As entertaining at home becomes more popular, the style of a dinner party-menu and ambience-becomes a creative challenge. Cooking various dishes is one thing; integrating them into an appealing, balanced menu and making a great presentation is another.
First, make sure you can manage all aspects of the meal fairly easily:
marketing, cooking, service and cleanup. Be realistic. If you can`t handle it all yourself, enlist help.
Next, choose a main course. A full-bodied choice such as beef, lamb and game requires hearty accompaniments. Depending on their preparation, poultry, fish and seafood tend to be lighter and more mild. Keep in mind the season and your guests` food preferences. It`s important, too, that the composition on the plate looks great.
In the menu that follows, scallops assume the focus; they become less mild with the sweet and sour mustard glaze, but they are not as dominant as red meat. The spring rice with carrots, ginger and cilantro is a great complement in taste and color. The cooked whole green onions are a bit of a surprise; they add interesting color to the plate. Slices of lemon are a refreshing garnish. A chilled dry rose wine such as one from the Provence region of France works especially well with this food selection.
A bright-tasting cucumber salad creates an upbeat introduction to the meal. Dessert is always easy; many delicious possibilities can be bought. Raspberry gelato (Italian ice cream) seems perfect smothered with sugared, sliced fresh strawberries and finished off with a little sparkling wine poured over. Sip the remaining sparkling wine with the dessert. Butter cookies or thinly sliced pound cake complete the dessert. If chocolate is essential, chocolate truffles can cap off the meal with coffee.
One aspect of entertaining that often receives little attention is the pacing of the meal. Make sure the rhythm is leisurely; that`s one of the luxuries of dining at home.
Serving the salad separately (here it starts the meal) develops nice spacing and prolongs the meal. And don`t have your guests stay at the table for the whole meal; let them finish their wine or Champagne in the living room.
For tabletop details, play spring to the hilt with clusters of brightly colored tulips and napkins. Candlelight always helps. Little else needs to be done. Just enjoy the evening along with your guests.
–
Pickling cucumbers` texture is firm, and they do not need to be seeded. This salad can be mixed ahead, refrigerated, drained at serving time, then mixed with a touch of oil to round out the flavor. The bitter watercress adds a nice color and taste contrast to the cucumbers. If you have access to edible flowers, they would be an excellent garnish on the plate.
CUCUMBER, RED ONION AND
WATERCRESS SALAD
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: Several hours
Yield: 6 servings
11 large pickling cucumbers, about 3 pounds total
2/3 cup diced (1/4-inch) red onion
3/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar, see note
1 tablespoon safflower oil
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
3 large bunches watercress, washed, crisped, stems removed
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, for garnish
1. Peel cucumbers; lightly score cucumbers with the tines of a fork. Slice thin (best done with thin slicing disc of food processor). Put cucumber slices, onion and rice vinegar in large mixing bowl. Toss well. Cover and refrigerate from 4-8 hours.
2. To serve, drain cucumbers then toss with oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Arrange watercress leaves in wreath design on serving plates. Arrange cucumbers in center, dividing evenly. Garnish with chives.
Note: Seasoned rice vinegar, available in the Oriental section of most supermarkets, is a blend of mild rice vinegar, sugar, salt and water. If you are using plain rice vinegar, adjust the salt, sugar and water to taste.
–
Lemon slices and delicate threadlike tangles of lemon rind garnish this piquant scallop preparation. The cooking is best done at the last minute, taking well under 10 minutes. The scallops can be cooked in advance, refrigerated and reheated in the glaze. However, it`s most important to avoid overcooking the scallops.
PAN-FRIED SCALLOPS WITH
SWEET AND SOUR MUSTARD GLAZE
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
1 tablespoon each: unsalted butter, safflower oil
1 3/4 pounds sea scallops
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
Rind (yellow part only) of 2 lemons, removed with citrus zester
2 lemons, scored, thinly sliced
1. Heat butter and oil in 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, brown scallops on one side and saute until just opaque, about 3 minutes, depending on their size. Use slotted spoon to remove scallops as cooked; set aside on warm platter. Do not overcook.
2. Add vinegar to skillet (watch out for splatter). Boil over high heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 2 minutes. Add any scallop juices that may have accumulated along with lemon juice, honey and mustard. Stir well to combine. Boil until very thick and it coats spoon, about 2 minutes. Add scallops. Stir to coat them. Cook only to heat through, about 20 seconds. Do not overcook. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
3. Arrange scallops browned side up on serving plate. Drizzle lightly with glaze; top with threads of lemon rind. Garnish plate with lemon slices.
–
Full of flavor and bright color, this rice side dish works well with Asian-inspired dishes or grilled meats, poultry or fish. Because it makes a great salad base for leftovers, you may want to double the recipe. The food processor makes fast work of mincing the garlic, ginger and carrots in one simultaneous motion. Substitute the cilantro with minced fresh parsley if you wish; the taste will be different but still excellent.
SPRING RICE WITH GINGER,
CARROTS AND CILANTRO
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 piece fresh ginger, 3/4-inch by 1 1/2-inch, peeled, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, about 6 ounces total, peeled, minced
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
3 3/4 cups chicken broth (preferably low-sodium)
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro (fresh coriander)
1. Heat oil in 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add ginger, garlic, carrots and rice. Cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking or burning. Add chicken broth and heat to a boil. Simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and rice tender, about 20 minutes. Can be served immediately or refrigerated as long as 3 days or frozen up to 3 months. Gently reheat in microwave oven or stovetop, adding water as needed to moisten rice. Just before serving, stir in cilantro. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
–
Whole green onions suggest spring, much like asparagus. It`s curious that we rarely see green onions presented this way, considering their availability, price, taste and great beauty. For the best presentation and to ensure even cooking, all the green onions should be the same size, which means you most likely will have to buy more than 3 dozen to end up with enough uniform-size onions. The sesame oil brings out the flavor of the onions without dominating them.
SESAME BUTTERED WHOLE
GREEN ONIONS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
36 large green onions
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Leave roots on each green onion. Trim off all but 2 inches of green. Use string to secure green onions in neat bunches of 6.
2. Heat enough salted water to cover green onions to boil in a 4-quart saucepan. When boiling, add green onion bunches. Cook until white ends are just tender, about 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold running water until cold. Wrap in paper towels. Can be cooked several hours ahead and kept at room temperature.
3. To serve, melt butter or margarine with sesame oil in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cut strings from green onions and add to skillet. Cook quickly until hot and evenly coated, shaking pan often to coat onions and to keep them from burning. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, arranged attractively.
