It was with some trepidation that I asked four prominent Chicago-area chefs for their home-entertaining tips. Perhaps we’d get all sorts of arcane advice, from “always stir soups counter-clockwise to the rhythm of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” to “coddle your sea urchins in a bath of steel-cut oatmeal and parsnip”
But no. These chefs were delightfully down to earth. They may cook like demons professionally, but when it comes to home entertaining, they want the same things you do: Good times, good company and food that neither intimidates the guests nor overstresses the host.
And here’s how they go about it.
Jackie Shen, chef and owner, Jackie’s:
When I was young, I lived in Hong Kong. On weekends, Dad and Mom had friends and relatives over to play mah-jongg. Saturday morning, my mother would be in the kitchen after shopping, arranging the ingredients in little bowls-what we now call mise en place. Friends would come over around 2 or 3 p.m. and start the game-women at one table, men at the other. At 6 p.m. the women would stop playing, and my mom would go into the kitchen and whip up all six or seven dishes in less than half an hour.
I had to stay in the kitchen-not because I was interested in learning how to cook but to help clean and do the dishes and pots and pans-and so I learned what Mom did when entertaining.
The whole idea is, if you want to entertain, fine, but enjoy yourself while doing it. Of course, you want to impress your friends, but the whole idea is to be with them socially.
Your first step is to know your friends’ eating habits-their likes and dislikes and, more important, any allergies. Find out beforehand so you know which items to avoid.
Second, and most important, is to organize your day-or your week, if you’re going all out. Plan your menu and your shopping. Prepare what you can ahead of time-such things include dessert and some salad items-the day before the party or first thing that morning.
You may want to create a tapas-style buffet; many of those dishes are easy to prepare in advance, and when you’re serving, you can mingle with your friends.
My apartment is small, and I have limited space in the kitchen and dining room. So I lay out all the food on the kitchen table, and guests help themselves and sit wherever-carpet, couch or floor. When you serve that way, prepare buffet items that don’t need a knife, dishes that are prcut or easy to chew or easy to scoop on the plate.
A lot of people try to impress their friends, try to come up with this absolutely outrageous food. But is this really giving joy and happiness to yourself? It’s nice to cook and present nicely and have it taste delicious, but I can’t see the point of killing yourself for three days. As a guest I certainly enjoy eating it, but I don’t see doing that.
Jackie’s secret
If you’re really doing a last-minute thing like a souffle, always practice wih the recipe first. You don’t want to be in the middle of a party and have your souffle fall because you were one egg white short.
Michael Taus, chef and partner, Zealous, Elmhurst:
First of all, plan your menu at least one week in advance. Think about what you want to do. Don’t get committed to a single recipe, or you might end up going from store to store for that one ingredient you HAVE to have.
For instance, the avocados I’m seeing right now aren’t good; they’re runny and watery. What if you decide on a a recipe that includes avocados and you can’t find any good ones?
So first go to Treasure Island, Whole Foods, wherever you shop, and see what’s fresh, what’s looking nice. Find ingredients that look great, then find the recipe.
And never try a new recipe on a special party. A customer of mine threw a party and started making a recipe she’d never done before. She called me the day of the party and said, “What do I have to do to get you to come over and help me with this?”
Do a lot of things ahead; then you’re way ahead of the game. Sit down and go over everything; the last thing you want to do is to make an extra trip to the store for the one ingredient you forgot.
You can roast portabella mushrooms in advance and just heat them up a bit just before the party. I’ve done caramelized onion blini and wild-mushroom focaccia, cut into little squares; these reheated nicely, too.
And I love phyllo. It’s a wonderful product. It’s so simple-you wrap ingredients in butter-brushed phyllo squares. You can do it ahead of time, wrap them into triangles or purses and just bake them the day of the party. I do one with crab, duck confit and andouille sausage. Also, they freeze very well.
I did a party in Glencoe for 45 people. It was a beautiful house, but, of course, there was no way to seat everybody. So I did all canapes-little bites. People could mingle and talk with everybody. It was the greatest.
If you do that, make all the food light and small. A guest isn’t going to want to carry around a 10-inch plate and eat off it.
