Playing host or hostess has its ups and downs, not the least of which is mastering the art of entertaining and enjoying guests at the same time.
Manning the kitchen and making company feel welcome are almost mutually exclusive. There are drinks to mix, foodstuffs to fix, platters to pass, dishes to clear and all sorts of things to clean away when any affair is over. And every kind of entertaining requires work.
But “sit-down” repasts seem to entail more than their fair share, which is why the buffet is such an attractive alternative today, say two Chicago caterers who regularly prepare both types of meals.
“It’s easier on the pocketbook, depending on how elaborate you go, yet it can still be quite elegant,” says Renee Bradford, owner of C’est Si Bon in Hyde Park, pointing out that simple or more ornate meals can make for beautiful buffets.
Lisa Gershenson, owner of J & L Food Services Inc., says that “it’s far easier to time a buffet because you can set much of it up beforehand.” Having each course ready at the right moment is hard enough for an expert, Gershenson says, but “it can be especially trying for someone who doesn’t entertain frequently.”
“Everyone is so busy that no one is expecting a big fuss or a gourmet meal-they’re just pleased to be invited over 1/8to eat 3/8 these days,” adds lifestyle guru Mary Emmerling, who along with her friendly competitor, Martha Stewart, has built a multimedia empire for dispensing advice on everything from entertaining to home decor.
“There’s new informality,” Stewart points out, “that’s a product of our times.” And it has evolved as we have moved from the ’80s, which were much more ceremonious, to the ’90s, which are far more casual, she notes.
Emmerling and Stewart point to the buffet as an ideal way to serve a meal today. In addition, this set-it-all-out style of entertaining has deep-seated and decorously formal roots.
“In Medieval and Renaissance times, the `buffet’ was originally an edifice of shelves found at one side of a dining hall in rich households, and all the valuable family silver was proudly displayed upon it,” says Margaret Visser, a classics professor at York University in Toronto and the author of several books on the anthropological aspects of eating. “Later, food was displayed there as well so guests could have a preview of what they would be eating,” she explains.
The buffet as we now know it “harkens back to the feasts of ancient Rome, where dishes were laid out on the table for everyone to see,” Visser says. “These meals showed off the wealth of a household, but they also centered around sharing and displaying food.”
This makes the buffet a perfect fit for the times, since “it’s culturally expressive of how we now think,” Visser says. “It’s like going to the supermarket-we like to have a free choice and have everything laid out in front of us,” she notes, “so it’s very modern to think of consuming in this way.”
And although a buffet is now seen as a less formal way of serving food, it is no less painstaking and specific, Visser points out. “Eating is a dramatization of our value system, and in an age when time is a very scarce commodity, our new methodologies make sense.”
Emmerling personifies this philosophy, since she does whatever is easiest when holding court for friends or business contacts. And it often involves a buffet. “Like everyone else, I hardly even have time to eat regularly, so I try different ways to bring people together. These include buffets or pot luck and progressive dinners that can often be served that way.”
Stewart focuses on buffets in “Martha Stewart’s Menus for Entertaining” (Clarkson Potter, $30), a book just published this month. But these menus, Stewart notes, are “sophisticated but far less complicated.”
Those who have spent hours planning a sit-down dinner can take heed-and heart-from these modern entertaining mavens. Says Emmerling, “You shouldn’t be stuck in the kitchen anymore-people need to enjoy your company.”
Staging a buffet with easy elegance, however, involves new ground rules.
Both Stewart and Emmerling say it’s OK to augment the offerings set out on a table with store-bought foodstuffs (“The best breads and pastas are so easy to buy and reasonably priced,” Stewart says) or to serve fewer, and simpler, dishes.
Thus the buffet can fit any time frame or budget, especially if the table is appropriately adorned. “But make it look great,” Emmerling advises, “even if it means using everything you own. Don’t just save the good stuff for special occasions.”
As for specifics, Bradford suggests deciding on a style and sticking with it, such as setting out an elaborate buffet with lots of props or keeping it simple and elegant with just the classics. “Try something like gilded baskets to make it glorious, or stick to the basics like beautiful silver, crystal, china and linens,” she suggests.
Gershenson also notes that there is an abiding interest in both healthier and adventurous eating, and buffets allow you to present a more diverse menu.
Setting the menu for a fabulous buffet means casting off conventions and forsaking constraints.
“A buffet can be a stage,” Gershenson says, “so use it for experimentation. “Mix different cuisines with unusual serving pieces or props,” she suggests, “since people love the drama of an exciting and enticing display.”
To that end, Gershenson has created a menu that is dazzling but down-to-earth, imaginatively laden with dishes that are impressively appetizing but unpretentiously robust. It is anchored by a resplendent, oven-roasted whole red snapper that epitomizes this ethic.
“Don’t be intimidated by doing a big fish,” Gershenson says of her innovative dish. “It’s simple to prepare, plus it’s entertaining to have an entree at home that people usually anticipate having only in a restaurant,” she points out, adding that it’s just as easy as making a meat dish.
And it happens to be a magnificent tour de force on a buffet table. Gershenson’s recipes for a buffet for 10 follow.
OVEN-ROASTED WHOLE RED SNAPPER WITH MOROCCAN SPICES AND POMEGRANATE SAUCE
10 servings
1 whole red snapper, 3 to 4 pounds, cleaned
2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons coarse (kosher) salt
1 teaspoon each: turmeric, freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
Juice of 1 pomegranate (or substitute 1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice)
Chopped cilantro and pomegranate seeds, for garnish
1. Have the fishmonger clean and scale whole fish. Make 3 deep diagonal incisions into both sides of the fish’s flesh.
2. Toast fennel seeds and cumin seeds in a small skillet, watching constantly, over medium heat until fragrant; do not burn. Cool completely on a plate and then grind to a fine powder in a coffee or spice grinder. Combine ground seeds with green onions, cilantro, oil, garlic, salt, turmeric, pepper and red pepper in a medium-size bowl.
