278738 Tue Jul 12 21:34:55 -0700 2005 14 31 Home Cooking 0 1476189 I want to develop dinner party menu skills... any advice from the seasoned experts? My current home is an eat in kitchen- not a formal dining room (which is used as a music room). I have a butlers pantry, but the oven is near the table. My point is- right now- no formal dinner parties. How do you pull off a wonderful menu and still have fun? Stick to a tried and true menu? Any suggestions? Tue Jul 12 21:34:55 -0700 2005 0 edinaeats 1 1476210 After years of putting on "fancy" multi-course, restaurant type meals, I now live in a much smaller NYC apartment, where the kitchen is open to the living room/dining room. So, I've switched to cooking things that can pretty much be made ahead and then reheated (without affecting the quality of the food) when I have people over. This way, at least the kitchen is clean when the guests arrived, though it is usually a disaster by the time they leave! My husband has (coincidently I'm sure) taken to sitting in the living room chair that directly faces the kitchen, which I appreciate! I generally try to make things that I've cooked at least once before - with v. close friends I might experiment. I often serve soup as an appetizer, since it only needs to be heated up (cold in summer) and there is little fuss to getting it on the table. I also now serve most meals "family style" - no having to go back to the kitchen for seconds, or juggle serving the plates with limited counter space. Salad with the dressing in a separate container go on the sideboard with the plates that I will subsequently use. Ditto with the cheese & dessert. I've also discovered that there are a lot of things you can cook "partway" and then finish up at the end. I guess I do still serve multi course meals, but I've just tried to take the fuss out of them. In terms of where to eat - is it possible to put your table and chairs in another room, just for this occasion, if you do want to do a formal meal? I remember hearing some "celebrity" party planner saying that it can be fun to have meals in unexpected rooms! All of this has, I think, made me a more disciplined and organized cook. Now if only I could figure out how to keep things tidy as I'm clearing courses - right now I dump the dirty dishes in the sink/on the counter etc. - tiny dishwasher gets filled up pretty quickly. Hope this helps! Oh - and I set out the wine we are going to serve on a table in the living room w/ glasses, opener, etc. Wed Jul 13 08:30:40 -0700 2005 1476189 0 MMRuth 1 1476232 My husband is borderline OCD...I don't try to have more than one other couple inside the house...he'd loose it. So I have my parties outside in the summer. So, quit reading now if you don't have any outside space. I used to do big (50 guest) very casual pool parties w/ a buffet of reasonably gourmet side dishes, but very simple mains...burgers, bratwursts, grilled jerk chicken. I found that even that meant I spent 75% of the party running up and down the basement stairs preheating oven or grill, bringing food down to the buffet, fetching more wine, putting away the food, etc. Pain in my ass, and didn't get to have fun w/ the guests. Last year I invited 3 other couples and set up a table on our upstairs terrace. I'm amazed at how nice (If I do say so myself) you can make a party look outside. If you could have seen the hideous, rusty folding table underneath the tablecloth, straw chargers, flowers and candles, you would have laughed. I tried to make almost everything in advance. The hors d'ouerves were goat cheese stuffed figs, "imported" (from Manhattan) olives, and mini pizzas i baked right before guests arrived. Salad course we passed around platters of caprese salad and melon and proscuitto, both in the frige since that morning. Main course was the only thing I "cooked". I boiled pasta while we were eating our salads, threw some pre-marinated and skwered shrimp on the outdoor grill, and heated up the pasta sauce (Mario's basic tomato sauce to which I added halved cherry tomatoes and yellow pepper at the last minute) on the side burner. All went on large platter also passed. OCD husband was a little concerned that guests waited 5 minutes between courses for the shirmp to grill, but it was very easy and well-paced IMO. Showstopper layer cake made the day in advance brought to table for dessert. It was very nice eating outside, darkness falls, candles flicker, wine consumed... Wed Jul 13 10:22:59 -0700 2005 1476189 0 danna 1 1476233 I second what the previous poster said, especially regarding making dishes you have made before and trying to do as much as possible beforehand. You want to be able to relax a bit and enjoy the party too! It is also fun to try to have an overall theme to the dinner. For example, you could have bouilliabaise or a similar fish stew as a main course and supplement with other Provencal style flavors such as olives and regional cheeses, maybe a lemon tart for dessert. It's so easy to do this sort of thing now with the wealth of recipes and information online (including on this board). I would add that you should not let a lack of space or confidence hold you back. My enthusiasm for entertaining predates decent cooking skills by quite a while. But I learned a lot by simply plunging in. So few people cook these days, your friends are likely to be overcome by gratitude for anything you lay on. I have very fond memories of dinner parties for my entire office in my studio apartment (lasagna), gatherings in our new house before we had furniture (spaghetti in plates on laps as people sat on the floor), and wine-soaked political discussions so intense there was a danger (always averted) of fisticuffs (several occasions). I still like to have dinner parties but they are more sedate now; sometimes I miss that spice that only claustrophobia and youth can add. I have always believed that there are two types of people in the world--those who have parties and those who don't. Enjoy being part of the former group! Wed Jul 13 10:27:26 -0700 2005 1476189 0 LindaMc 1 1476256 this book actually has some good recipes, aside from being hilarious. http://www.thebritishnook.com/index.html?target=p_3829.html&lang=en-us Wed Jul 13 11:39:49 -0700 2005 1476189 0 kristen 1 1476323 One thing that can take the pressure off is making a central dish like beef bourguignon or coq au vin that cooks over a period of time, so you're not doing an Iron Chef type thing with your guests there witing ot be fed unless and until you are comfortable with it. Wed Jul 13 15:20:20 -0700 2005 1476189 0 bibi rose 1 1476379 I have several ideas for you: 1) Buffets - try having a pasta party. Cook several different types of pasta, made different sauces and possibly meat. Have your guests mix and match. You can do the same thing with a burritos/tacos, crepes or even desserts. 