The Art of the Dinner Party

That does sound good, dadpad.

Soup is also a good choice. I'm sure you can find a suitable recipe on A2K somewhere. Do you feel up to baking some homemade bread? If not get some from the local artisan bread shop. Serve with a crisp salad and a nice wine and you've got a very impressive meal.

Then you can focus on a showstopper dessert. Maybe a flan or something your European friend might not find too sweet.

A friend sent me the link to this thread.
I will read it and be back later.

I just read the thread title as "The Art of the Donner Party."

Should I be worried?

That was probably "process art"...

There was just a great no-knead bread in the NYT that makes an amazing boule. It's truly a no-brainer and looks and tastes like a phenomenal French bread. There are a couple of discussion forums (including on the NYT site itself) that have wide-ranging discussions on what can be done with the basic recipe.

A coupla fresh boules and you'll have people oohing and aahing. A stew/chili kinda thing with the boule, some cold veggie thing, and then fruit and cheese for dessert - you'll have a major score on your hands.


(I can recommend figs and a blue cheese as part of the afters mmmmmmm)

Ah, I saved that article...
haven't tried making the bread yet..
(I'm rather stuck on my old way of breadmaking,
but plan to try the new way...)

Try it, OssoB. It's amazing.

I could fall in love with the photos of some of the boules.

One of my local foodie friends made it with her 7 y.o. daughter in charge - gorgeous gorgeous tasty bread. The crust on that thing ... to die for.

ehBeth, Soz said she did chili last time. I found a recipe online for beef burgundy. (I'd spell it the French way if I knew how.)

This sounds pretty good and would satisfy the guy who likes meat. It's hearty, which makes it a good cold-weather dish.


Burgundy Beef and Vegetable Stew
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds stew beef, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 can beef broth, or about 1 1/2 cups
1/2 cup burgundy wine
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups frozen whole pearl onions
2 tablespoons cornstarch combined with 1 tablespoon cold water
1 cup frozen peas, thawed


In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat until hot; add half of beef and garlic and brown evenly, stirring occasionally; repeat with remaining beef and garlic. Pour off excess fat; season beef with thyme, salt and pepper. Add beef broth and wine; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender. Add carrots and onions; cover and cook 25 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture, along with peas; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until thickened.


This would go well over wide noodles.

Soz, you said it, cook ahead. Italian always works, like lasagna, chicken or veal parmagian, shrimp creole over rice.

You know, those people will enjoy you and your family. Stop worrying. Why am I saying that, when I turn into a real bear until we sit down to eat. Afterward, it just feels so great to think you pulled the whole thing off, it's over with, and he house is spotless. Keep seeing it that way each time you panic. We all panic.

Yeah, that's a classic. Boeuf Bourg (I can't spell it either).

I'm going to look up my copy of the new way to make bread and post it - It's amazingly easy, I can tell.

I'm partial to my italian country breads (well, not mine, but Carol Fields') which I've never tasted anything as good as. I may end up fooling with the mix of old and new, once I try the new.

Back in a bit.

Recipe: No-Knead Bread

Published: November 8, 2006
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

There was a video with that article. I guess they don't archive the videos. Too bad because it was great. I haven't tried that technique mainly because I don't have a Dutch oven anymore.

The one-dish meal is ideal for casual parties. What ever you decide to do, lasagne, beef burgundy (gotta have mashed potatoes with that one IMHO), coq au vin, shepherd's pie, chili, a thick hearty soup can be made in advance and either cooked all day at a low temp or made the day before and reheated.

I like the cheese and fruit for dessert idea.

Both of those look extremely promising, thanks!! (The bread and the stew.) (And I love the endless variations possible with the bread... cooool.)

Tons of ideas in one paragraph there Swimpy, thanks.

soz - you know where I hang out for food talk - there are four or five threads (one with over 700 posts) on variations/additions/technique for the no-knead bread. Apparently, it's really a very old, traditional technique. Someone may have archived the video there.

There was a follow-up article in the NYT based on all the web discussions of the original article.

Seriously <swoon> seeing that boule, and knowing my hostess had made it (and not guessing how dirt simple it is), I'd be beyond wildly impressed.

Swimpy - a couple of people have tried making it in clay bakers ... and I believe you may have one of those on hand.

<nightrider is the toronto poster at the food forum I go to who posted about making the boule in her clay baker to great success>

I'll definitely be following up on that.

Have been doing the "real menus for everyday meals" thing for the last couple of days, going well so far. Made one recipe I've tried twice before (first time for a dinner party), and third time is the charm -- that was good! One of the very first times I've made something that I could imagine ordering at a fine restaurant. (Pork chops with mustard crumbs -- the pork was super moist, super tender, super flavorful. And totally easy recipe.)

No, don't have one of those either

Have you decided on a menu?

Have you ever made beer butt chicken? The best roast chicken you'll ever make.

Is that where you roast the chicken with a beer can up its backside?

That would make sense. And here I've been using huge cask of beer!