Q: What makes the holiday season special for you?
A: It’s magical. I love everything from the cold, crisp weather to the whole holiday feeling. As soon as Thanksgiving ends, Union Square becomes crazy. It feels like Christmas for a whole month. Fortunately now I have two wonderful boys who are nine and six and I get to be a child again with them.

Q: What makes a party memorable?
A: No time constraint; I prefer full-day parties. With dinner parties there is pressure to have something when they get there; then there are drinks, dinner and dessert. It becomes stressful. When I host people for the holidays, I tell them to come by at 11 or 12. Over the course of the day I cook a big lunch. I make one dish and put it out and then another dish. People graze all day long. Guests always love interactive things like fondue and big bowls of cracked crab.

Q: What do you do to make holiday dinners special for your boys?
A: They cook with me a lot so they’re very involved. We try to do everything together and they each get to do one of their favorite dishes.

Q: You like to throw large and lavish holiday parties. How do you do that in a way that’s simple?
A: I do the first few courses plated where we sit down. And then I do the main course on a big table; it’s more like a buffet. I do it this way to give everybody time to get up from the table and stretch. I leave the buffet set up for a while so people can come back and taste different items.

Q: You have an amazing repertoire of dishes. How do you create a harmonious menu?
A: I start by asking my wife Diane! Once it’s approved, I concentrate on seasonal products. I make eight or 10 side dishes like shaved Brussels sprouts and we’ll do sautéed spinach because my wife loves that and also a sweet potato puree. We always do a potato and bacon gratin and always something with parsnips. There’s something everybody likes about parsnips because they have this sweetness to them. And we always do a mushroom dish. Because of the kids, one of my weaknesses is French fries. I always do a couple of baskets of different fries on the table.

Q: How do you know how much food you need for a party?
A: With protein, you figure eight ounces per person. With the side dishes it depends on if you want to have leftovers and most people do. I plan on one portion for every person.

Q:Do you serve a signature cocktail?
A: With the meal we usually serve wine, but with dessert we serve hot buttered rum, spiced cider and cognac eggnog.

Q:What kinds of things can you do in advance?
A: I always recommend you do all of your preparation the day before. I make my onion soup base a day ahead because it tastes better when it sits overnight. And then you finish the cooking you have to do on the day of the party.

Q:How do you make sure that you have fun at your own parties?
A: I get people involved. I always have people helping me, somebody stirring this, keeping an eye on that. We let everybody have a glass of champagne and keep them in the kitchen.