2) Fondue - cheese, broth, oil, tomato sauce and my favorite, chocolate. 3) Invite your friends to join you in preparing the meal. Be sure to have all the ingredients, equipments, and recipes ready. Prep ahead if necessary. Be mindful of your guests' experience with cooking and time when choosing recipes. Here are some hints to keep in mind: 1) I helps if you know your guests' taste in food. Even more important, be mindful of food allegies. I'm planning a brunch this weekend and have to take into consideration that 4 people don't eat pork, 3 won't eat shellfish, 1 won't eat red meat or anything exotic and 1 is lactose intolerant. 2) I find it really helpful, especially when having a large group over, to have some items that can be made ahead or even store bought. 3) I'm beginning to plan menus that stick to particular themes. For a babyshower coming up, I've decided on finger food. For brunch coming up, it'll be my second chocolate party. I have found it easier to develop a menu this way. 4) HAVE FUN! If you don't have fun and enjoy it, what's the point? Wed Jul 13 17:17:31 -0700 2005 1476189 0 anna 2 1476393 Don't know why I didn't think of it before - I guess I was focussed on the "formal dinner" thing - tapas would work well for you - do it in the living room. Wed Jul 13 19:01:32 -0700 2005 1476379 0 MMRuth 1 1476407 Something to concentrate on is developing menus that work. I know that sounds simple but it isn't. I have a good friend who is a good cook but has a wierd palate or no palate. She just puts together a bunch a food according to a bunch a dishes she thinks might taste good but puts no thought into how they will play off of each other. The falvor combinations are often just way off. Each dish might be good in it's own right but together they just don't work. Wed Jul 13 21:22:09 -0700 2005 1476189 0 Candy 2 1476451 I have been subjected to this AND guilty of it! Any published guides you can point me to? Thu Jul 14 09:39:35 -0700 2005 1476407 0 edinaeats 3 1476505 I agree that good dinner parties start w/ a focused and well thought out menu. I find that if I spend more time and thought on the front end, things fall into place more easily. This means really reading through the recipe and analyzing it for flaws or problems so that I can choose another or am prepared for adjustments. I also don't like to make too many courses and instead aim for quality over quantity to keep myself sane so that I can have a good time. The best "published guides" I can think of are good cookbooks. This is where I think that most food mags fail. They give all kinds of random recipes that may not be well-tested or may not always work together. I have a friend who used to pull out 12 food mags as she was planning her dinner party and then get completely overwhelmed and unfocused. Not a good way to go. The last few dinner gatherings I've had, I have decided on a type of cuisine and designed a menu using one cookbook as an anchor. I'll get most recipes from that cookbook and make my personal twists (that's where your creativity should come in!). If I want to make something that's not in the cookbook, then I find a recipe from another resource (usually online) and work from that. Few other tips: 1. Don't be afraid to alter ingredients based on availability and cost. I often choose the cuisine based on what I have and want to use up or what is seasonal and readily available at the market. 2. Don't feel like you have to test out a recipe before the party. I almost never do. If it's a new recipe to you, then just make sure you give yourself a little more time. 3. People are so appreciative when you make the effort to cook and host that you shouldn't worry about mess ups or imperfections too much. I'm still working on this one. Thu Jul 14 13:38:17 -0700 2005 1476451 0 Carb Lover 4 1476536 Lots of great points. Marcella Hazan has lots of menu suggestions in her books, and I think in the first books, actually suggests what to serve each dish with, or something along those lines. Thu Jul 14 15:39:32 -0700 2005 1476505 0 MMRuth 5 1476541 Yes, Marcella def. came to mind for me. I don't own her older books, but it sounds like Essentials is utterly essential to have. The Zuni Cafe Cookbook as well as Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen also come to mind for entertaining. Both have everything one needs to develop a full dinner menu and lots of suggestions for variations, wine pairings, and complementary dishes. Recipes range from casual/simple to more complex/sophisticated. Zuni is a little thin on desserts though, but I love its coverage of granitas and sorbets. Thu Jul 14 16:09:04 -0700 2005 1476536 0 Carb Lover 4 1476563 I did try out a new recipe from a bok i love and respect. Boy was I glad I did. I was hosting my gourmet club dinner and was in charge of selecting the menu. I was using Frank Stitt's Southern Table. I had had nothing out of it that was less than stellar. The chicken in watercress sauce looked lovely and springy and the recipe read well. It was probably one of the most boring dishes I had ever had. Since I was making the main course I immediately changed the menu to a cajun theme and folks at the dinner raved. Boy was i glad that I did bother to try that dish before serving it. Thu Jul 14 17:17:28 -0700 2005 1476505 0 Candy 2 1476517 I like Nigella Lawson's biweekly columns in the New York Times (free with subscription) because she gives you a set of recipes forming a menu each week. I don't think I've ever followed one of her menus, but I like to read the columns to get new ideas about what things might be nice together on a menu. Thu Jul 14 14:32:41 -0700 2005 1476407 0 bibi rose