3. Rub the mixture into the slits in the fish and in the body cavity. Cover the skin with the remaining mixture. Refrigerate tightly covered for 2 to 12 hours.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the fish with a layer of parchment paper and then enclose it in aluminum foil to make a tightly sealed package. Place the package on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes. Open the foil pouch to expose the top of the fish and baste with the accumulated juices.
5. Increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees. Pour the pomegranate or cranberry juice over the fish. Return to the oven with the foil open to crisp the outside and finish cooking, about 15 minutes.
6. Transfer the fish to a serving platter. Drizzle with the pan juices and garnish with chopped cilantro and pomegranate seeds.
MACADAMIA AND HONEY-CRUSTED CROWN ROAST OF LAMB
10 servings
3 cups dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
3 teaspoons each: coarse (kosher) salt, freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 crown roast of lamb, 5 to 6 pounds
1 pound macadamia nuts
2 cups Japanese bread crumbs, Panko-style, see note below
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 cup honey
1. Combine wine, rosemary, garlic, 1 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper and the dry mustard in a large non-reactive saucepan. Boil gently until reduced by half and let cool. Pour this marinade over the lamb roast set in a large close-fitting container or plastic food bag. Refrigerate, tightly sealed, overnight.
2. For the crust, chop the macadamia nuts finely in a food processor with on/off turns. Add the bread crumbs and process again to combine. Add the parsley and remaining 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Drain and discard the marinade from the lamb. Pat the lamb dry with paper toweling. Heat the honey slightly, so it will pour easily, either by setting it in a glass measuring cup in a pot of simmering water or in the microwave oven. Pour the honey over the lamb and spread it evenly with a spatula or with your fingers to coat both the outside and inside of the roast. Generously pat the crust mixture over the roast to cover it completely.
4. Cover the exposed bone ends of the lamb with foil to prevent burning. Put lamb into a roasting pan. Roast at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and continue roasting until the internal temperature of the meat taken away from the bone registers 130 degrees for medium rare, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand, loosely tented with foil, 10 minutes or more before carving.
Note: Panko-style Japanese bread crumbs are available in Asian markets and some large supermarkets in the imported section. Dry, coarse homemade bread crumbs may be substituted.
ASIAN LONG-BEAN AND CARROT BUNDLES
8 to 10 servings
2 large carrots
1 pound Asian long beans, available in Asian markets
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1. Peel the carrots. Then, using the peeler, pare long strips of carrot from the top to obtain one full-length strip of carrot. Cut these peels into 1/4-inch ribbons lengthwise. Blanch in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Set aside.
2. Trim the stem end of the long beans. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic; saute for 1 minute. Add the long beans; cook and stir until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add the carrot peels to the pan and toss to combine flavors. Remove from heat.
3. Tie three carrot strips and three long beans together into a knot and let cool. Trim the ends for uniform appearance. The bundles can be refrigerated.
4. Just before serving, microwave bundles on high (100 percent) power until heated through, about 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer to serving dish.
WILD AND BASMATI RICE PILAF WITH GINGER, WALNUTS AND SUN-DRIED CRANBERRIES
10 servings
1 1/2 cups long grain wild rice
2 cups basmati rice, see note below
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 carrot, cut into fine julienne
1 each, cut into fine julienne: red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper
3 inches fresh gingerroot, peeled, minced
4 oranges
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped, see note
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons coarse (kosher) salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Cook wild rice in 6 cups water in an uncovered medium saucepan until just tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, put 2 cups basmati rice and 4 cups water in a covered microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high (100 percent) power, stirring once or twice, until just tender, about 20 minutes. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes.
3. Stir garlic in oil and butter over medium heat until soft. Add carrot; cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in julienned peppers and ginger. Cook and stir 2 minutes.
4. Finely shred the rind of one orange or remove it with a zester; reserve. Squeeze the juice from all the oranges. Mix half of the juice with the sherry into the carrot mixture; boil gently until liquid reduces to a thick syrup.
5. Mix the rices, orange rind, walnuts, parsley, cranberries and green onions with the remaining orange juice in a large bowl. Stir in carrot mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat before serving.
Note: Basmati rice and dried cranberries are available in specialty markets, gourmet shops, Whole Foods and Treasure Island food stores.
SEVILLE ORANGES IN SPICED RED WINE
10 to 12 servings
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups each: water, red wine
4 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 pieces vanilla beans
8 lemon slices
12 navel oranges
Whipped cream, confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon sticks for garnish
1. Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan; boil until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in wine, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla beans and lemon slices. Simmer for 15 minutes; strain.
2. Using a sharp knife, peel oranges and remove all white pith. Cut the oranges crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Put orange slices into a large non-reactive bowl. Pour wine syrup over oranges and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. To serve, remove slices from syrup and arrange on serving plate. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar and a cinnamon stick.
Resources:
P. 26-27: Natura (leaf) dinner plates ($50 each), dark green platter ($135), large red cherubini bowl ($150), green/gold glass candlesticks ($150), gold-rim wine glasses ($15 each), twig flatware ($46 per set), all at Branca Boutique. Terre E Provence green pitcher ($38) at Barneys New York. Table linens from private collection; napkins, glass compote copper tray, courtesy of J & L Food Services Inc.
P. 28: Dark green platter ($135) at Branca Boutique. Terre E Provence green salad plate ($14) and Leslie Pontz white and gold leaf napkins ($30), at Barneys New York.
