To be honest, it wasn’t a total disaster. I just violated some common sense rules of hosting. Like, stay within your comfort zone. We hosted a couple we only barely knew. They had invited us to dinner at their house in December and it took us three months to return the favor. We had a lovely time then. But because of holidays and illnesses, we just couldn’t synch our schedules until last weekend. The problem with hosting people you only barely know is that if disaster happens – like the food getting burned or the kitchen catching fire – you can’t really laugh it off because these new folks don’t know you well enough to understand that doing something stupid is just your nature. And so, they may end up talking about “the disastrous night at the Journeys” for years to come. Thus, it sometimes is best to plan dinners out until you know your guests are comfortable with any dinner disasters that may arise. 

I began cooking early in the afternoon – browning diced pancetta and ground chuck, veal and pork (it needed to cook 45 minutes in order to form a crust) and then toasting and grinding my own juniper berries for Frank Stitt’s Bolognese, as published in his new book Bottega Favorita. I had made the dish before and it is fabulous. What I didn’t realize is that one of our guests grew up in an Italian household. I discovered this tidbit when he announced that there are only a few Italian restaurants where he will actually go eat because he grew up eating good Italian food. I should have remembered this from December, but I didn’t. His last name is SMITH, for crissake. So I violated another rule of entertaining – don’t prepare foods your guests are experts in eating. If you’re not from the South, don’t make Southern food for a Southerner; if you’re not from Italy, don’t make Italian food for an Italian.

Another rule I effectively violated was – don’t do something stupid. Like, say, dump the food you are about to serve your guests on the floor. I’m not sure if it was that there was almost no lip on those fabulous Z Gallerie dishes I got last year or the olive oil on the pasta, but the minute I picked up a plate in each hand, one teetered toward the hardwoods and its contents went splat on the floor. As I stood in amazement the second plate mysteriously wobbled and followed suit. I was left holding two plates with about three noodles left on each. Hearing my gasp, my husband ran into the kitchen and, like any dear husband, shot these photos.

Based on the wine glasses, you’d suspect I was blitzed. But I honestly wasn’t, and certainly not early in the evening when the dinner dumpage occurred. On a positive note, we served what was left of the pasta and talked until late into the night as their toddler slept in the bedroom and Truman quietly watched Sponge Bob in the other room until he, too, gently drifted off to sleep on the couch. I suppose we’ll see if the Smiths actually talk to us again. Until then, I’m going to stick to ordering pizza for our dinner guests.

(photo of Martha Stewart, Flickr, Art Comments)

JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

Tips To Avoid Dinner Party Disasters

The secret would be making it kid-friendly enough that Truman would actually eat it. I also decided we’d just do finger foods since it was pretty windy out and I didn’t want to chase paper plates.

So for my kid-friendly lunch, the first thing I did is buy a bunch of fruit. Truman loves fruit when he’s in the mood for it. He also begged and screamed at the grocery store for a pineapple – the whole pineapple – and I finally gave in thinking it would be great for our picnic. There’s nothing better than freshly cut pineapple. So to keep his interest, I strung strawberries and pineapple on skewers. He loved it. I think he ate three of those. The grapes – both red and green by request – were kept on the vine since Truman prefers to eat them like a giraffe eats leaves from tall trees.

Then we took an assortment of leftover cheese from the refrigerator. I had bought a variety of godknowswhat varieties a couple weeks ago for a four-cheese baked pasta recipe from Frank Stitt’s new cookbook, Bottega Favorita. Since those hunks were sort of misshapen from previous grating, we joked around about our cheese squares, rectangles, parallelograms and trapezoids. Yeah, move over boring cheese cubes. But even with their fancy shapes, Truman barely touched those.

We also filled a few tiny Dixie cups with orange-pineapple juice and froze them. Since they were so small, they froze in no time. To eat them you just rip the side of the cup. Classy, but Truman loved it.

And then there’s the entrée, which was a gamble whether Truman would actually eat it – and eat it he did! I made my neighbor Pam’s fabulous Chicken Cheeseball and paired it with a variety of crackers. (Truman says Wheat Thins give him a headache, um…, but the Triscuits and melba toasts were big hits.) I also packed a couple of those tiny cheese knives to spread it. I’m not sure how I ended up with so many of them. Anyway, Pam’s Chicken Cheeseball really is fabulous and so easy to make. Many of the other neighbors have started stealing the recipe and when I had it at Bunco Thursday night at Vicki’s house I knew it just might rock Truman’s world. After all, what kid does not like ranch dressing? So, here’s Pam’s Chicken Cheeseball recipe. If your child isn’t too picky with his food, he just might devour this like Truman did. If not, then consider it more for you to eat!

PAM’S CHICKEN CHEESEBALL
1 cup or so of cooked, shredded chicken breast. (Pam and I both boil one bone-in breast and shred that. Just one will do the trick. She says you can also use canned chicken – and lord knows that canned meat lasts forever, but ew.)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 package Ranch dressing mix
Pecan pieces

Mix together all ingredients except pecans. Form into a ball. (Go ahead and use your hands.) Roll over pecan pieces until covered. Chill if you want. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Post from: Blisstree

Kid-friendly picnic foods (almost) any kid will love