I have a saying: “You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your dinner guests. I do think my family makes up the majority of my blog readership, however, so I’d better be careful what I say! So let me tactfully start by saying honestly that I love cooking for family. As close to family as my friends in Montreal are, they didn’t help me put my socks on when I was 2, and there’s something to be said for that. There’s also something to be said for being home at their dinner table and putting a meal in front of them that neither of them cooked.
I appreciate the fact that I have great family, but I’m also very much aware that this is not the case for a lot of people. So when I do have people over to my home in Montreal, I choose carefully. No, no, no I don’t mean I make a big list and cut people from it!! I just choose from my wonderful friends so that the people I bring together will have something in common, or the extroverts balance the introverts, or they all love Indian food. It’s kind of like a theme, but only I know it. And sometimes I just throw people together randomly because I haven’t seen them in awhile and it’s about darn time I did.
Do you know why it’s easy? Because I chose interesting people for friends. They don’t even have to try and they’ll have a good time at my dinner parties. I feed them, and they chat. They drink, they have dessert, they chat. And they think I’m doing THEM a favour introducing them to these other interesting people, all while I sit back and learn all these new things – about websites and social media, about how to fix plaster, about films, about parties, about Marois and Anglophone exoduses, and about relationships. We’re not gossipers. And sometimes I feel way out of my league, but as long as everyone else is enjoying themselves, I’m happy. And if they leave by midnight I’m even happier. And if they help clean up because everything doesn’t fit in the dishwasher, I’m EVEN happier…though I don’t let them if they’re knee-deep in conversation and I’m doing just fine on my own.
The trick with a good dinner party is to have almost everything prepared in advance, to open the wine immediately so everyone has a glass in their hand (at least water), and potentially something to snack on while waiting for the last guest to arrive. Don’t let others help unless it’s an easy task like slicing bread or placing bowls of dips or appetizers on the table. Do put someone in charge of pouring the wine, because your chicken or fish or ven pongal won’t wait when you cork the bottle…
And if you’re doing something that has a fancy last-minute step, such as searing fish, make sure absolutely everything else is done and is bing kept warm in the oven or slow-cooker, the dishes are out, the table is set, and your cast-iron skillet is at hand.
Then for the love of god don’t burn it. Don’t try to have a conversation while flipping a filet of haddock. In fact, never flip haddock. It will crumble. Flip char or wild Pacific salmon. Turbot is a coin toss. Chicken is a great idea, especially since you sear in advance. Curries and braises with gourmet sides are comfort food that young people generally don’t make for themselves, and always get a good reception. Plus, side dishes are often served at room temperature.
For a special evening for 2, all these rules go out the window, especially if you’re making the food together. then labour-intensive is just fine. Slow-cooking is the worst idea ever, since the fellow (or gal) usually doesn’t come in the morning, leave all day, and come back to eat when it’s done. I guess that’s called a marriage, but I have no experience in that.
So for these moments, something fake-long simmered (as in 30 minutes max, not 5 hours) is a good idea. Then you can sip something or talk or come up with more inventive arrangements while you wait. I have slightly more experience in this.
‘Tis the season of giving, so here are some of the menus I’ve prepared for dinner parties or company of all kinds most recently. Choose one that looks good, and prepare for a good and/or hilarious evening of making molasses-ancho hollandaises and garam masalas. There are worse ways to spend an evening.
Dinner Menus for groups:
1. Indian ven pongal with Eggplant Gotsu
Coconut chutney (dessicated coconut with paprika, salt, lemon juice and just enough water so that it blends)
Indian spicy pickle (store-bought)
Tomato curry (mustard seeds, ground asafoetida, and cumin seeds in 1 tsp oil, add 2 lbs chopped tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer until thick enough to make you happy)
Indian mango purée and skinned persimmons (depending on the season) sprinkled with fruit chaat spice mixture
2. Duck confit salad with Roasted Celeriac
Artichokes à la Provencale
Olive Tapenade
Baguette
Frozen Grapes in Dessert Wine
3. Brined turkey (whole or breast)
Maple mashed sweet potatoes with butter
Roasted apple and red onions with thyme
Blanched green beans with almonds
Vanilla madeleines with cranberry glaze (with or without the sweetened, gently cooked apple slices)
For smaller gatherings:
1. Indian lamb saag with Basmati rice and cumin-coriander green beans
2. Seared Bison or deer tenderloin (or beef if you eat beef. I hear kangaroo is the most sustainable in terms of carbon emissions, but not if you include travel time and distance, it’s not…Not so many kangaroo farms in these parts.)
Roasted sweet potato chunks with lemon (you can try the linked to recipe, or just roast them simply with salt, pepper, oil, paprika, then roast in a 400F oven for 10 minutes. Add juice of half a lemon. Stir. Roast 5-10 more minutes, until soft, turning at least once in those 20 minutes to blacken multiple sides of the potatoes and give them some roasted texture as the liquid evaporates)
Roasted cauliflower with apples and thyme
3. Ancho chili-rubbed wild Pacific salmon (or mackerel, though it’s completely different and should be salt-and-sugar brined in advance) with smoky southwestern mashed potatoes and sweet chili hollandaise (this is a recipe from Passion & Palate by Seattle chef John Howie. I’ll have an article on it up soon.)
Braised Artichokes with white wine (to dip in the leftover hollandaise…)
I have an obvious leaning towards Indian, but that’s mostly because it doesn’t require me to go buy a ton of groceries. I really do go with whatever I feel like eating at the time, and that people will find interesting and enjoy (non-adventurous eaters do not get second invitations…). Plus the practical preparation considerations I mention above.
So go forth and entertain. And love your family.
Leave a Reply