Entertaining 101: Everything You Need to Know to Entertain with Style and Grace - Hardcover

Eckhardt, Linda West; Defoyd, Katherine West

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385485425 ISBN 13: 9780385485425

Publisher: Doubleday, 1997

Synopsis

Dinner parties are back.  Cocktail parties are back.  Cigars and martinis are back.  Before you know it, even pillbox hats may be back!  But some things have changed forever.  There was a time when celebration meant days of planning, days of cooking, and days of recuperation.  But no more!  Today, the very thought of preparing one of those sumptuous multicourse extravaganzas has become no more than a fleeting nightmare.

For special events, however, there is still nothing quite so welcome as a home-cooked meal.  In Entertaining 101, mother and daughter Linda West Eckhardt and Katherine West DeFoyd provide all the information anyone will need to throw a terrific party at home.  Each of the recipes has been tested not only by the authors but also by less experienced cooks.  Each one has been simplified to eliminate all unnecessary steps.  Each menu is accompanied by a carefully worked-out timetable so that every dish will be ready when it should be.  And no menu requires more than an hour's preparation time in the kitchen, although some dishes may cook longer unattended--while you set the table or enjoy a cocktail with your guests.

The fifty-two seasonal menus--from a Winter Solstice Formal Sage Chicken Dinner to a Summer Supper from the Farmer's Market--will allow anyone to entertain "with style and grace" every week of the year.  Each menu includes wine suggestions and useful tips for serving and decorating (although the authors emphasize that there are no absolute rights or wrongs).  This may not be the age of Aquarius, but it is certainly the age of liberation--in the kitchen as well as everywhere else.

About this title

About the Author

Linda West Eckhardt is the author or coauthor of more than a dozen cookbooks, including Bread in Half the Time, which was named Best Cookbook of 1991 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and, most recently, Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine.  She lives in southern Oregon.

Katherine West DeFoyd is Director of Development for Media Workshop, New York, a project of the Bertelsmann Foundation.  She lives in South Orange, New Jersey.  Together, mother and daughter are at work on their next book, Stylish One-Dish Dinners.

From the Inside Flap

es are back. Cocktail parties are back. Cigars and martinis are back. Before you know it, even pillbox hats may be back! But some things have changed forever. There was a time when celebration meant days of planning, days of cooking, and days of recuperation. But no more! Today, the very thought of preparing one of those sumptuous multicourse extravaganzas has become no more than a fleeting nightmare.

For special events, however, there is still nothing quite so welcome as a home-cooked meal. In Entertaining 101, mother and daughter Linda West Eckhardt and Katherine West DeFoyd provide all the information anyone will need to throw a terrific party at home. Each of the recipes has been tested not only by the authors but also by less experienced cooks. Each one has been simplified to eliminate all unnecessary steps. Each menu is accompanied by a carefully work

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Christmas Day Dinner: Beef Tenderloin with Peppercorn and Mustard Seed Crust

A fine Christmas feast can be made even finer if the primary cook doesn't carry all the responsibility.  We try not to even think the word potluck when it comes to this traditional winter celebration, but, in fact, all of our lives are so hectic at this time of year that assigning different dishes to different guests is the only thing that makes sense.  If we've invited ten guests and we ask one to bring the wine, another the dessert, another the bread; if we ask somebody to make the gratin, another the scones, and another to whip up the hot salad; somebody else to bring flowers, and someone to make the hors d'oeuvre, before you know it, about all the host has to do is drag out the best china, shine up the table, and cook the roast.  That is what we call a real Christmas gift.  Got more people on your list?  Add dishwashing and cleanup to your assignments.

The Menu

White Bean and Rosemary Spread with Slices of Sourdough Bread
Hot Salad of Mustard Greens with Mint and Pancetta
Beef Tenderloin with Peppercorn and Mustard Seed Crust
Cranberry Horseradish Sauce
Beets in an Orange Vinaigrette on a Bed of Baby Greens
Turnip Potato Gratin
Cranberry Scones and Sweet Butter
B¹che de NoÙl (from the bakery)

Wine Suggestions

Appetizer--A bubbly sets the tone for this festive meal.  Try a Prosecco from the Veneto region of Italy.  This fun, creamy-mouth-feel bubbly will go well with the Italian-inspired appetizer.

Main Course--Try a mature French Bordeaux from the Pauillac.  The tannins in the wine will be a great complement for the meat.  Be sure to decant the wine and let it breathe for at least 20 minutes before serving.  This will allow the flavors to really open up.  You will probably have to spend from $20 to $40, but what better time to enjoy a great wine than Christmas?  Besides, a tenderloin will really show off a good Bordeaux!  You could also try a California Merlot for a similar effect.

Dessert--Try a dessert muscat from Greece, California, or Australia.  It will be sweet enough to stand up to dessert, and it's so good you will want to pour it on your pancakes.

Cooking Tip

Make friends with a butcher.  Order the tenderloin in advance.  Consult with the butcher for length of cooking time.  Our butcher said to cook it precisely 30 1/2 minutes at 425         for medium rare.  We laughed, but we did what he said and our tenderloin came out perfectly.  You can buy a whole or half tenderloin, depending upon the size of your party.  A whole beef tenderloin will weigh 4 to 6 pounds and will serve ten to twelve people generously.  If buying a whole piece, ask for an untrimmed tenderloin, which will have the tapered end that includes the best-tasting meat on the animal.  Cut this off and save it for yourselves later.  With this small precious end piece, you can make Chateaubriand, filet mignon, or beef tenders with peppercorn sauce for two.