Michael’s secret
Check out the different markets for ingredients. The DiHo market in Westmont has interesting things, and I love going to Chinatown.
Audrey Craig, pastry chef, Marche:
For me, home entertaining usually means a small group of people, two or three other couples other than my boyfriend and myself. I prefer to keep it kind of simple. I go through enough stress at work; home is supposed to be a place to relax and enjoy life.
So Rule No. 1 is pretty much to keep it simple. Stick with something you are comfortable with. That goes for the food, the wine-and the guests you invite over. I like to be with close friends so we all can get comfortable.
For me, it’s important to do as much in advance as possible so when people come over, you’re not strapped to the kitchen. If it’s a casual get-together to watch a football game, make your pizza dough the day before and put it together in the afternoon. You can buy the ingredients for a field greens salad two or three days in advance, clean and wash greens the day before and make any salad dressings in advance. Store everything properly in the refrigerator; the greens should go in a lightly-covered container, because they need a little bit of air.
The main course is tricky for me personally, because I do not eat meat. But I do eat fish. My boyfriend does eat meat and eats quite a lot of it. I need to consider his likes and my guests’ likes, but I also have to make sure that there’s something I can eat. Sometimes it involves making two different entrees, or I might serve beef, chicken or lamb and make just a bit more of the accompaniments for myself.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a gathering when food was being served and found little or nothing I could eat there. People are trying to eat healthier, so try to keep that into consideration.
If you’re not comfortable making a dessert, it’s fine to go ahead and buy one. I’ve had total strangers call me and say, “I need some dessert.” Usually it’s a special dessert they’ve had at the restaurant. And if the request is within reason, I’ll do it.
Audrey’s secret
I like to serve little finger foods: Toast points with gravlax, hummus, marinated olives-but nothing that will drip and ruin a nice piece of clothing.
Saul Wax, chef and partner, Vidalia on Park, Glencoe:
I used to like to make dinners for 6 to 10 people but with the new restaurant I haven’t had as much time. When I lived in California, I made dinner at a friend’s house every three weeks. I made Chinese food, which was the first food I started to cook and the food I was most familiar with.
I lived in San Francisco, near Chinatown, and could walk there and get everything I needed. I would cross the bridge to Berkeley to the home of my friends and his wife. He is a physics professor; they had a very nice kitchen with a panaramic view of the bay and San Francisco. They also had wonderful kitchen equipment.
I would start at 4 p.m. and cook until 10:30. People were eating courses all along. I wasn’t. I was in the kitchen.
I liked to prepare the food, I was going to cooking school at the time, and it was satisfying to do a whole dinner all by myself. I did this for a couple of years. I would buy the ingredients and decide what I’d make. Duck livers in Chinatown were 60 cents a pound, and everywhere else they were $5 a pound.
The professor would have different people in, and they would be entertaining, and I would be cooking. Sometimes our mutal friends and family would be invited over.
Owen Chamberlain, another physics professor who discovered the antiproton and won a Nobel Prize for it, was invited to one of these dinners. He likes Chinese food a lot and told my friends afterward that it was better than the food he’d had at a banquet in China at the Great Hall of the People.
When I wasn’t making Chinese, I’d make Italian. It’s strenuous to make 10 dishes for 10 people. Sometimes it’s easier to make a pasta for fewer people. It’s more casual.
I have made dinner for friends here in Chicago when I have the time and ocassionally for my wife, Judy, and me. I make pasta by hand with a long thin rolling pin. I make a sauce and some pork chops or veal with a sauce; there’s also salad and a wine.
I have made a flourless chocolate cake with creme fraiche. I add things on, but the core is the pasta, with things tacked on at the beginning or at the end.
My guests and I talk in the kitchen. That’s part of the entertainment. Sometimes people help, but usually not.
Planning and organization make everything involved easier. Cooking for more than a couple of people requires a lot of energy and stamina. It can’t all be done in one day if you wish to spend any time with the guests. Think things out, write things down and follow through.
Estimate the time it will take to do everything-and multiply by three.
Work hard and fast, finish early and have a great time.
Saul’s secret
Relax. It’s food, and it’s to be enjoyed by everybody. If it’s an ordeal, it’s not worth it. If it doesn’t turn out perfectly, so what?
