Simple Menu, Minimal Stress, Loud Playlist: Top Chef Tips for a Dinner Party Even the Host Will Enjoy | food

HeyOne of life’s greatest pleasures is enjoying good food with friends. It can taste better if you cook it yourself, but that’s not something that comes naturally to everyone. What are your best tricks for getting a meal done – whether it’s for two or 20 people? Here, chefs share the simplest ways to wow everyone at a dinner party.

Don’t try too hard

“Instead of trying to impress people, it’s the opposite that ultimately impresses,” says Rosie Kellett, who hosts supper clubs in London and is the author of a book. In for dinner.

“My advice is to keep it really simple. Cook something you know you’ll succeed at and feed the right amount of people. Look for heavy hitters that are pure gold in your repertoire.”

Prepare a basic meal that meets everyone’s needs

“Let’s say you have two or three different diets [dietary restrictions] “Within your group,” says Kellett. “Prepare a basic meal that everyone can eat and then add optional extras.”

She gives the example of making vegetarian dal with rice that happens to be gluten-free, with sides of sambal and marinated grilled chicken, because “if my dad was at the table, he’d say, ‘Where’s the meat?’ This is optional, but the basic meal is delicious and plentiful and doesn’t make dieters feel left out. It also makes things easier for you.”

Be organized

Jimmy Lee, who is the chef and owner Eastern Lecce In Glasgow, he has been throwing dinner parties since he was 14 years old. He stresses the need to be absolutely clear about the ingredients required, to avoid realizing you forgot something at the last minute.

While preparing for a dinner party, Lee recalls “making glutinous rice balls with cashew nut filling. I forgot I needed butter for that, so I had to run out in the middle of the night to Tesco.”

I am known for it 60 second recipesBut even these things need careful planning, he says.

Some chefs, like Kellett, create a schedule: “I’m nervous. I write a play about what I’m going to cook, and when I’m going to cook it. In an ideal world, everything would be cooked before anyone arrives,” she says.

Choose things that are “great at room temperature, or that can simmer while people arrive, and then have a little salad or dressing or sauce to throw it together, which you can maybe have a conversation while you’re doing it.”

Make sure the table is set before guests arrive: “If the host rolls over and sticks his head in the oven and doesn’t set the table, it can create a chaotic atmosphere,” Kellett says.

Stock up on the essentials

“Even though I know what I’m doing in the kitchen, I always do it in very little time,” says Thomasina Myers, a columnist for The Guardian, co-founder of Wahaca and author of several cookbooks, including the recently published one. Mexican table. “For me, feeding my friends is all about tricks and shortcuts while also making sure they eat the most delicious food possible.”

Myers says she “gets rid of things that might be useful… If I have a big sourdough starter that’s going stale, I’ll crush it and freeze the crumbs. If I’m at the local farmer’s market, I’ll always buy smoked cod roe, because I know I can then make appetizers in 10 minutes. I always have an ovenproof pot full of French dressing: I make it once a month.”

All of this helps “on the day you come home from work and realize you have 12 people for dinner,” Myers says.

Do not choose recipes that contain a lot of ingredients

Using pantry ingredients can keep your dinners from becoming expensive, Kellett says. “If you’re cooking for a very large group, making a big batch of curry or soup is a cost-effective way to feed a lot of people, and still be amazingly delicious.” She made canned mackerel pasta for a supper club in Los Angeles “and I had a blast.”

Another trick is frozen fruit, Kellett says. “It’s very cheap compared to fresh fruit. If I want to use berries in the middle of winter, I’ll buy them frozen and thaw them.”

Go for seasonal ingredients

“Try cooking recipes that focus on what’s in season,” Kellett says. “It’s cheaper overall. It’s also a no-brainer, because all the ingredients that are in season will taste better. If you’re in the UK and decide to make a panzanella salad in mid-October, the tomatoes you use will be runny and expensive.”

Practice makes perfect

When he appeared on The Great British Menu, “I’ve made the main course at least 50 times before I go on the show.” He admits this is an extreme example, but says it’s important to test a recipe before serving it.

Last week, Lee cooked dinner for some VIPs: “I made haggis spring rolls, using haggis from a professional butcher. I did a taste test a week ago and it was amazing. You wouldn’t want to serve a dish you haven’t tried yet.”

The larger the group, the simpler it is

For groups of six or more, Kellett advises preparing one dish: “If there are a lot of people, the effort will be in preparing the bulk of the food.”

When it’s a smaller group, you can be more specific: “That night, I had some friends over and I roasted a chicken, made my own mayonnaise, made a green salad and made fries with chicken fat. And there was dessert. I tried my best a little bit, because there were fewer people, so it felt less intimidating and less discouraging.”

