Be the host(ess) with the most(est)

Research­ing and host­ing a one-hour spe­cial called “Enter­tain­ing Dis­as­ter” (aired at 4 pm Decem­ber 28, 2009, on CBC Radio One), gave me food for thought.
The myr­iad of tales about doing things wrong when it comes to the din­ner party thing — prob­a­bly my favourite way of shar­ing good times with fam­ily and friends — made me think about how to do it right.
Here are my top din­ner party tips gained from years of expe­ri­ence. Many of these — like most lessons in life — were learned the hard way. The menu that fol­lows is also the result of much trial and error.
• The ideal num­ber of guests (includ­ing two hosts) is def­i­nitely six — a num­ber that is inti­mate with­out being poten­tially bor­ing. Eight is work­able but you risk the con­ver­sa­tion break­ing up into small groups.
• I like to invite peo­ple who don’t know each other. It’s a bit of a crap-shoot but mostly works out splen­didly as there is more like­li­hood of new top­ics to be dis­cussed and dis­cov­er­ies to be made than if guests are already friends. Even a clash of per­son­al­i­ties or opin­ions can work out well.
• There are three types of munchies that I always serve before din­ner with drinks. These are not fill­ing and whet the appetite for din­ner. Best of all, they require no work. They are: Unsalted roasted dry almonds (I buy them in a bulk food store where they are always fresh); Miss Vickie’s Orig­i­nal chips, and stuffed jumbo green olives (pits are a no-no at a din­ner party).
• I am a strong believer in the buffet-style of serv­ing. Plat­ing food for each per­son does not leave guests free to choose what they like and in what amount. This applies to every­thing except soup.
• It is cru­cial that most of the meal be cooked ahead, prefer­ably the day before so that you, the charm­ing host, are avail­able to be just that instead of slav­ing over a hot stove away from your guests. Soup is a good starter even if it involves extra dishes and should be gar­nished at the last minute. Best entrees are braised meat dishes that actu­ally improve if made ahead. Mashed or baby boiled pota­toes and mixed roast veg­gies also keep well once cooked. For­get flam­bee­ing, serv­ing steak, risotto or other dishes involv­ing other a la minute tech­niques, for obvi­ous rea­sons.
• I like to serve a cou­ple of desserts — one should prob­a­bly include choco­late. Mak­ing one dessert and buy­ing another is a good idea. Ice cream and some kind of fruit sauce are both good gar­nishes. Again, we’re talk­ing self-serve.
• Music is cru­cial to a sooth­ing mood. It should be gen­tle and not intru­sive but not of the Muzak genre. Bryan Ferry’s CD As Time Goes By is my all-time favourite. Nat King Cole, Dinah Wash­ing­ton, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and some world music are also good.
• Dim­mers and candle-light also cre­ate a cozy ambiance — the key fac­tor, in my books, for a sooth­ing evening full of warmth, good con­ver­sa­tion and a feel­ing of well-being.
Here is a menu that includes three of my top dishes to serve at a soiree chez moi. They are fall/winter foods. Watch this space as warm weather arrives in 2010 for a menu designed for spring/summer.
Bon Appetit!

Pea Soup

From Bare­foot Con­tessa at Home (Pot­ter; $45) by Ina Garten. You must use flavour­ful peas. I rec­om­mend frozen President’s Choice Small Sweet Peas. I’ve served this hot, at room tem­per­a­ture and cold.

2 tbsp but­ter
2 cups chopped leek, white and green parts (1 large or 2 small leeks)
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups chicken or veg­etable stock, prefer­ably home­made
5 cups frozen small sweet peas
½ to ²⁄₃ cup chopped fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
1 to 2 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pep­per
½ cup crème fraiche or plain yogurt
½ cup chopped fresh chives, optional

Heat but­ter over medium-low heat in large saucepan. Add leek and onion; cook 7 to 10 min­utes or until onion is soft. Add stock. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Add peas. Reduce heat to low; sim­mer 3 to 5 min­utes or until ten­der. (Frozen peas will only take 3 min­utes.) Remove from heat; add mint, salt and pepper.

Puree soup in batches in blender or using hand blender. Serve with dol­lop of crème fraiche; sprin­kle with chives, if using. Taste; adjust seasoning.

Makes about 6 servings.

