A couple weeks ago I invited a group of people who didn’t know each other to dinner. The party turned out to be so lively and fun that I’ve been thinking about how to make that happen again.
In the end it’s all about the guests. We assembled a group who had a lot to say and, more importantly, new people to say it to. There’s nothing better than going home feeling that you’ve made new friends.
The food can certainly help. We began with cocktails and a lot of finger food: cheese, pate, nuts. Then we sat down to heaps of spot prawns served in the shell with a chili dipping sauce (recipe below). This is delicious interactive fun: you have to eat with your hands and suck the heads which makes for a lot of laughter.
The main course continued the casual theme: pulled pork piled onto buns, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, coleslaw. For dessert, a sour cherry crostata with vanilla ice cream.
As I was considering what makes a great party I thought about an article I wrote almost 40 years ago. I cringe at some of the editing choices - apologies for that - but my opinions haven’t changed much.
But I did neglect to mention one important thing. If you want to have a stellar evening it helps to start with an empty dishwasher.
Speaking of special desserts…. I was recently invited to a birthday party where the candle-topped cake was absolutely perfect.
I asked for the recipe.
“Don’t you remember it?” my friend replied. “You ran it in Gourmet in 2001.” If you’re about to bake a birthday cake, I don’t think you can do better.
If you want to impress people it’s hard to top these spectacular Santa Barbara spot prawns which arrive still alive and kicking wildly. Their season is short, they’re very expensive, and in my opinion worth every penny.
You could make all manner of fancy preparations, by my favorite way to serve these crazy crustaceans is quickly steamed or boiled with a spicy Asian dipping sauce.
Be sure to suck the heads: they’re the best part.
Asian Chili Dipping Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
1 shallot, minced
2 scallions finely chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 Sichuan pickled chiles chopped (or 2 small fresh spicy red chiles, seed removed and finely chopped)
¼ cup vegetable oil
Mix the first five ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Just before serving heat the vegetable oil (I prefer using roasted rapeseed oil) in a small saucepan. When it is hot but not smoking, pour into the bowl and listen to the sizzle.
I enjoyed your article and comments on keeping your cool while entertaining with a dinner party.
One alternative to the stress of a traditional dinner party is to organize a pot luck dinner party where you are the host and you provide the main course. That way, your guests can bring their favorite dishes and accomodate any dietary restrictions or preferences.
Some of the best meals I've had recently are the Holiday Brunches we have with my Quilt Guild. We have a sign up sheet for the course we want to contribute and can see what other members are bringing.
Marjorie
Some of the most enjoyable social events I've hosted around food are more like the casual drops ins by friends you describe. I'm not stressed, the dinner is more improvisational, everyone is pitching in (a great icebreaker for people who haven't met before), and it's not a performance. I agree that is best to admit when something went awry; one time my mom made breaded fish for company and she accidentally used cookie crumbs in place of bread crumbs and it was terrible! But we all ate it out of politeness.