New York-based Jake Cohen loves a dinner party: his latest book is called The Dinner Party Animal: Recipes to Make Every Day a Celebration. Although he did a lot of entertaining research for the book, he still felt the need to do it sometimes.

“I take the best New York City bagels, make homemade tomato sauce and get some mozzarella, and we bake them and they’re delicious. They’re upscale like pizza bagels but still a bit casual, and everyone loves them.”

Don’t be afraid to ask guests for help

“Often, someone says: What can I do? Then they’ll chop herbs, make cocktails, or spread toast. “I think it’s fun and makes people feel included,” Myers says.

But when it comes to handing out dishes, it may be better for the chef to present them the way he wants them: “I’m in complete control of the food, so if I want everyone to experience the meal I cooked a certain way, I’ll probably present it to them,” Kellett says.

Surprised with simple starters

“I always have chicken liver pate in my freezer,” says Myers, “because I can make chicken liver pate in no time at all, and it’s cheap and delicious and people always love it.”

Myers likes salad starters that contain seasonal ingredients like leaves or roasted pumpkin, toasted nuts and seeds, oil, and maybe some blue cheese and dressing, and are “so luxurious and colorful and fresh, and so easy to put together when your friends are there.”

She also recommends a white bean dip: “Put in the garlic the week before, then dip it with the white beans and lemon zest, make the charred jalapeño oil and drizzle it over the top. The combination is delicious.”

Guaranteed pipe master

Myers recommends the Thai pad kra prao, “a salad of ground beef or venison with chili peppers, lime, and fish sauce. It’s easy and affordable. Serve with rice and maybe some fried pak choi.”

She also suggests impressing a table with a whole fish: “It takes 20 minutes to cook from start to finish. It’s way easier than frying eight filets.”

Season it with something like a bibian: “Toast the pine nuts and pumpkin seeds, puree them in a stand mixer with the tarragon, parsley and mint, add a touch of allspice and cinnamon, and brown some onions and garlic, and the sauce you get from that is absolutely incredible.”

“I have a recipe and it is Tomato and chickpea confit stew“You put all the ingredients in an ovenproof pan with a lid — don’t cut anything — and then put it in the oven for three hours,” says Kellett. When it comes out, it’s transformed into the most silky and delicious soup ever. It’s got a lot of flavour. She suggests serving with couscous, rice, or salad with a drizzle of tahini.

“Cook a regular dish, but think outside the box a little and add your own flavor or twist,” Lee says. “For example, make a beef and black bean sauce, then add a little whiskey, and you’ve elevated the product.”

Choose a pudding that will appeal to a crowd

“Sticky toffee pudding is an absolute workhorse of winter cooking,” Kellett says. “I have a version of it, which has plums instead of dates in the sponge and lots of ground, sweetened ginger. If you want to be more adventurous, the pavlova is a really good way to go. The meringue can be made up to a week in advance and kept in an airtight container. Then all you have to do on the day is whip the cream and add the fruit. Another variation is tiramisu. I recommend making it 24 hours in advance and refrigerate to obtain the appropriate consistency. “It’s always amazing.”

“Dessert can be very simple,” Myers says. “You can buy some high-quality vanilla ice cream and make your own hot chocolate sauce, then pour it over mescal all over it.”

Myers also likes to make quince jam, “because it’s easy to make and means I can make a cheese board instead of dessert. It’s a very easy way to add a special touch.”

“It’s all about the candy,” says Cohen, who admits to having a sweet tooth. “If you have time to do it all, do it all. If you don’t have time – outsource the job.”

Seat guests wisely

“If there’s someone who’s a little quieter and more reserved, I’ll make sure they’re sitting next to someone who’s talkative and can handle it a little bit,” says Kellett. “If there are people I’ve always wanted to meet but haven’t met yet, I’ll put them near each other.”

Seat guests “next to someone they have nothing in common with—they might have a more interesting conversation,” she says.

Organize your playlist carefully

“Think of the music as a guest,” Cohen says. “Friends told me that brat [by Charli xcx] It is not appropriate to play at a dinner party. Sometimes it is and I tend to like that.

If you want a calmer atmosphere, Cohen recommends Jessie Ware, Regina Spector, or Sara Bareilles “to get people’s sympathetic nervous system to calm down. You’re trying to get people to let their guard down. The food is part of that, but so is the ambiance.”

Resting

It’s easier said than done, but “if you’re relaxed and having a good time, your friends will be too,” Myers says. “Above all, people just want to have a drink, some nice music and have fun. If you have delicious food, that’s an added bonus.”

Know that almost everything can be saved

If things go really wrong, “you can salvage most things,” Cohen says. Even the most experienced cooks “have moments where they say, ‘Okay, I really messed this up — do I have a box of pasta in the pantry?’ And throw together a cacio e pepe. If all else fails, he says, “Order pizza.”