Hi guys. Welcome back to our very own Pines 2010. Changes in the food scene; no more “Fresh Market.” (Well, aren’t they all?) And the old Bay Bar, formerly the Kulchured Elephant, is now enjoying a new incarnation as Canteen. Under very capable hands, awesome pastries, such as their raspberry bear claws, are to die for, as are some well prepared, beautifully presented snacks. I’m looking forward to dinner there this evening. The service when I last visited was friendly and welcoming.
It’s a weekend, or holiday, and your island home is about to receive guests, all of whom will be hungry. Call it a happy invasion. The last thing you want is to be stuck in your kitchen prepping meals while your guests are waiting for something to eat. They really want to spend time with you as well. Adding to the pressure is you wanting to spend quality time with them. It’s too easy for me to tell you to be ready.
Start with a plan. Envision the way you see how things will go. Be sure you’ve done your homework. Writing things down is good. A shopping list is essential, shop the day before. Think through every meal step by step by deciding what work steps you can anticipate and do ahead. You’ll sleep better.
Let’s dry run through breakfast. Coffee, cinnamon rolls, poached eggs on baked potatoes with sour cream and chives. Juice, fresh pineapple, bacon mac and cheese and mimosas.
Before you turn in the night before, set your prettiest table, which might include some flowers. Get juices ready, set up coffee service, bring the eggs out of the fridge; cold eggs don’t cook the way they should. Write down your menu, even obvious things like salt, milk, pepper and jam. Tick off the things you will need to have ready. If, for instance you will be serving home fries, have your potatoes boiled and peeled the day before. Likewise with onions, garlic, peeled and chopped.
You do not want to go searching for ingredients. Lay out your ingredients so they are handy as you need them. Allow for your improvisation. Think of the meal as though it were a battle. Involve everyone in the meal. Assign volunteers, be specific, be a leader. One secret of good hosting is to involve your guests in the preparation and serving. You’re not a cater waiter. If they stand around with their hands at their sides, be bold, encourage action. You know who goes off the guest list next time.
Get some Pillsbury’s Cinnamon Grands, set them into a baking tray ready to go into the oven. The oven will do the work. You can serve them with the coffee. This is great for happy morning conversation.
Note well. One seemingly small detail can derail your whole train unless things are done ahead. Slice English muffins, thaw butter, lay out bacon to fry it up properly. Fill pitchers with cold water, glasses ready, napkins, champagne, stem glasses, and triple sec for the mimosas. My hope for you is that you sit back and enjoy your company.
Toast the muffins gently, set them aside in a warm place to help the butter melt.
Home fries are great as a hearty side dish with eggs. I like to beat up a dozen pre-warmed eggs with some cream, S&P [salt and pepper,] and scramble them slowly over a low fire. As they thicken, mix in some chopped chives, and serve at once. You want them creamy. Ignore what the “I want my eggs well-done” crazies are demanding. They’re heretics.
Poach a bunch of eggs and set them into a cool bowl of water. When ready to serve, lift them with a slotted spoon and immerse into simmering water for half a minute. Nothing beats the taste of those rich, runny yolks of poached eggs atop home fries. PS: I often nuke small Idaho spuds for four minutes, split them, slice, then pinch them from four directions to force them open, then, gently set a few poached eggs in the center of each with a few grinds of sea salt. Thus you avoid the grease in the home fries.
Make a big bowl of extra cheddar cheesy mac and cheese. Store in the fridge. Scoop out portions into a baking dish, place a strip of bacon and a grind of pepper on top of each portion, bake ’til the bacon is irresistible. Serve hot. Prepare to blush modestly as they heap praise on you.
Set up your service so guests can help themselves. Think finger food, like lamb chops, chicken wings, drummers, or primavera pasta, no fingers. Serve a bowl of sauce on the side and a pair of tongs to toss the pasta, and a bowl of grated cheese. Serve food on huge, well decorated platters. Pass small plates, silverware, nice paper napkins.
PASTA PRIMAVERA one tablespoon olive oil, three cloves minced garlic, one red bell pepper, cleaned, seeded and cut into strips, 1⁄2 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into two-inch pieces, one cup sliced button mushrooms, one cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half, one cup chicken stock, 1⁄2 cup milk, one tablespoon all-purpose flour, dissolved in three tablespoons of water, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper, one large carrot peeled with a peeler and sliced into strips,
3⁄4 pound linguine, 1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan, 2 tablespoons chopped, 1⁄4 cup hand-shredded basil leaves.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook garlic until soft, about one minute. Add peppers and cook until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Add mushrooms, asparagus and tomatoes and cook until softened, an additional five minutes. Stir in flour and cook for one minute more. Add chicken stock, milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid has thickened slightly, about five minutes. Stir in carrot strips.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and reserve 1⁄2 cup pasta water. The water usually contains starch which thus creates a sauce which thickens and coats the pasta. This is the classic Italian way of making the right kind of pasta sauce. Toss pasta with vegetables and sauce. Add pasta water, if necessary, to loosen mixture. Serve garnished with Parmesan, parsley and basil.
Salads are de rigueur, and healthy.
Tear your greens by hand instead of cutting. Mix your dressing in the salad bowl by using twice the amount of oil as vinegar. Whisk the salt, pepper, mustard, pinch of salt, sugar, at least one clove of garlic, crushed. Leave it in the bowl. Add the oil at the last, while whisking.
Add the greens on top, and with the tongs, toss just prior to serving.
As always, I will be offering cooking classes at no charge just because I love teaching cooking. Feel free to email me at
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