Tradition determines expectations for Christmas table decorations.  In 1959 grandmother decided she'd like to be "modern"; she put away all the old hand-blown glass ornaments and did up the house and table in a uniform "blue" look, with all blue bulbs on a phony white tree, blue decorations on the Christmas table, and even blue lights in every socket she could find.  The result was, in a certain ten-year-old's mind, a disaster, though it might be considered cool right now in Soho.  So our advice to you is, don't meddle with tradition!

All the Trimmings

This one day a year we love red-and-green plaid cloth napkins tucked into brass napkin rings; evergreen boughs from the yard, laid on the table and sprinkled with red glass bulbs; and fat red candles.  Linda has a big holly bush in front of the house, so adds some holly to the mix.  But mainly, we let the food, served family-style, be the star.  The term "groaning board" is not an empty phrase on Christmas at our house.  Our table is bountiful, colorful, and aromatic.  We expect the guests, when they are called to the table, to gasp at the sheer beauty of it all before they even take a chair.  All the hubbub of passing dishes is very exciting!

Serve the tenderloin on a large platter surrounded by sprigs of rosemary and pickled beets.  Carve it at the table and top each serving with a jot of Cranberry Horseradish Sauce.  Pass the other items and allow your guests to serve themselves.

You're Invited!

Being invited to a "cooperative" Christmas includes a responsibility for the guest to bring something.  So a phone call to discuss the venture is best.  Talk over the menu and see what each guest is willing to bring or cook.  Mark up your master menu, then send a quick note to confirm the arrangement, noting the time of the dinner, and the agreed-upon contribution.  People enjoy participating in this Christmas gift to one another.  What a fine thing to give to each other.  A day of pleasure and plenty at table.


White Bean and Rosemary Spread with Slices of Sourdough Bread

2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped (1 teaspoon)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus sprigs for garnish

If you can work a can opener, you can make a true appetizer that will leave your guests lunging for the dinner table.  Cannellini beans seem to come in a variety of can sizes.  And in some parts of the country, not at all.  Not to worry.  Use navy beans or Great Northerns.  You're looking for white beans in a can that weighs roughly 1 pound.  Use what you can find and go forth.  Measurements are not critical here.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Refrigeration time: 30 minutes to 2 days
Makes 3 cups to serve 10 to 12

A definite do-ahead.  Find 10 minutes somewhere in your busy schedule and whip this together as much as 2 days in advance.

Combine all the ingredients except salt, hot sauce, bread, and garnish in the food processor bowl fitted with the steel blade.  Process until smooth, about 30 seconds, then season to taste with salt and hot sauce.  Transfer to a bowl or jar and refrigerate until 20 minutes before serving time.

To serve, place the bean spread in a bowl and garnish it with parsley sprigs.  Set the bowl on a platter and surround it with the bread chunks.  Let your guests serve themselves.


Hot Salad of Mustard Greens with Mint and Pancetta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 slices pancetta or bacon, chopped
1 large yellow onion, cut into quarters and segments separated
6 cloves garlic, chopped (3 teaspoons)
2 pounds fresh mustard greens, well washed and stemmed

Here's a great beginning to your Christmas dinner.  Serve a small, smoking serving to each guest at the dinner table to whet his or her appetite.  Got an eager assistant in the kitchen?  Assign that cook the job of making the hot salad.  It's simple, but it needs tending.  Substitute kale, spinach, or other sweet hot winter greens if you wish.  Choose your largest skillet or stew pot to hold all the greens.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 10 to 12 servings

For a bright colored salad, sautÚ the greens just before serving.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the pancetta or bacon until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat.  Add the onion, turn the heat down to medium, and cook and stir until the onion is soft and golden, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes more.

Chop the mustard greens and discard the stems.  Add the vinegar and greens to the skillet, cover, and cook just until the greens are wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Season the cooked greens with salt and pepper, then toss with the mint.  Transfer to a bowl and serve.


Beef Tenderloin with Peppercorn and Mustard Seed Crust

1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon white peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 (4- to 6-pound) whole beef tenderloin
6 to 8 sprigs of fresh rosemary, for garnish

The sight of a whole beef tenderloin on a bed of rosemary studded with cold pickled beets will say "Merry Christmas" before your guests even take the first bite.  Buy the beef from the best butcher you know.  Nothing could be easier to prepare, and, done right, it has a buttery soft interior with a crisp, pungent crust.  All you need is a meat thermometer, a roasting pan with low sides, and a rack.  Serve it with a jot of Cranberry Horseradish Sauce.  "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" . . . and remember there'll be plenty of beef for sandwiches the next day.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Roasting time: 25 to 45 minutes
Resting time: 10 to 15 minutes
Makes 10 to 12 servings
Best if made and eaten at once.

Preheat the oven to 425         and spray both the rack and the shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.  Place the roast straight from...

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385485425
• ISBN 13: 9780385485425
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320