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If there’s one thing you’re going to feel while mingling at a Kathy Hilton house party, it’s pampered. The seasoned host and American socialite doesn’t so much as work a room, but floats about, making sure everyone is engaged in sparkling conversation and has enough to eat and drink. She famously serves baked potatoes with an option to top with caviar at these events—the ultimate high/low treat. This combo was a rumored staple of Jackie Kennedy’s diet and something Hilton has kept in the zeitgeist. “I like to have it hot. I use russet potatoes and use a fork to chop up a little bit of the inside of the potato. Then, I add a bit of butter and sour cream and top with caviar,” she says.
When hosting family, Hilton serves potato latkes with the same setup, hold the butter. But she never opts for ready-made blinis because they’re too rubbery. “Instead, I’ll make dollar-sized pancakes with good, old-fashioned Pearl Milling Company Pancake Mix (formerly Aunt Jemima). I don’t know how, but they seem to stay warm if you put them in a cloth napkin-lined basket.”
Variations aside, the star of the show is, of course, the roe. To ensure she has enough to go around, Hilton errs on the side of caution. “I find that maybe out of 200 people, there might be ten people who don’t like it—good, more for us! So, for about 200 people, I’ll get a couple of kilos of caviar in the really big tins. Then I’ll set out half a kilo on each side of the table,” she says. “I would rather have more than not enough. That way, we can have more late at night after everybody’s gone home or have it for breakfast the next morning.”
When Hilton says “sets out” caviar for party guests, she means that she typically leaves the delicacy unmanned and allows guests to serve themselves. It’s a set-up that depends on the decorum of her guests, even if not everyone is mindful of how much they take. (See: Christian Slater’s character on Curb Your Enthusiasm, “going over the allotment,” of party caviar, to Larry David’s disdain.) So, how does Hilton contend with those who hover and hoard?
“We should be thoughtful of other people. To plant yourself at the caviar dish is very rude—and there are those people that will stand there and have a conversation. Meanwhile, they’re just shoveling it in while other people may be waiting to try some,” she says. The hostess has been known to discreetly move these people along by suggesting they take a photo together or telling them that they just have to meet another partygoer... in another room.
Did we not tell you the woman is a genius of a host? Find more of her tips and must-haves for serving caviar with style and grace, ahead.
