Does entertaining stress you out?

PlantMom
Sat, 09 Apr 2016 02:47:18 +0000

We’ve done pretty regular entertaining for smallish groups. A long time ago, before having a fancy party for some two dozen guests, my mother gave me a few helpful hints. She said to use the good stuff, i.e. all those beautiful plates, cutlery, linens–even if mismatched. Avoid drinking any alcoholic beverage until after the guests have arrived and the main course is set… Keep the food simple but elegant (beef tenderloin is always a good staple for a fancy dinner). But MOST important, remember that most people are just happy to be invited for a meal you’ve put together at your home. It doesn’t matter if you have a cooking disaster. What’s important is that you invited them and treated them (or tried to) well. People are usually grateful to get an invitation.

These days I have a few favorite fallback menus. for example, roasted chicken, a green salad with a simple dressing, a vegetable (roasted asparagus, broccoli, beets, etc.), a carb of maybe rolls, biscuits, french bread, risotto, small potatoes, and usually some fresh fruit. I do a simple tray of cheeses, fruits, crackers, olives, nuts beforehand. Dessert can be store bought, or I may make a homemade fruit crisp, or a gingerbread with ice cream. I like to serve the main course buffet style, often taking the main course on a platter to the table. I like to get as much done ahead of time as possible. We try to keep it all relaxed, somewhat casual. I put a playlist on the ipod, and let that go.

I plan a menu a few days in advance. I think Ina Garten once said to plan to purchase at least one of your courses pre-made. It helps immensely! A dessert of store bought pound cake topped with fresh fruit and homemade whipped cream is a winner. Or a boxed brownie mix with ice cream. Or an ice cream sundae. Or it could be a prepared ham you’re just heating. Or pulled bbq pork from the farmers market. Or store bought hummus and crackers at the beginning. Having a theme in (your) mind is also helpful for the menu prep whether it be regional, ethnic, or age based (i.e. kid friendly)… Pizza or pasta and salad dinner. Brats, beans, chips, and potato salad. Brunch menus with a strata or fritatta, fruit, and a little salad. Curried meats with rice. A steak, a nice bread, salad, and a vegetable gratin. When I’m cooking, I always think in steps of what ifs and at least I’ll have … if all else fails. At least I’ll have a big salad and chicken breast, if the vegetables burn…At least I’ll have a roasted turkey and rolls and a canned cranberry sauce if sweet potato souffle fails.

Trying new things is fun, though, and the rewards can be great, especially if your guests are game for the risk. Recently I and a bunch of family members made a pit fire dinner–all food in the fire. We roasted chicken, beef, potatoes, cheese and bread, apples and beets in a fire in a snowstorm. It took a very long time to cook this dinner, lots of traipsing in and out of the house in boots, eating around a counter for the first part, and drinking hot (local) brandy outside for dessert, but the food was outstanding. It was a memorable evening but not so traditional.

Aside from general cleaning up, to get ready, I will either snip some greens or flowers from the yard for the table, or buy the inexpensive grocery store flowers to put in small vases or jars on the table. I bought some vintage table linens years so I generally use a table cloth, place mats, cloth napkins on the table. My dining room chairs’ upholstery is pretty ratty looking, but no matter. My husband will help with food prep, and clean-up although I have to tell him, sometimes, not to clean up while some guests are still sitting and eating, lol.

We’ve had our share of disasters–table cloths on fire, grill dying with chicken in the works, power outages, the unexpected result of a new recipe, like the monk’s blandest ever bean, herb, and water soup (I should have known…), bony fish. Recently friends came over for appetizers and a glass of wine. We were enjoying the conversation so much that hours later after a bit too much wine, I was pulling leftover scraps of this and that out of the refrigerator in lieu of the missing dinner.

I can’t lie, and say that I don’t get anxious, but just doing it over and over really does make it easier!