pease porridge

How To Kill People With Food Part Two: Tactics

In our previous installation I talked about how to build a menu for a special-occasion-type meal, whether it be Sunday dinner or having friends over or a birthday party, it doesn't matter.  The same basic principles apply, more or less.  This time around I'd like to talk about how to actually make that special meal without driving yourself nuts or blowing up the kitchen, or something really embarrassing, like undercooking the chicken (I've done at least two of those, but I'm not telling which).

My first point, and I know that everybody says this but I really, really mean it, is that you want to get everything you can done early, so you're not stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is in the living room drinking champagne and having a good time and eating all your fabulous hors d'oeuvres. 

Let me say that again: unless you're cooking for maybe some relatives or people you don't like very much and therefore you want to hide out in the kitchen all night (And really, why are you doing that?  If it's people you don't really care about why not just order takeout or, better yet, pull down the shades and pretend no one's home.), or maybe, if you're like my family, you all enjoy cooking together, make most of dinner something you can at least prep for ahead of time.

Deep-fried anything is right out.

How To Kill People With Food Part One: Strategy

I don't know about you, but I don't actually have what I would consider to be dinner parties very often, if ever.  You may not have noticed this, but I'm not much for fussy food.  I don't plate food, I don't agonize over my presentation, I don't set the table with china and starched napkins.  I don't do any of that stuff, because, well, probably because I'm lazy, but possibly also because I don't find that sort of meal very fulfilling.  I don't generally prefer restaurant food to home cooking, and so I don't feel a need to try to emulate the restaurant experience at home.

I do, however, have friends and family over for dinner with astonishing regularity, and, for those occasions, though they are usually family-style affairs with big platters of food and mismatched dining room furniture, I do like to make a meal that will be delicious, memorable, and something that I don't cook everyday.

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Thyme

Valentine's Day is the one day a year that my husband cooks for me; well, he often 'cooks' things like veggie burgers and tunafish sandwiches and the occasional quesadilla, but today he is in the kitchen cooking a full meal from scratch using real recipes and ingredients and everything: Cheese (Romao, Campo de Montalban, and Mt. Sterling Goat Milk Cheddar) and Crackers, Pan-Roasted Quail in a Port Wine Reduction (except he couldn't find quail at the market, so it's game hens), Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel with Balsamic Vinegar, and Green Beans of some kind.  It smells wonderful.

Lots of people post chocolate recipes today, but who wants to compete with the best and brightest of the blogosphere?  Not me; anyway, I think the rest of the meal is just as important for setting the tone and mood of the evening.  This lamb recipe is elegant, and delectable, and don't worry! the garlic is cleverly mellowed out by boiling it first.  The chops were served atop a bed of Onion and Pepper Confit, with a splash of the garlic sauce, along with Bay-Scented Potatoes and Green Beens with Basil.

A menu like that ought to be enough to get anyone excited.*