gives you the cheese, and it has a little burnt end in there. That's absolutely delicious. And sometimes you see things in your store, and you're like, no, I'm not going to get it. I don't know what that tastes like. But you're giving folks the opportunity now to be like, I want it. So this is great. Taste it. Absolutely. Beautiful. And if you're not sure, you know, our Meijer's Cheese Department, look for the red coats. Those individuals there, they're always inspiring me. I'm like, have you tried this yet? What would you pair it with? You know, so take the time and ask the questions. Our team is here to help. And Meijer's has a lot of good, like, apple butters and things like that that could go with that. You guys have a wonderful selection. Thank you, Emily. Thank you. All right, we'll be right back. Don't you love that port wine? It's so good. It's so good. All right.