Ask a dozen people why they don`t entertain as often as they`d like to, and at least 11 will name time as the party pooper.
For many, it seems there`s never enough time for the day-to-day things that have to get done, much less plan a party.
Conventional wisdom suggests that this is when you call the caterer so the show can go on. And sure enough, a caterer, with a good florist, will get the job done with a minimum of time and involvement.
But there`s one hitch: The tab for all that convenience can go sky-high. A quick survey of the area`s top caterers puts $50 to $60 as an average per-person figure for a simple chicken dinner that comes with some hors d`oeuvres, a vegetable and dessert.
And while the cost may seem high, it buys you just about everything, including linens, equipment and clean-up. Throw in a bunch of flowers, arranged by the florist, and $40 is added to the tab, making a casual night at home with friends a costly venture.
Before you give up entirely on the party mode, you might want to check out two new books that can help make fairly short work out of the business of entertaining, add a personal element to it and save money in the process.
”Fast and Fabulous Dinner Parties,” by Michele Bradon (Macmillan, $24.95), due in stores any day now, strives to make menu planning simple, cooking creative and entertaining fun-all in short order.
Bradon writes that the book ”is for people who love to cook, entertain, dine and just plain party.
It is designed to charge your battery and get your creative juices flowing. The intent is for these recipes to build your confidence and inspire you. . . . This book is especially for people who must be time-efficient. You can see how you can do it all-with flair.”
The book offers 24 menus, presented seasonally. Braden also helps put the menu into a larger framework by taking a brief look at the setting and party props that are appropriate for each season.
Summer, for example, is ”cool, fresh and garden-like” whether the party is indoors or out. Colors are refined and understated if the party is elegant, bright and pure for a casual motif. She also suggests what dishes to use, what food can be used for decorating and what types fit the mood.
For each of her menus, Bradon offers a standard format of several courses and suggested wines to accompany the food. Then, for a quicker route, she reworks the basic tenet into a ”faster and flashier menu.”
Typically, the main course stays the same, though it is perhaps rounded out with a simpler salad, a streamlined dessert. Even when it has been pared, the faster menu conveys a sense of style and flair that obscures its speedy nature.
One commandment of entertaining is to make lists, a time-consuming though necessary element for efficiency. Bradon does this step in the book, at least as it applies to the menu planning and do-aheads, so there`s one less thing for the host to fret about.
The recipes in the book are fresh and upbeat without being too trendy. With a few exceptions, they are fairly easy to make.
But even when the ingredient list is long and the preparation time even longer, Braden has an easy way out via do-aheads or a concession that maybe this recipe should be saved for another time. There`s always an easier option that she points out.
Once the menu has been tackled, there`s still the matter of adding fresh flowers to a party. The title of ”The Five Minute Centerpiece,” by Jane Newdick (Crown Books, $16.95), makes it pretty clear what this book is all about. It is just one in a series of ”stopwatch” books that, so far, also includes flower arrangements, scarf arranging and hairstyling.
This is a small book of about 30 floral pieces that can be put together by anyone without spending a small fortune.
Those who have even the smallest back-yard garden should be able to cut the flowers from there. Others will most likely be able to find the appropriate posies at the supermarket.
Close-up photos of the centerpieces show exactly what it is they`re meant to be; so duplicating them is easy. Almost all of them rely on picking up props from around the house-a tiny basket to hold a nosegay of violets, eggcups for daisies or a big, flat bowl to float candles and rosebuds in. A little imagination is in order here. So you don`t have a half-dozen egg cups? Well, how about custard cups, then?
Whether the arrangements take 5 minutes or 10 to put together, they are charming and easy, just the type to add a fresh note to the party table.