Beef Bour­guignon

I like the beef in big, irreg­u­lar pieces and some­times cut up a chuck roast for this. Cumbrae’s, 481 Church St., sells large-chunk, naturally-raised stew­ing beef. I like Imag­ine chicken or beef stock sold in car­tons at most health stores and supermarkets.

3 lb/1.5 kg stew­ing beef, cut in big chunks
750 mL bot­tle full-bodied dry red wine
About 6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pep­per
1 medium onion, peeled, chopped
3 medium car­rots, peeled, chopped
4 gar­lic cloves, peeled, chopped
1 cup pit­ted prunes
1½ cups (half a 28-oz/796 mL can) plum toma­toes
1½ cups beef or chicken stock
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pep­per to taste
2 tbsp but­ter
1 lb/500 g mush­rooms, thickly sliced
Two 10-oz/284 g bags pearl onions
¹⁄₃ cup beef or chicken stock, water or white wine
Chopped fresh parsley

A day ahead, place beef and wine in large bowl; let mar­i­nate in fridge at least 12 hours. Drain mari­nade into saucepan. Bring to boil; cook, uncov­ered, over medium-high heat about 5 min­utes or until slightly reduced. Reserve.

Place beef on paper towel; pat dry. Sprin­kle with salt and pepper.

Pre­heat oven to 325F.

Add 1 table­spoon of olive oil to large skil­let over medium heat. Add onion and car­rots; cook, stir­ring at inter­vals, about 10 min­utes or until golden brown. Add gar­lic; cook about 3 min­utes more. Add reduced mari­nade; cook, scrap­ing up browned bits from skil­let, about 1 minute.

Add 1 table­spoon of oil to large dutch oven over high heat. Add about one-third of beef, mak­ing sure pieces are not crowded. Cook, turn­ing once, until browned all over, about 5 min­utes.
Trans­fer to bowl. Repeat, using 1 table­spoon of oil per batch, until all beef is browned. Return beef to dutch oven. Over high heat, add prunes, toma­toes, stock, thyme and carrot/onion mix­ture with its liq­uid. Bring to boil, scrap­ing up browned bits from bottom.

Bake in oven, cov­ered, about 2½ hours or until beef is ten­der but not falling apart. Using tongs, trans­fer beef to large bowl. Place large sieve over bowl. Pour in sauce, press­ing it with spoon until no liq­uid remains; dis­card solids. Taste sauce; add salt and pep­per if necessary.

Add 1 table­spoon each of olive oil and but­ter to large skil­let over high heat. Add mush­rooms. Cook, shak­ing at inter­vals, until browned, about 10 min­utes. Add to beef mixture.

Add pearl onions to saucepan of boil­ing water. Cook over high heat about 2 min­utes. Drain under cold water; peel.

Add remain­ing table­spoon each of olive oil and but­ter to large skil­let over medium-high heat. Add pearl onions. Cook, stir­ring, about 12 min­utes or until browned. Reduce heat to low; add stock, water or wine and cook 5 min­utes more or until ten­der. Add to beef mix­ture. Reheat before serv­ing. Gar­nish with parsley.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Apple Crum­ble

Along with pie, Tarte Tatin, baked apples and apple­sauce, this is my favourite apple dessert. I insist on using North­ern Spys, avail­able in late fall, but the addi­tion of lemon juice and/or cran­ber­ries to Cort­land, Mutsu or Royal Gala apples can achieve the tart­ness cru­cial to con­trast with the sweet top­ping. The lat­ter is from a recipe in Toronto chef Regan Daley’s In The Sweet Kitchen (Ran­dom House; $45). If using a sweeter apple, omit the gran­u­lated sugar.

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup cold but­ter, cut in pieces
2 tbsp gran­u­lated sugar
½ tsp ground cin­na­mon
6 or 7 tart apples, cored, peeled, sliced
1 to 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Pre­heat oven to 375F.

In large bowl, com­bine flour, rolled oats and brown sugar. Add but­ter. Using wire hand pas­try blender or two knives, cut it in until mix­ture resem­bles coarse crumbs. With fin­gers, rub mix­ture to form a crumbly dough.

In small bowl, com­bine gran­u­lated sugar and cinnamon.

Lightly but­ter large, shal­low ceramic, earth­en­ware or glass bak­ing dish. Arrange apple slices in dish. Sprin­kle with lemon juice and sugar/cinnamon mix­ture. Spread evenly with top­ping mix­ture. Bake 40 to 50 min. or until browned on top and apples are soft.

Makes about 6 servings.