A Cry For HELP...

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A cry (for real!) for help…

My friend is planning a dinner party.  Actually her husband is planning the party, and he is in charge of the menu planning, shopping, and cooking.  Since she hates cooking, this works well for them.  When she talks to me about it, she refers to this as “The Dreaded Dinner” party.  The husband is in the middle of a very busy period at work, but he has the reputation of showing up 1 hour before the company arrives, with the groceries in hand.  This is a huge stressor to my friend.  But she knows that this time he will barely make it to the party, much less shop and cook.  So I get the call for help, and I love this because I know that I can help her.  THIS IS WHAT I DO.

This kitchen is ideal for a gourmet group gathering!

The dinner party is tomorrow and she needs to get the grocery shopping done.  They have decided to make ”easy” paella because they had it recently at another friend’s house and loved it.  Plus, the hostess said it was easy.  Knowing how much she hates cooking, I know it won’t be THAT easy, and she is getting pretty anxious about it all.   She calls me with the recipe in hand and says, “I don’t even know what some of this stuff is!”  So we go through the recipe, and I explain where to find the chorizo, how to select mussels and shrimp, and promise to bring over some of the seasonings she didn’t have—saffron and turmeric.  

 

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Then we talk about the other courses, and she wonders what she can do for an appetizer.  I suggest hummus, and she adds it to the grocery list.  I give her an idea on how to present it on a plate with a drizzling of some good olive oil, some freshly chopped herbs, and a small dish of gourmet olives on the side.   

Buy hummus at the store.

Make an arrangement in a shallow bowl that will hold puddles of olive oil and fresh herbs.

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We move on to discuss a salad recipe a friend shared that calls for goat cheese croutons.  YUM!  Doesn’t that sound delicious? So I explain that when you work with goat cheese, you want the cheese really cold.  It’s somewhat difficult to cut into nice rounds, so I tell her how you can use plain dental floss to cut it.  I will go over tomorrow and show her how to dip it in the egg and breadcrumbs without it falling apart, and we will pre-bake it.  Then she can just do a quick re-warming to crisp it up when she’s ready to serve.  

Cut cold goats cheese with plain dental floss.

Followed by a dip in bread crumbs.

First, dip cheese in beaten egg.

Put on baking sheet.

We talk about how to make a vinaigrette, something I just blogged about!  We will put the lemon juice, seasonings, salt and pepper in a small bowl, measure out the olive oil, and have that ready to emulsify when she’s ready to put the salad together.  

 

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She is very anxious about getting everything together when she calls, but by the time we hang up, she knows she can handle this, and that I will help.  We agree to meet tomorrow for the “mise en place”, and then when her husband does get home, dinner will go together quickly and easily.

Mise en Place.  Get everything ready before you cook.

 

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I finish this conversation thinking that I had some really good tips for her.  I could explain to her what chicken tenders are, where to find chorizo, shrimp and mussels at the store, and how to select these items.  I told her that she could use  any lettuce blend she wanted to use regardless of what the recipe calls for, and how to determine what might be best.  (A recipe is just a suggestion, not a rule!)  We talked about how to make the vinaigrette, and that you should wait until it’s close to serving time to make it, but that you can have your lemon juice squeezed, seasonings mixed and oil measured.  Although I am a proponent of homemade everything, I assured her that it really isn’t cheating to buy hummus at the store and make a nice presentation of it.   

Simple but elegant dessert!

So this is what I know and do:  I help translate cooking terms, ingredients, preparations, planning, and creative arrangements to those who want to become more knowledgeable.  I know how to make easy work of cutting a pineapple or a mango, without any fancy equipment.  I know techniques that develop flavors in food, so that meals are easier to put together and tastier to eat.  I know how to go gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan without buying pre-made or manufactured foods.  

I think I helped eliminate the anxiety from this event and made it fun.  What a great feeling!

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