Lets Have a Dinner Party

Recently a friend of mine suggested we have a dinner party. He had a dozen filet mignon and lived on 60 acres of lush Maryland farm/forest that perfectly complemented a gorgeous 18th century Georgian-style home.

What could be easier?

Knowing that I was no stranger to the kitchen while he, admittedly, could barely find the way to his, he asked if I would agree to ”cook the steaks.”

Something about the way he asked suggested to me that in his mind, “cooking the steaks” was about all there was to it.

So while agreeing, I asked about the wine. He was proud of his choices: champagne from a quality French house for the guests upon arrival, a magnum of fifth growth Bordeaux and for dessert, a bottle of second growth Sauternes, my favorite dessert wine and one of my favorite wines of all.

We began to plan

“What will we serve with the champagne,” I asked. Serving a good champagne alone with no accompaniment is a bit like wearing a tux with no bow tie.

When he said he’d never considered that, I replied, “Well, we need something, so let’s keep it simple. How about some large cashew nuts and luscious macadamias, along with small dried apricots?”

“Oh, that sounds grand,” he said.

“Good, now let’s complete the menu.” He looked surprised. “Traditional accompaniments to a steak dinner are sautéed spinach and some kind of potato,” I continued. “Spinach is delicious, but it doesn’t look that great on the plate. And since we are serving Béarnaise sauce with the steak, why don’t we serve thick roasted asparagus with the same Béarnaise?”

“Oh, that sounds marvelous. Are you certain this isn’t too much for you?” I thought to myself, you haven’t heard the worst of it, but smiled and said, “not at all.” “And the potato? Baked?,” he asked. I didn’t want to dismiss his suggestion as pedestrian but said, “why not scalloped potatoes? They are a pain to make but scrumptious.”

“Oh, that sounds stellar, but isn’t this becoming very labor intensive?”

“Not at all,” I lied.

“Is that it?” “Well, there’s still dessert. And since we are smack in the middle of berry season, how about a mix of strawberries—the queen of all berries—blackberries as big as figs and blueberries tossed with Kirschwasser, sprinkled with sugar and topped with a tri-leaf of mint. What do you think?” “Oh splendid, truly splendid.”

“Thank you, but now we have to discuss turnout.” He flashed me a picture perfect deer-in-the-headlights look and muttered, “Turnout? What’s turnout?”

“Turnout is getting all the food on the plates and getting those plates to the ten guests hot and at the same time. Not easy.” “Oh, interesting,” he said.

To say the least, I thought. “So, what we need is 10 feet of uninterrupted counter space adjacent to the stove, and five or so fairly dexterous helpers, each responsible for one of the elements that comprise the plate.”

“Oh, sounds exciting,” he said. You have no idea, I thought.

“And FYI, if dinner is called for 6PM, we have to be there by 2!”

“Oh! That early?”

“Yep, there’s a lot of hidden work to do.”

“Oh.”

“Okay, here’s how it will happen,” I said. “You place the asparagus on all ten plates and then come stand next to me. You will take out the first two plates. Once you place them, return to the kitchen for two more.”

I continued to instruct the team on hand: “You place the broiled tomato in the center of the plates. You place a scoop of the scalloped potatoes on each plate at 7:00 o’clock. I will place the filet at 10:00 on the plate, along with a dollop of Bearnaise.

“You take the next two places out, serve the women first. You take the next two plates.” To our host, “here’s the next two plates. I’ll take out the final plate and we’ll all sit and be ready for the toast.” I wasn’t done yet. “After everyone is finished eating, we’ll clear the plates and bring out the dessert and the Sauternes”.

The dinner went very well and all loved the food, the wine and the ambiance. After dinner, our host marveled at how simple it all was. Yes, I thought, just a snap of the fingers….”